Listen to the exclusive podcast below.

(c) 2012 SimpliFlying Podcasts

Note: The HTML5 player above should work with most modern browsers including those in mobile devices such as the iPad and iPhone. However, if you’re having trouble playing the file, please use the flash player at the bottom of this post. Please also note that the podcast above has only a snippet of the interview with Azran. To delve deeper into the mind of an industry stalwart and gain some exciting secrets to the success of AirAsia and its future plans, click the Buy button above and get our premium podcast at an introductory price of only $19. You can get the free, significantly abridged, SimpliFlying Podcasts on iTunes as well!

When AirAsia X began its operations in 2007, you could practically hear the skeptics sharpening their knives as they waited – and waited – for the long-haul budget carrier to fold.

No doubt those knives were whipped out once again when the airline recently announced that it would be terminating its services to London, Paris, New Delhi and Mumbai – flights to Europe and New Delhi will cease in March while operations to Mumbai ended in January.  Despite all the I-told-you-so’s, chief executive Azran Osman-Rani remains unflustered. In fact, he maintains that the long-haul, low-cast business model is one that can work – if done right.

Of Scale and Profitability

While Europe’s weak economy, high fuel prices and taxes, as well as the visa restrictions imposed by the Indian and Malaysian governments ultimately prompted the airline to halt services to those destinations, Osman-Rani says that markets such as Australia and China are proof that AirAsia X’s model is one that can, with the right scalability and economization, turn a profit.

“The model can definitely work but the ingredients to build that success require scale. What we have proven is that in markets [where we] have built sufficient scale, they have been very profitable. In fact, [our] profit margins are higher than even some of the disclosed profit margins of the leading full-service airlines in Asia.”

Indeed, despite the disruptions caused by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan last year, the airline’s performance remained steady, netting it an on-site performance rating of 88 percent, which according to Osman-Rani “is much higher than some of the leading full-service airlines in the world.”

“Our engineering reliability rates [are] just about higher than everyone else…and if you go to the Skytrax website and look at the customer satisfaction scores for AirAsia X, we’re the highest among any Asian LCC and comparable to some of the top so-called 5-star airlines in Asia,” he continues. “We’ve developed a product that is very popular. It’s operation-sound and we can make it work and deliver profitability when we have scale and market.”

The Art of Strategizing

If there’s anything that the airline’s European and Indian sojourns have taught it, it’s that one has to prioritize. “If we want to compete, we have to let go of markets that are weak,” says Osman-Rani, adding that the airline will not be entering any new markets for the next two years but will instead focus on building up its brand and customer engagement platforms in Australia as well as Japan, Korea and China either by adding new cities to its network or increasing flight frequencies within its existing markets. “We’ve deliberately chosen the markets where we have a [strong] market leadership position and scale, by which we mean having multiple destinations in the market and strong frequencies that will connect well.”

However for many observers, it will be interesting to see if AirAsia X can maintain that position, especially when Singapore Airlines’s new low-frills carrier Scoot takes to the skies in June. The latter’s announcement that it would be operating direct Singapore-Sydney flights certainly played a significant role in putting pressure on the Malaysian government, which had been safeguarding Malaysian Airlines’ (MAS) interests up till then, to relax its restrictions on the Sydney route so that AirAsia X could be the first Asian LLC to operate to and from the Australian city starting April 1.

But what does he make of the competition? “The best way [of viewing the situation] is to look at what happened in 2004-2005,” says Osman-Rani philosophically. “Air Asia was a much smaller airline then and the entry of Jetstar and Tiger Airways into Southeast Asia made us wonder what’s going to happen to AirAsia with more competition and choice.” Fast forward seven years and it’s clear that those fears were largely unfounded.

That said, what’s going to determine which airline dominates the market isn’t a matter of who has the strongest network leadership. “The strength of the brand’s reach to customers is going to be the defining factor and it’s ours to lose if we can’t maintain that leadership position.”

In addition, there’s also the question of how fierce a rival budget airlines such as Scoot and Jetstar will turn out to be in the long run, given that much of the focus of AirAsia X’s growth will be on the north and south of Southeast Asia, which puts it in competition with larger full-service carriers such as Etihad Airways.

Entertaining Global Ambitions

Apart from strengthening the airline’s network and brand platform, Osman-Rani has grander ambitions as well and these include ideas for what he considers to be a truly global airline network hub. “The only model today is the global alliances – Skyteam, One World et cetera – and it isn’t a very strong consumer one because no one is going to say they’re going to fly SkyTeam. Everything’s still associated with the individual airline brand,” he explains. “In our model, what we’ve seen is the opportunity to create a global model anchored on one single brand – the Air Asia brand – and one single platform – AirAsia.com.”

Apart from AirAsia’s landmark tie-up with MAS, which will see both airlines capitalizing on each other’s resources in areas such as catering, ground handling and maintenance, Osman-Rani also points to AirAsia X’s collaboration with Japan’s ANA as an example, he points to how an airline can build on the same common brand platform rather than just having a loose alliance and code-sharing. “In this respect, one of the unique things that AirAsia is pioneering is how to roll this out globally. LCC is pretty much regional whereas the difference with AirAsia is AirAsia X. It is the trunk that can provide the link between the regions. For example, if AirAsia Japan establishes a very strong short-haul network, it provides AirAsia X the opportunity to come in to provide long-haul routes from Japan.”

Keeping His Eye on the Bigger Picture

For AirAsia X, 2012 is going to be a crucial one in terms of strengthening the foundations for its network, and that according to Osman-Rani means completing the task of reassigning the 30,000 passengers affected by the European and Indian flight cancellations, adding frequencies to “a couple of other existing routes” and making sure that the Sydney service goes off without a hitch.

More importantly, he is also hopeful that if everything goes according to plan, the airline won’t have to wait too long to file for an IPO. “I think if we succeed in [what we’ve set out to do] and hopefully with global equities picking up, we’d love to carry on with our plan for an IPO hopefully later in the year.”

When that happens, you can be sure the critics will be eating their words yet again.

In case you weren’t able to listen to the HTML5 version above, or if you wanted to listen to the podcast after you read the article, here it is for your listening pleasure in Flash.

(c) 2012 SimpliFlying Podcasts

Note: This is the free version of the podcast and contains the latest industry updates followed by a small snippet of the interview with Azran. If you want to listen to the full interview with Azran and gain some exciting insights as well as secrets to the success of AirAsia get our premium podcast at an introductory price of only $19. Just click the button below and you’ll be listening to it in minutes! The premium podcast also entitles you to a free copy of the complete podcast transcript. Just email us at podcasts@simpliflying.com to get it.

• AirAsia X: a brand with a huge potential, but remember, “you’re only buying the flying”
• SimpliFlying launches fortnightly Marketing Strategy podcasts for airline and airport marketers
• Pillars of Aviation – sneak peek into the future of aviation, from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• How AirAsia is rocking it in India, and how airlines in India can leverage their entry
• Estonian Air crowdsourcing ideas to engage travelers as Tero Taskila takes over as new CEO

Being placed in charge of a company that has been losing money since 2005 isn’t exactly the kind of dream job that most people have in mind. However Tero Taskila has always relished a good challenge. After all, the Finn, who was previously the Chief Commercial Officer of Latvian competitor airBaltic, lives by the motto: “I want to have frustration and excitement in good balance.”

There’s certainly been no shortage of both and since assuming the position last June, Taskila has been busy overseeing the restructuring of the airline and introducing initiatives to increase the number of routes that it serves and the frequencies of its flights. And while there are plans to introduce long-haul services in the future, for now, Estonian Air is concentrating its efforts on becoming a leading regional airline and establishing a strong network in the Baltic States, Nordic countries and Russia.

Changing the Rules of Engagement

Among the initiatives adopted by Estonian Air last year, one of the most successful has been its AirScore loyalty program, which not only brought a fresh spin to the concept but also piqued Southwest Airlines’ Rapid Rewards to win a Mega Award for the world’s best social media marketing program.

What makes the AirScore loyalty program unique is that it rewards subscribers for spreading the word about the airline – they do not have to fly with the airline to participate in the program at all. Subscribers can earn points simply by signing up for the Facebook app and sharing the information published on its wall. Furthermore, they also earn points when their friends join AirScore and participate in the program as well. These points can then be redeemed for flight discounts as well as other airline rewards such as free lounge access, depending on the subscriber’s level of membership.

The response has been turning heads, to say the least. Within the first 10 days of its soft launch, it had recorded two million impressions, a feat which Taskila admits was “not something they could even expect or dream about”. Among the other features it plans to implement in the future is one that allows it to integrating analytics so that it can be used as a sales tool as well.

Small and Innovative Wins the Race

In many ways, being a small airline has been a boon for Estonian Air. For a start, it’s given it the courage to go where bigger airlines fear to tread. “As a small airline, you always have to do something different and innovative to be noticed,” says Taskila, adding that one of the benefits of being headquartered in Estonia (or the land of Skype, as the country is fondly known) is that they are situated in a hotbed of talent and innovation.

And ‘innovation’ is clearly a key part of the brand’s credo. Among the other initiatives that it has introduced are the Chefs on Board campaign, which was launched last summer, and a Skype check-in service for passengers traveling to Moscow. In the case of the former, what distinguished it from the culinary programs adopted by bigger airlines was the fact that it actually hosted a chef from a leading Estonian restaurant on one of its flights every month. The menu served on that flight was then served on its other flights for a month after its launch. For the airline, apart from improving the flight experience, it was also a way to promote the country’s cuisine and produce. So popular was the program that at one point, its Net Promoter Score (NPS) was higher than that for the iPhone 4S.

Though the latter is still in its early testing phase, the Skype check-in video service it is offering to travelers heading for Moscow is another example of how the airline is hoping to improve the convenience of its customers’ flight experience. Not only do they get to beat the queue they also have the option of talking to a real airline representative to ask questions about their flight.

Looking Ahead

Things certainly look promising for Estonian Air. Not only is it based in one of the most financially stable countries in the European Union, it is also one of the fastest growing airlines in Europe. Taskila is quick to add that there is nothing artificial about this growth. “It was the result of Estonian businesses being more successful globally and also the attractiveness of Tallinn as a destination. We don’t see any slowing down in demand in that respect so that’s a very good starting point for us.”

While it may be tempting for an airline to join an alliance to strengthen its network and brand, Taskila tells us that Estonian Air has no plans to do that just yet. “I’ve always said that if you want to get married, you need to get pretty first,” he jokes. “Although we are very pretty a bride already, we are also a bride with our own ambitions and those are not ready to be piped out. We still have a lot of things we want to achieve before joining an alliance.”

Among other things, Estonian Air plans to introduce a new aircraft to its fleet as well as a new plane livery this year in its bid to improve its overall customer experience. “To be more successful in 2012, we need to get things out of the door faster, be more flexible and be closer to customers.”

But how does an airline maintain that close relationship with its customers when it needs to expand in order to keep up with the competition? There’s no easy answer to this question but for now, Estonian Air is focusing on delivering on the promises it’s made to be the most convenient, innovative, trustworthy and “positively surprising” airline in the region.

Taskila has already said that he will be pushing his team to work even harder this year and he has high hopes that the results will outweigh their efforts. “The benefit of being small is that we can be extremely fast and flexible. We have a very low cost base and a team full of passionate people who want to see results immediately. With a small airline, they are able to do just that.”

To listen to Tero’s full interview, please play the podcast below.

[Flash player for those having difficulty with the HTML5 player above.]

• Estonian Air drives revenue from Facebook through a reverse auction, by simply posting on the wall
• SimpliFlying launches fortnightly Marketing Strategy podcasts for airline and airport marketers
• Estonian Air crowdsourcing ideas to engage travelers as Tero Taskila takes over as new CEO
• [Infographic] The future of loyalty programs will be powered by social media
• Three keys to making loyalty programs work for the airline brand of the future

Today, we’re launching SimpliFlying Podcasts – a brand new product that should excite our readers, most of whom are travel marketers. Starting this Wednesday, SimpliFlying will be releasing Marketing Strategy podcasts for airline and airport marketers on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month. Each podcast will have great insights on the latest in marketing from the best minds in aviation.

Why you should listen to the podcasts

Helmed by Shashank Nigam, the CEO of SimpliFlying, every fortnight we will interview a well-known face from the world of aviation (mostly CxO level). The in-depth interviews will be followed by a detailed discussion of insights into the latest in airline and airport marketing by SimpliFlying staff.

The podcasts will be available in two versions – a shorter, free version, lasting about 20 minutes, will have only the interview (you can listen to them below); the longer paid version, lasting about 40 minutes, will have the interview as well as the insights along with a detailed pdf transcript. Each premium podcast will be available at an introductory price of only $19 per podcast!

Listen to the first episode!

Our inaugural podcast has Tero Taskila, CEO of Estonian Air as the guest. Estonian Air, as you know, has been featured previously in our Top 10 case-packs for their innovative social media campaigns involving some rather interesting techniques to drive revenue such as reverse auctions on Facebook.

In recent months, the airline’s major claim to fame has been that it has developed the world’s first social media based loyalty program on Facebook. The app, Airscore, helps Estonian Air provide real-world rewards for virtual actions such as online brand advocacy. The social loyalty program has been path-breaking in terms of how it rewards loyalty and has won a number of awards as well. To learn more about Estonian Air and its great initiatives straight from their CEO, listen to the podcast below. You can subscribe to SimpliFlying Podcasts on iTunes as well!

Hope you enjoyed listening to our free podcast! Our premium version has 20 additional minutes of discussions on the hottest trends in the travel market with a focus on aviation. Burning issues such as social loyalty, measuring ROI on social media, opportunities for location-based services etc are discussed in detail by Shashank and Marco Serusi, our Community Engagement executive based out of Valencia, Spain. What’s more, if you’re not patient enough to listen, you’ll have access to the complete transcript of the 40-minute podcast as well. We’re offering all this, as we mentioned earlier, at a great introductory price of only $19!

This is just the beginning. Watch out over the next few weeks for a couple more exciting new products from SimpliFlying!

Full disclosure: SimpliFlying helped Estonian Air build their social loyalty program.

[Flash player for those having difficulty with the HTML5 player above.]

• Can AirAsiaX make the low-cost long-haul model work with focus on Asia-Pacific? Interview with CEO Azran Osman-Rani
• Size doesn’t matter. Interview with Estonian Air CEO Tero Taskila reveals a grand vision for the future
• SimpliFlying is “aviation website of the week” (and more accolades)
• SimpliFlying, in the news…and more!
• High Flying Tweets: 11 of the best airline or aviation bloggers / journalists to follow on Twitter

As coordinator of social media marketing at Lufthansa’s USA office, Alison Russo has been a key player in the launch of both these products, along with Lufthansa’s success on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. It was not surprising, therefore, when she won comprehensively in our SimpliFlying Hero Poll for July 2011 with almost 60% of the votes.

Well-planned beginnings

Much of Alison’s (and Lufthansa’s) success can probably be attributed to the great amount of time and planning that is put in by the team at every turn. Right off the bat, when Lufthansa first started its social media journey, it realized that it was important to define a set of clear goals for each platform and each country. After that it was important to find the right people to ensure that those goals were met. Every step of the way, the idea was to leave as little as possible to chance.

Indeed, Alison believes that although social media might appear to be a godsend, in that it moves at supersonic speeds, engages customers like never before, and requires little financial investment. However, it does require a significant time investment. This time is needed to find a niche, develop a solid strategy, and come up with useful products. It is also needed to build the right support team, to learn your customers’ needs, to build relationships with your advocates, and to build a voice. As you can see, the list is not short.

Take Off

Lufthansa’s first foray into social media in the US was with an official Lurker in a FlyerTalk forum, which was then succeeded by a concurrent launch of its official Twitter stream and MySkyStatus. Lufthansa’s social media objectives then (and now) were an extension of their existing marketing objectives, namely, to establish a brand presence in the US market, build customer loyalty, convert customers to brand advocates, and to help customers become better connected travelers.

But, you may ask, how did Lufthansa come up with MySkyStatus, and later Cloudstream, when other competitors were focusing on achieving their objectives through the regular Twitter and Facebook paths? For Lufthansa, customer engagement, above all, has been the main priority from the beginning. In fact, Lufthansa aims to be the Most Linked Airline Brand. This is because, according to a research driven initiative by Miles & More International, customer engagement is a primary objective for customer retention.

As such, Lufthansa found MySkyStatus and Cloudstream to be excellent opportunities to engage (and retain) their customers. In fact, both products are measured not according to the revenue they earn (they are free), but rather on customer engagement metrics such as the time spent on the product, the number of returning vs. new customers, profile creation, sharing activity, and how and why customers use these products.

Lessons learnt

Today, one can undoubtedly say that Lufthansa’s customer-centric social media strategy has been a roaring success. In the course of their journey so far, there have been pitfalls and many lessons along with them. Above all, Alison has learned that there is no one size fits all strategy for an international organization like Lufthansa. Every organization communicates and engages with its customer base differently, which is why it is important for any social media team to stick to its strategy once it is defined, regardless of what its competitors are doing.

Alison also acknowledges that SimpliFlying has been a great resource and learning ground for the “best practices, guidance and insights into the ever changing social media landscape”.

A Look Ahead

In the future, Lufthansa plans on looking deeper into how social media activities can be translated into sales, while keeping its core objectives unchanged. As Alison puts it:

“While it [social media marketing] differs from traditional marketing in how we present our product to customers, can we, within the framework of social networks and via social currency, influence purchasing decisions and generate revenue?”

That is the central question that Lufthansa will continue to contend with into the future, while keeping an open-minded approach to the rapidly evolving social media sphere.

SimpliFlying hopes that Lufthansa will continue to enjoy success in its ventures into the future, and congratulates Alison once again for winning the SimpliFlying Hero award.

Know someone who’s worthy of being a SimpliFlying Hero?

Simpliflying Heroes are individuals recognized for outstanding social media use in the world of aviation. Do you know of somebody who uses social media effectively in their airline or airport to achieve specific business results? Or do you think you fit the bill?

Then go ahead and fill up the SimpliFlying Heroes nomination form. By filling out the nomination form, you bring them a step closer to being recognized by SimpliFlying for their efforts.

• Lufthansa’s CloudStream carry-on solution allows you to read SimpliFlying in-flight
• [Slides] Social Media Strategy for Lufthansa – how a legacy airline built a strong customer engagement model
• Lufthansa shares love with their 100,000 Facebook fans by giving miles
• Vote for the SimpliFlying Hero for July 2011 – Virgin America vs Lufthansa USA vs Cathay Pacific
• Does the latest social media application by Lufthansa have wings? 10 things I would do to ensure MySkyStatus flies

I had the great opportunity to interview Nico Bezuidenhout, the CEO of South Africa’s Mango Airlines who faced the exact challenge described above, at Aviation Outlook Africa Summit in Johannesburg. I have highlighted different topics we discussed below, with the full video interview available at the end of this post.

Starting up is only half the battle…

Mango was launched in 2006 with a very specific task: expand South Africa’s aviation market. In what was already a relatively small market to begin with, Mango was diving into direct competition with both an established legacy (South African Airways) and low-cost carrier (Kulula) that seemed to have both ends of the market covered. So Mango built a cost structure that made air travel accessible to South Africans to whom it was previously just a dream, and therefore was able to elbow its way into the crowded market.

But creating the airline and flying the planes is only half the battle. How did Mango sell enough seats to become successful, considering the majority of those potential first-time flyers fell under that 90 percent of the population without online access?

Engaging Customers on their level

For most of the world, we know of a few ways to book air travel. If we can’t do it through an airline’s website, we know of other online booking engines we can go to. If that doesn’t work, we probably know of a local travel agent, or an airline’s local office. But would you ever consider adding an airplane ticket to your grocery list?

Because Mango knew that many of it’s desired first-time travelers were not online, they went to where these people did congregate—selling tickets through grocery stores and other retail outlets. Because only 10 percent of the South African market has a credit card (another challenge), it also developed an innovative credit scheme where it would accept credit purchases through some of these retailers. As a result, Mango was successful in doing exactly what it set out to do—make air travel accessible to people to whom it previously was not—effectively creating a new market segment.

What about social?

Despite this innovative distribution strategy, Mango has also ironically established quite a reputation for its deft use of social media—for brand recognition, to communicate special deals, and even as part of its recruitment strategy. But does this make sense when Internet access is available to so few, as pointed out earlier?

Of course it does. As Bezuidenhout points out, while only 10 percent of the population has Internet access, that also overlaps 93 percent of the current aviation market. In other words, almost everyone who can afford to fly, or does so regularly, is also part of that 10 percent of people online.

A SUCCESS STORY—HAUTE FASHION!

One of Mango’s best social accomplishments to date was the dress pictured below, which was modeled at this year’s Vodacom Durban July—a horse race that doubles up as one of the premier social and fashion events in South Africa. Created almost entirely from discarded boarding passes, the dress created a huge viral buzz for Mango, sending a message to the world that Mango is both an environmentally-conscious and fashionable airline. Through photographs that were tagged on facebook and eventually picked up by blogs, as well as the traditional media mentions that those led to, the dress generated millions of impressions for Mango.

A CULTURE BUILT FROM ENGAGEMENT

Whether through retail partner sales outlets or its innovative social media efforts, Bezuidenhout is big on relationships, and it shows. Managing an airline that succeeds on cost structure means that Mango obviously cannot offer customers some of the luxuries that legacy carriers do. However, Bezuidenhout and his staff go to great lengths to differentiate by engaging its customer base, being responsive and truly listening to understand what makes Mango customers happy.

See my full interview with Bezuidenhout below! It’s a little quiet, so turn up the speakers and listen carefully …

Click here to view the embedded video.

• [Video] Two Paradigm Shifts in Travel and Three Ways Airlines Can Drive Engagement – Presentation from Aviation Outlook Africa Summit
• Can Jet Airways survive the recession (and what does the Kingfisher alliance mean)?
• SimpliFlying launches fortnightly Marketing Strategy podcasts for airline and airport marketers
• Travel agents can differentiate by displaying online reviews
• Three ways airlines can brand themselves in a recession

Such is the flexibility offered by Amadeus technology with its Affinity Shopper platform, which Lufthansa and Croatia Airlines are currently piloting. Rather than searching the familiar pattern of flights and dates, customers search for experiences—essentially putting in any criteria into the search and having the best options that meet that criteria populate in a completely bookable form. That could mean searching for a warm, sunny beach with moderate humidity, or a place where you can watch live theatre and a sporting event in the same afternoon, or a countless number of other creative search inputs. “We really want to change the user experience when it comes to booking,” Lacroix says. “The idea was to rethink the way people search for flights. I know Lady Gaga is touring in Europe and I’m in Nice, so where can I go see Lady Gaga?”

While this type of search capability is certainly game changing for online shopping, technology alone doesn’t make the experience. As Susan Kidwell, Amadeus’ head of Global Strategic e-Commerce Consulting points out, the customer experience comes down to how an airline includes technology to enhance the entire customer life cycle—from inspiration, shopping and booking through pre-travel, travel and post-travel. “You have to incorporate this kind of technology into the customer’s experience and expectation,” Kidwell says. “You can’t just show them flight results—you need content that talks about the destination and social media tools that offer reviews and insights. You need to integrate social and mobile into that technology.”

The Quick Integration of Mobile

Mobile was another major theme at Amadeus’ 18th Airline e-Commerce Conference held in Cannes, France last week. One of the highlights of the event was a study released by Amadeus in conjunction with Norm Rose, President of Travel Tech Consulting, that discusses how mobile integration will transform the travel experience moving forward. “What we’re going to see is much more of an interactive environment, that will be both personalized or situationally relevant as well as location-sensitive,” Rose said. “The airlines are starting to realize that and selling some of the ancillary services they have online and getting them on mobile.”

Rose feels that the airlines seem to have the ancillary penalty fees, such as baggage, down to a science, but are missing a huge opportunity by not using the ability mobile technology enables them to offer customers things of value wherever or in whatever stage of the travel experience they happen to be. Airlines will soon, he predicts, be in a rush to integrate these value-added services like priority boarding, seat assignments and other experience-enhancing options into the mobile space.

What is Missing

They say that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. And despite the technology that is currently available, airlines still seem to be struggling to embrace some of the tools that, according to Amadeus, are available now. Jerome Letissier, Director of Marketing and Portfolio Management for Amadeus’ Airline IT group, kicked off the conference with a very clear message to airlines that the first step to adapting to the new customer environment is to adopt what is currently available to them—some of which “can have a huge impact on customer satisfaction and revenue.” Letissier attributes the airlines’ collectively slow adoption practices to limited IT resources—being busy with bigger operational items like departure control systems—and the silo structure that makes it extremely difficult to implement initiatives that impact multiple areas, from marketing to e-commerce to sales to revenue management.

Eloi Prado de Assis, TAM Airlines’ Sales and Marketing Systems Manager, agreed to some extent, but added that there is also a consideration given to the customer, so that a technological change impacting one area does not create an unrealistic expectation for another part of the overall customer experience. “There is a certain set of processes that already exist in an airline, so it’s hard to make a change happen—you have to change an entire series of processes in order to accommodate the new technologies,” he said. “It’s not just putting up a new website. You also have to change your check-in, your call center, and every other part of the customer experience so that they experience the same change from the web through the end.”

The Speed Premium

Regardless of when exactly experiential search mechanisms and value-added mobile options become mainstream, the Amadeus conference certainly gave attendees a taste of what to expect on the horizon. With integration being the common theme to every technology discussed, speed is at a premium, and Lacroix even went so far as to give airlines hope that their search mechanisms can become faster than Google. “Whatever you do, you have to do it fast, and that’s why we are very much focused on building speed into our technology,” he said, stating a goal to shave the entire two- or three-minute search process down to seconds, and the actual results return time upon clicking down to milliseconds.

“The customer experience is what is going to allow airlines to differentiate themselves,” Kidwell added. “Airlines all want to differentiate themselves, and we need to provide the technology to be able to do that.”

See the full interview with Jerome Letissier below, with links to the other SimpliFlying interviews from the conference following.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Denis Lacroix, Amadeus

Susan Kidwell, Amadeus

Norm Rose, Travel Tech Consulting and Dominic Carvalho, Amadeus

Gwen Robinson, CityJet

Andrew Miller, CAPA Consulting

Eloi Prado de Assis, TAM Airlines

Mike Slone, Vail Resorts

• The Always Connected Traveler – how mobile will transform the future of travel [Infographic]
• [Infographic] How mobile is re-shaping travel distribution (gasp!)
• Now, Pegasus Airlines creates an irresistible safety video, featuring cute Turkish kids
• Cebu Pacific creates a safety demonstration to rival the rapping flight attendant at Southwest!
• The future of airline marketing in 2011: key takeaways from IATA Commercial Strategy Symposium

Who is Fred Taylor?

Keeping a finger on the pulse of Southwest Airlines’ daily operations and making sure their Internal and External Customers are on the same page is a way of life for Fred Taylor. As the Senior Manager of Proactive Customer Service Communications, Fred is charged with shepherding a unique approach that has its roots firmly embedded in one of the Company’s Core Values—The Golden Rule. Fred and his Proactive Customer Service (PCS) Team of four are responsible for coordinating timely information, guidance, and support during disruptions of Southwest’s scheduled service.

Working with 14 other departments, the PCS Team explores new ways Southwest can operate more efficiently; provide more-effective communications; and implement better Customer accommodations.

To Fred, being proactive means practicing what you preach. As such, through effective internal and external communication/action, Fred and his Team helps Southwest Airlines prudently manage its information, services, and available resources.

Proactive Customer Service – what’s that?

One of the things that Fred mentions towards the end of his interview is that not only do you need a dedicated team, but also have them deliver the same standard of service each and every time. And I think that’s a very important point.

Let’s hear it directly from Fred (click here if you can’t view the video).

Click here to view the embedded video.

So, what do you think? Can what Fred is doing at Southwest Airlines be replicated in other airlines? Do you know of examples of airlines that handle customer service well? Let’s hear it in comments and over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

• Southwest Airlines’ success secrets on social media revealed by Paula Berg
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• Five ways airlines can tame Twitter – Jesse Engle of CoTweet shares his expertise
• What makes Volaris from Mexico the world’s happiest airline? Interview with COO, Andres Fabre
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Alice Liu, American Airlines’ Managing Director of Onboard Products, remembers something completely different from her first flight as a 13-year-old, and remembers it so fondly that it helped fuel her desire to work in the airline industry. Despite the nerves and excitement of moving with her family to a new and unfamiliar world across the Pacific, and the experience of seeing the tops of those fluffy, white clouds for the first time, what did Alice remember most about her 18-hour-trek from Taipei to Dallas via LAX? The food, of course.

That’s right. Good old, economy class airplane food, which she enjoyed so much that she asked for a second helping. If I can read your thoughts right now, you must either think that someone so passionate about airline food (!!!) is either flat-out nuts, or a match made in heaven for the job she does for American. Based on my experience on-board the delivery flight of American’s first Next-Generation Boeing 737-800, featuring the innovative Boeing Sky Interior, I’ll vouch for the latter.

A dazzling new plane, inspired by the 787 Dreamliner

With an effortless lift off of Boeing Field’s runway 13R, American took possession of its new baby earlier this week, carrying 20-some staff, journalists and special guests on-board the three hour and 22 minute flight to Dallas-Fort Worth. The Seattle sun even made a rare morning appearance, perhaps a fitting foreshadowing to the future satisfaction of frequent AA flyers, thanks to the carrier’s fleet modernization plan that will see them take on 54 more Next-Gen 737-800s over the next two years.

The newest addition to American’s fleet offers increased fuel efficiency (up to 2%), more overhead bin space (up to 54 more bags than its original 737s), themed LED lighting (ceiling and side lights that range from blue to white to amber depending on the time of day and service being performed), newly designed seats and power ports throughout the cabin. The latter features are just like the 787 (watch a cabin tour). While these all seem like amenities that will please even the most demanding passenger, at a price tag in the USD $80 million range, its critical that an airline gets every detail exactly right. Fortunately, American has Alice and her team on its side.

An eye for detail, in-flight

While the beautiful new aircraft will be introduced into mainline AA service on June 1^st, the process from conception to delivery was much longer than any trip the shiny airplane will ever take. Alice’s group has spent years poring over every last detail of the plane’s interior, from the look and texture of the dual mini-tables in each First Class seat to the flexibility of the leather head rests in Economy to the panels covering the ventilation system throughout the cabin. According to Alice, the new First Class seats alone have undergone a four-year development process.

That doesn’t come as a surprise when you consider the challenge involved in figuring out the preferences of some 105 million passengers a year, which often can be as fickle as the Dallas weather. To illustrate this, Liu mentioned a study American had done a few years ago that found that customers wanted healthier onboard snack options. So American added pricey fruits and vegetables to the menu, and subsequently performed its highly-scientific “trash test”—just keeping an eye of what snacks were coming back from the aircraft untouched. The verdict? When it came to making a decision onboard, the same passengers who responded that they wanted healthier snack options preferred the same old cookies.

Nonetheless, Liu’s group, which is responsible for the cabin interior, in-flight entertainment, food & beverage (of course!) and onboard retail, works tirelessly to engage and respond to American’s customer base. While her team does collaborate extensively with Boeing in working out some final design details on the product side, taking care of every other onboard detail for a fleet of about 650 aircraft is obviously a massive undertaking, and one that I never truly appreciated until being the first to walk onboard a brand new, fresh-off-the-production line, Next Generation aircraft.

“Design is all about the details,” Alice says. “It’s the thoughtful details that really complete the travel experience.”

Which seems like a fitting viewpoint from someone who, despite the slender stature she carries, is still known to sneak in an extra meal from time to time. While the instant noodles of her Taipei-to-Dallas adventure may have been replaced by king prawns and artisan cheeses, Alice’s eye for detail is as keen as it was at 13, and that passion permeates throughout every little detail onboard the newest addition to American’s fleet.

Here’s the full interview with Alice we managed to shoot while in the actual 737 itself! Enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Let’s Play, and earn miles, says Virgin

Virgin Atlantic recently announced plans to re-launch  its social travel community site, www.vtravelled.com, with a strategy focused on rewarding their frequent flyers using gaming mechanics.

As  one  of the first airlines to launch their own online community, Virgin Atlantic  will  partner with social gaming experts Lithium, as they plan to engage  with  their  1.8  million  Flying  Club  members.  The airline will introduce  the  ability  to  earn  real  currency  in  the form of miles in addition to the more usual virtual rewards. The  plan  is  to  take  the  fundamental  thinking  and technology behind social gaming and develop it to allow  loyal customers and Flying Club members to be rewarded for their contributions.

Lysette Gauna, Creative Director at Virgin Atlantic and one of the key people behind this initiative was kind enough to be interviewed over this new development, and has revealed some exciting details in this interview that you’ll find below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Will social gaming and frequent fliers make good bed mates?

So, now that you’ve heard Lysette’s plans with the Vtravelled.com site, do you think infusing social gaming would work? I’m sure Virgin Atlantic would drive new sign-ups for its frequent flier program, by tapping into the social gamers. There will also be a certain percentage of its existing fliers who may engage with the airline through the site, but I wouldn’t expect that number to be significant.

So, then, it seems more of a customer acquisition effort, than engaging and deriving more value from existing frequent fliers. And I’d give full credit to the Virgin Atlantic team to be the first airline to dive into social gaming at such scale.

What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear whether you think this would work. Would you be keen on flying Virgin Atlantic more often because of this? Let’s hear it in the comments, and over on Twitter (@simpliflying).

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The volcanic explosion that led to explosive growth

The ashcloud crises about a year ago was a catalyst for many airlines, especially in Europe, to start engaging their customers through means they were familiar with – often tools like Facebook and Twitter (click here to see case studies). It was also then, that social media tools became the necessity for airlines to communicate during crises with their customers.

One of the airlines that transformed its customer interaction methods after the ashcloud crisis was KLM – and Lonneke Verbiezen was in the center of all the action. And the impact of her team’s work is truly felt today. In the last year, KLM has come up with various innovative campaigns like KLM Surprises (see video below), Fly2Miami – where the first flight to Miami will transformed into a party flight on the request of a Dutch DJ, and even an application where travelers can create free, personalized luggage tags!

A clear business-oriented customer engagement strategy

The numbers speak for themselves – KLM today has over a hundred thousand Facebook fans, and Twitter followers approaching the six figure mark! The best part is that Lonneke did not achieve this as a fluke – there has been a clear business strategy too.

Lonneke won the mandate to scale her team, and KLM now has a team of 16 people dedicated to social media, where 11 members of the team focus on customer service, and another five are dedicated to eCommerce and commercial side of things. More importantly, every customer is treated like a VIP and through various campaigns, they’re heard, their problems solved and their questions answered.

Here is Lonneke’s interview. And we congratulate her and her team for their exemplary efforts once again (click here if you can’t view the video).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s what the KLM Surprises campaign was about, as I shared my opening keynote in San Francisco recently.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Know someone who’s worthy of being a SimpliFlying Hero?

Simpliflying Heroes are individuals recognized for outstanding social media use in the world of aviation. Do you know of somebody who uses social media effectively in their airline or airport to achieve specific business results? Or do you think you fit the bill?

Then go ahead and fill up the SimpliFlying Heroes nomination form. By filling out the nomination form, you bring them a step closer to being recognized by SimpliFlying for their efforts.

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• For giving us funny safety videos and bringing us Rico, Megan Matthews from Air New Zealand is the SimpliFlying Hero for March 2011
• For getting AirAsia a million fans on Facebook and making it the leading social airline brand, Karen Chan is the SimpliFlying Hero for June 2011