Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the Airlines in Transition conference in Istanbul, organized by CAPA. The main draw was the list of leading airline CEOs who’re at the helm of mostly “hybrid” carriers – those that are neither legacy, nor purely LCC. The discussion that ensued over the couple of days at Ciragan Palace was thought provoking for sure.

And since I didn’t have to speak for the second time in the same week (first being the Eyefortravel summit in London), it was good to sit back and just be a sponge. I’m sharing here some of my key observations, as well as quotes from some of the CEOs at the conference.

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1) Cost Leadership is critical
Time and again, we were reminded that a low-cost base is the most critical factor in making an airline successful. Alex Cruz, Vueling’s CEO emphasized that while they may consider code-sharing with airlines other than Iberia in the future, it will only be done if there are no incremental costs. He shared the example of how …

As the newest member of the SimpliFlying team, the past month has already been a whirlwind and now I am about to jet off to Nassau, Bahamas for Routes Americas.

Routes Americas is a gathering of airlines, airports, aviation service providers and industry experts focused around air service development. With a constantly changing and evolving industry like aviation, the people in our great industry are always on the move, figuring out what direction to grow, what direction to stop growing and, quite simply, what to do next.

The focus of the Routes Americas event, and similar events that take place throughout the year, is often analogized with what common culture refers to as “speed dating.”  These meetings sometimes lead to new air service but most importantly allow airlines the opportunity to meet with multiple airports over the two-day period and to get a feel for what each community could bring to the table if the airline were to consider service.  Airports get the chance to wow the airlines with news and updates on their communities and even send the airline planning reps home with cool, memorable marketing trinkets.

As a former, small airport, marketing and development director, this will be the first …

What a year it has been for the airline industry when it comes to marketing. With healthier profits this year, we’ve seen many airlines push the envelop when it comes to marketing and social media innovation. So to sum up the year, we’re sharing the top 11 marketing innovations by airlines in 2011.

While going through these, you’ll also realize that most of those that made the list aren’t one-off campaigns, but mature strategies made up of tactics that drive very specific business goals. So gone are the days of fluffy, one-off social-media campaigns with questionable ROI. Hope these inspire you for 2012!

Estonian Air social loyalty program: AirScore, the airline’s groundbreaking, yet simple, loyalty program rewards travelers for online advocacy. You earn virtual points on Facebook for sharing a trip report or booking through the airline’s Facebook app. And these can be redeemed for simple privileges like fast-security lane access. In 10 days, the program generated over a million impressions on Facebook, more than the number of passengers carried by the airline in a year! It’s now won three global awards in three months. Read more… (airlinetrends.com)
SpiceJet Bombardier …

Some of you know from my tweets that I was in Africa for the first time this month, in Kampala, Uganda to be specific. It was a great experience to be finally on the continent that I had heard so much about. It was also when Qatar Airways launched their non-stop daily service from Doha to Kampala. And at the press conference, the CEO promised to add services to neighboring Kigali in Rwanda, Mombasa in Kenya and Zanzibar in Tanzania.

And Qatar Airways is not the only airline expanding into Africa. Gulf Air is adding flights, so are Turkish Airlines and regional giants Ethiopian and Kenya Airways. Which begs the question, if a nation doesn’t yet have a national airline, should it start one to boost tourism, or get other airlines to fly more often into its airports? I’d say starting a national airline would be self-defeating today.

Travel is growing, but not airline profits
While the growth in the number of air travelers continues to surge ahead in the developing world, due to fast growing middle-class, that doesn’t necessarily co-relate to airlines making profits too.

The last decade, 2001-2010, …

As I checked in on Foursquare at Washington Dulles Airport this morning on my way to Chicago, I couldn’t help but notice the following display at one of the idle United gates:

In light of the article I wrote in this space a few months ago, I must say I was quite proud. Since I wrote that first article, UA has merged their Twitter presence with Continental (and are actually still tweeting from both), but it’s nice to see them complete the message by including the Twitter handle this time. Glad somebody’s paying attention…and well done, United!
This is how it looked previously on their napkins!

I have to admit that I’m a big Singapore Airlines (SIA) fan, and when someone says “you’re a great way to fly”, I can almost sing the SIA melody in my head.  But even I was surprised when SIA announced that they will be launching a low-cost long-haul airline, on the lines of AirAsia X and Jetstar.

Yes, Singapore Airlines is no longer the most profitable airline in the world (Cathay Pacific took over that title), and yes they’re losing market share to the likes of Emirates and AirAsiaX (to a lesser extent), but to go with a business model that’s hardly proven was a surprise move for a brand that’s been risk-averse of late.

While the initial reports stated that a good amount of analysis has gone into the decision and a “largely untapped market” exists, it’s safe to say that SIA is playing catch up in a market carved out in its backyard by AirAsia X and Jetstar. While the key success factor for SIA till date has been its endearing Singapore Girl brand, that’s exactly the dilemma they need to address – whether to extend the brand to the low cost airline or not….

While I was extremely lucky to get myself out of Heathrow yesterday, most people were not. There were foam mattresses laid out across Terminal 3, with travelers stranded for up to three days. In fact, I only know one other friend who managed to get out on time!

As I boarded my flight, I got an email that had a Xmas wish that got me all cracking up! It was a prose style composition by my friend Christian Kamhaug, also the Head of Social Media at SAS Scandinavian Airlines. And Christian was kind enough to allow me to publish his original piece here on SimpliFlying.

Hope it brings a smile to your faces as well, and you get to spend the holiday season with your loved ones. I’m halfway there, with a last flight to Vancouver to catch tomorrow. Merry Christmas everyone!

’Twas a week before Christmas at London-Heathrow
The skies darkened over and it started to snow

And just as they say that it pours when it rains
The snow kept on falling, grounding all planes

Pretty soon all terminals were flowing over
With passengers wanting to go …

As many of you are aware, I spent the last week in Istanbul at the IATA Commercial Strategy Symposium, being the Chairman of the eMarketing track as well as delivering a keynote on why CRM = Cult Relationship Management (view presentation).

The last session at the conference turned out to be an intimate round-table sharing session, where all those present shared their key takeaways from the conference. It was unique because unlike most sessions where someone speaks and others listen, everyone loosened their ties and got up-close-and-personal.

I’ve compiled here some of those sharings, which essentially gives us a to-d0 list of senior airline executives from a commercial perspective in 2011.
What does the future of airline marketing look like?

“Gotta get off the fence on social media. Time to act is now, otherwise it’s too late” – a major west-European hybrid airline
“The expansion of the traveler lifecycle is a key development to be acted upon, as travel begins much before the passengers board the aircraft.” – Stuart Barwood, Brolin Consulting
“It’s time to accelerate data personalization for travelers, both online and offline” – Datalex VP
“Turkish Airlines should become a lifestyle brand – selling all top brands that are co-related to the …

Remember how Eurocontrol used social media to update travelers in the aftermath of the Icelandic volcanic eruption? Another crises, this time the Spanish Air traffic controllers strike, has caused the whole Spanish airspace to shut down. And AENA, the Spanish air traffic management organization has responded by using social media.

A brilliant analysis of the situation has been done by Miquel Ros on the AllPlane blog, and they’ve kindly allowed us to re-post their article here. It’s quite insightful as to how the events have unfolded. Enjoy the read!

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At the time of writing these lines the effects of the Spanish air controllers unannounced and almost total strike are still being felt throughout the whole South-Western European airspace. This industrial action has forced the closure of the entire Spanish airspace and gravely affected that of the surrounding countries (Portugal, Morocco), the chaos at airports has been total, more so when the controllers’ walk-away has coincided with the start of a five day holiday in Spain. The Spanish government has had to recur …

SimpliFlying has earned its reputation over the years by offering thought provoking insights into the world of airline branding. And nothing has been as instrumental affecting airline brands as social media.

As airlines become more active in this sphere, we attempt to answer a crucial question: Has social media truly benefited any airline? If so, how? To answer this question, we put together a series of case studies. In this set of six case studies, top executives from airlines such as Qantas, Volaris, airBaltic, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, and of course, Southwest, talk about how their social media strategies are pushing their airlines into the next era.

Recently, Facebook announced that its user base now exceeds 500m. Twitter, on the other hand is still lagging in numbers, but the growth rate of users easily outstrips that of Facebook. As our case studies will show, both of these platforms offer their unique advantages in terms of customer engagement and information sharing. However, more importantly, each requires its own unique strategy.

The heady growth of social media has brought its own advantages and ills. While platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs and wikis offer unprecedented levels of engagement and information sharing with customers, there are perils …