Airline Marketing SimpliRecap: United Honours $5 Fares, The In-Flight Storefront, SAS’ new crowdsourcing portal & more!

Editor’s Note: While SimpliFlying’s aviation marketing thought leadership goes far and wide, we know there is more great content beyond our borders. SimpliRecap is a weekly feature that ensures that our readers don’t miss the latest in airline and airport marketing. This week’s selection is from the world of airline marketing. Find our previous editions here.

 

The In-Flight Storefront, Right at Your Seat  

“For the first time, airlines are selling destination-type content on board,” Mr. Kostov said. “There is a lot of money being made selling attractions and ground connections.” For every dollar passengers spend on airfare, “they spend two dollars for the things they do after they get to the destination,” he added. Enhanced by the real-time ability to evaluate credit card information and the increased use of so-called chip-and-PIN cards to reduce fraud, self-service technology is creating that onboard storefront, Mr. Kostov said. “Flight attendants have been going up and down the aisle with carts and their hand-held point-of-sale devices. But some airlines are now looking at not only having the flight attendants as the retail channel, but also looking at in-flight entertainment systems as the retail channel.”

Read the entire article at The New York Times.

United Honours $5 Tickets Sold Due to Glitch

The problem, United said, wasn’t with the website itself, but it mistakenly filed fares for $0. Adding in various fees/charges may have led to the $5 to $10 fares. United didn’t say yesterday whether it would honor the fares, but today came the announcement that it will do so.

Read the original article at Skift.

 

How Airlines Can Differentiate the Passenger Experience ‘Up in the Air’

Within the next five to six years it can be fully expected for real-time customer service to be an industry standard. With the rise of passenger smartphone use, in-flight connectivity and airlines’ commitment to mobile technologies and social media, soon customers will be able to evaluate every aspect of their experience in real-time, thus enabling issues to be corrected on the spot.

For example, Delta passengers on domestic flights can use Delta’s smartphone app to track their checked baggage with the bag tag number that they received at the time of baggage check-in. Since Delta has equipped all its domestic aircraft with GoGo’s in-flight Internet passengers can check whether their bag has made it on their flight while being up in the air.

Find out more at airlinetrends.com.

 

SAS crowdsources customers’ ideas on improving passenger experience

SAS Scandinavian Airlines customers can now offer the airline advice on how to improve the passenger experience via the new My SAS Idea crowdsourcing portal.

The new online service allows customers to suggest anything that they think would improve SAS’ service and the ideas that get the most votes will be assessed and analysed by the airline.

Read about this initiative at Future Travel Experience.

 

Some Asian Airlines Allow Passengers to Pay More for Kids-Free Flying

“People love their own kids, but they might not necessarily love someone else’s,” says Scoot Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson. “Allowing someone the option of traveling with the assurance of not having young children around is simply one of the many choices you have.”

Scoot charges an extra S$14.95 ($11.85) for 41 economy-class seats directly behind business class with 3 inches of extra legroom, where children under 12 aren’t allowed. There was “some very robust debate” in the office about the merits of the service, says Wilson, who doesn’t have children.

Read the original article at Bloomberg Businessweek.

 

Airline industry works on making life at 35,000 feet seem like home

Sometimes, as with the lavatory or with more luxurious flat-bed seats in business class, the advances affect relatively few passengers. But other times, especially with improved in-seat entertainment and faster Internet, the upgrades help all passengers.

After several years of not investing much in their on-board experience, airlines are finally starting to put some serious money into it. Many of those changes — like a full mock-up of the handicap accessible toilet and greatly improved in-seat entertainment screens — were on display last week at the annual Airline Passenger Experience Association expo in Anaheim.

Read more at Mercury News.

 

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