This is a guest post by Jonathan Haysom, who is a respected marketer and business development strategist. Currently working for Australia’s number 1 telco and number 1 company by brand value, he is responsible for maintaining and growing a multi-billion dollar product portfolio focused on next generation products. He has recently received awards for innovation in marketing and accolades for his social media campaigns and brand strategies.

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Virgin Blue, after fighting hard as a “renegade” brand for a slice of the Australian carrier market is tipped to undergo a marketing face lift and re-invent itself as a full service brand. Some of the purported changes include the introduction of a new business class product, integrating the other brand properties (Polynesian Blue and V Australia) as well as the introduction of wide body aircraft on trunk routes between capitals.

(Image credit: ABC News)

Virgin Blue going upscale?

It is apparent from the changes the new CEO, Ex Qantas Senior exec John Borghetti is primarily going after the lucrative corporate segment of the market, one which Virgin Blue has traditionally struggled to break into due to Qantas’ having a strong and loyal customer base.

The biggest hurdle here will be to ramp up the company’s loyalty programs to make them attractive to corporate clients. The easiest way Virgin could do this besides upgrading it lounge system is to integrate with a global airline alliance, such as SkyTeam or Star Alliance, to boost its loyalty offering and expand code share operations.

It’s not going to be easy to attract new the new corporate business without impacting the most loyal customers who were attracted to the “renegade” brand. The shift away from competing head to head with other low cost carriers such as Tiger and Jet Star will surely allow it to focus more on its new customer acquisition path and deliver a more differentiated product. However it’s a delicate balance between attracting a new segment and not turning away the loyal customer base who share an affinity with the current culture and image.

Virgin Australia Airlines?

The other issue facing Virgin’s re-birth is the long-standing agreement between Virgin Atlantic Airways and significant shareholder Singapore Airlines prohibiting it from using the Virgin moniker for international flights.

I’d hasten to say the use of Virgin Australia Airlines, which was registered several years before the 2008 launch of V Australia will be the primary candidate to encompass all 3 brands.

Mr Borghetti has also recently swept the brands senior leadership team under the one reporting structure, not only implementing a few commercial side changes but also positioning Martin Daley as Product and Guest Services lead across the single carrier brand. Martin was one of the early Virgin Blue culture “creators” and will be integral to ensuring a consistent and on brand culture across all brand properties.

Finally, rationalisation of loss making routes across brands should also be on the cards as part of the marketing change out with yield being a primary focus of V Australia. A focus on greater diligence on revenue generation across the house of brands will be imperative once it becomes a branded house to ensure one branch of its network does not impact another’s profitability.

With most of the changes to come in before the end of the year, do you believe they can shake the low cost carrier moniker, bring the brands together and attract one of the most loyal market segments away from Qantas? Sounds like a big task, so let’s wish them all the best. And watch this space.

• Why a Qantas and British Airways merger is good (and why Qantas + Cathay Pacific will be even better!)
• The “Jetstar-isation” of Qantas is not over yet. Is the LCC taking over the legacy parent brand?
• Talking airline business with Virgin Atlantic VP, Paul Charles
• CEO reveals what makes SpiceJet a leading airline in India in a frank interview
• Why LiveTV is a great idea from JetBlue Airways, to help them fly through a recession and keep the brand alive

I’ve spent the past week at the Farnborough airshow, where there are a ton of aviation suppliers decked out in their chalets. My interest was piqued when I saw the only airline chalet at the show – Qatar Airways’. Yes, it does well for brand awareness. But Qatar Airways already has a Boeing 777-300 on static display at the show. Hence, I got thinking why would Qatar Airways invest in a chalet at Farnborough? Here are some possible reasons I came up with.

1. To get all manufacturers coming to Qatar Airways’ chalet, than the QR executives going to the manufacturers
2. Increase brand awareness among suppliers
3. Invite the media to the chalet to share stories about the airline
4. Mr Al Bakar wanted one

For all the above reasons, I keep coming up with respective counter arguments..

1. Any suppliers trying to sell planes or services to QR would already have done their homework and go to Mr al Bakar anyway, hence negating the need for driving brand awareness among suppliers
2. The media is just as happy at press conferences as well as on-board the plane on static display,

So then why would Qatar Airways, or any other airline have a chalet at an Airshow? And how is the ROI from such an investment determined? I’m puzzled, and would love some answers. Let’s discuss on Twitter (@simpliFlying) and in comments.

• SimpliFlying creates history: absolutely unofficial, real-time coverage of the Singapore Airshow 2010
• Social Media creates waves at the Singapore Airshow 2010
• SimpliFlying recognized as one of the Top 3 aviation blogs at FlightGlobal Webbies
• SimpliFlying Hero July 2010: Todd Blecher, for helping move Boeing towards social media excellence
• Is Qatar Airways really the five star experience in the sky? A brand analysis

Virgin America created a splash today, by launching its first international destination, Toronto, on Twitter! They did not spend a cent on traditional advertising for this launch, and I personally think this is one of the smarter uses of social media I’ve seen by an airline in recent times.

The sweetener is that the first 500 people to book tickets using their Twitter ID would be able to redeem a 50% discount (still valid as of 2pm EDT, 20 Feb). If they’re not “following” the airline on Twitter, they will auto-follow. Even the official press release re-directed recipients to the Twitter URL.

“The first 500 Twitter followers who receive the airline’s expansion Tweet can score a 50 percent discount on flights to Toronto for travel June 23-November 17, 2010.*  Virgin America is the only airline based in Silicon Valley, and its inventive use of technology, social media and design has made it a favorite among tech-forward flyers.  For more: www.twitter.com/virginamerica”.

The press release was followed by a single Tweet. And that’s it. That’s a very simple route-launch for you.

What so smart about Virgin America’s use of social media?

I’ve highlighted previously that Virgin America very cleverly uses social media by embedding sharing elements in their email newsletters. Now, they’ve taken the use of the medium to another level. Here’s why.

1. There is completely no support from traditional advertising: I bet the airline has saved hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more, by not buying media space in Toronto. I remember when Emirates launched Toronto flights – they had tall buildings in Dundas Square draped in red (see below).
2. Huge boost for social media team: I met with Bowen Payson last month, who leads the social media execution at Virgin America and sensed a lot of passion in him for what he and his team are trying to accomplish. Having no traditional advertising also represents a huge confidence in Bowen’s team by the senior management. It also speaks volumes about how visionary the senior executive team is, being led by Porter Gale and Dimitrios Papadogonas.
3. Fighting the battle on their own turf: Before redeeming voucher, you need to be a followed of Virgin America on Twitter. And not only do they request you, but they automatically verify and get you to follow if you’re not already doing so. They can do this because you’ve entered your Twitter id and password on their website! Now, imagine all the tracking Virgin America can do with this tool as well – identifying which Twitter user logged in, but didn’t buy, and even mapping Twitter-Ids to frequent flier numbers. This is also something I’ve not seen airlines do, but surely reflects the future of social CRM.

All in all, a terrific job by Virgin America. What do you think about their efforts? Do you have examples to share where airlines have done similar things, well? Let’s hear it in the comments, and over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

P.S: Thanks to Dan from Things in the Sky blog for this tip-off.

P.P.S: Here’s how Emirates launched their Toronto flights.

• The day airlines’ Twitter accounts were hacked, and three steps to reverse the brand damage
• Interview with Emirates VP Nigel Page on the A380 flights to JFK, SFO and LAX
• Five lessons in crises handling from the Facebook war between Ryanair and SAS Scandinavian Airlines
• SimpliFlying now helping airports take-off: announcing SimpliFlying Airports
• What makes Virgin America an outstanding airline brand? The delivery.

I saw this advertisement on four different websites today. So, Mexicana and OneWorld are doing a great job with banner advertising. But I’m not really sure whether it gets any points across the viewer. Why do I say that? Because an airline brand is no longer what you [the airline] say it is, it’s what they [the customers] say it is.

First impressions matter

When I first saw this advertisement, these questions would come to the travelers’ minds:

1. Why is Oneworld the “most important” alliance in the world?
2. And whose claim is that? The alliance itself? Or an independent third party?
3. Who is Mexicana? A new airline from Mexico? Or an old one?
4. Are they any good?
5. Do they fly anywhere other than Mexico?
6. Oh..and which of those logos is Mexicana? The first or the last… they both look similar!

None of those questions were answered. And from a marketing standpoint, what’s the “call to action”? Being the curious type, I clicked on the advertisement anyway, and I came to a “Promotions” landing page, which didn’t quite make sense.

Repetition doesn’t work anymore

The page I was led to repeated the same message, THREE more times! I was getting impatient at this time, so I click on the advertisement on the right bar, hoping to find out more. Where does that lead me? The SAME page. Yes, I’m not joking. The same page re-loads and I’m back to square one. In about 10 mins, I’ve still not found out any of the answers to my above questions! And that’s being about 20 times more patient than the average web user.

Enlightenment at last… or is it?

As I dug around, I finally found another graphic, which seemed to go just a little more into the details of Mexicana joining OneWorld. And I thought now my curiosity would be doused. The details certainly shed more light onto what the new alliance meant, but I still failed to understand why OneWorld is the most important alliance in the world, and what’s the significance of Mexicana joining them. Most importantly, I’m still clueless how it would benefit me if I fly to Mexico once in a couple of years, and only to Cancun!

How could this have been done?

Instead of just proclaiming that Mexicana has joined the “world’s most important alliance” and leaving me to figure out what that might mean for me, the airline and the alliance could have tried one of more of these things:

1. Get Mexicans who fly Mexicana to upload videos on YouTube on why this alliance will benefit them
2. Get Mexicans who don’t fly Mexicana to upload videos on YouTube on why this alliance will benefit them
3. Get Frequent Flier members who fly Mexicana to share their side of the story
4. Get a family to share their story, and get a few businessmen too
5. Have employees share publicly how this would change their work, and may be even improve it

Then compile all these videos and stories on a landing page on the website, or a blog, where the clicks from the ads would come. In fact, the ads themselves should just feature a person and a story. Why? Because it makes the story authentic.

Authenticity matters

Through these suggested efforts, even if at the end of the day I don’t understand why Oneworld is the “most important” alliance in the world, I might find someone I can relate to – the businessman, or the Mexican – and connect with the story to see how the alliance benefits me. Listening to other people tell their story moves more people to action, than blatantly claiming something in an advertisement.

So if you’re working with Mexicana, may I recommend you stop spending $50,000 (or more!) in getting me to watch the same advertisement four times in a day. Instead, spend $10,000 to hire a social media agency to put together the campaign suggested above. If nothing else, you’ll save $40,000. Oh, and if you need a reference, just go over to Volaris – which already does a fantastic job with authentic branding. What do you think?

• Will a bloated Star Alliance result in a branding nightmare?
• Five Imperatives For Your Airline’s Social Media Policy
• The Air New Zealand brand bares all – CEO and staff go nude in latest TV advertisement
• Tearing apart airline lingo, great laughs ahead
• How can an airline create a viral video? Learn the power of surprise from TAP Portugal’s Christmas dance at Lisbon airport

Last week, I spent three days in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, hanging out with Loyalty marketing professionals from around the world at the Loyalty 2010 conference. I met a number of very talented and interesting people, from airlines, hotels and even retails chain that are trying to drive loyalty.

Also part of the event was the Loyalty 2010 Awards for the Most Innovative Loyalty program. The judges had shortlisted the Top 3, and the audience voted for the best. Air Berlin came out tops, though I think each program was very unique. And I share with you here, what makes them so good!

1. Air Berlin’s MyRoute customers earn double miles on their frequently flown routes

Try to solve this problem. You need to get price sensitive customers to fly you on their most-flown routes, which are also the most competitive due to many airlines offering an undifferentiated product on those routes. You know you got to think out of the box when solving this one. And Air Berlin’s Johannes Ganser and Sophie Wennekers, along with their Loyalty Marketing team, did just that.

In April 2009, the airline launched MyRoute where members select their favorite or most frequently traveled route within Europe. On this route, they earn double miles. Simple. And gets the job done.

Not only did this offering help Air Berlin clearly differentiate itself in the market place, which has other credible carriers like Lufthansa, it also increased loyalty for business travellers and commuters – traditionally a Lufthansa stronghold. Not to say, it minimized churn rate too. The side effects have been that Air Berlin can now forecast high-density routes better and there are more return journeys performed. Very innovative indeed.

2. SAS Scandinavian – visualizing rewards to boost redemption

How many times have you logged in to your Frequent Flier Program (FFP) and didn’t know what to do with your points? Frankly, I’ve had that situation many times. SAS solved this for their loyal customers by visualizing the rewards they can get. And it was all personalized too, with each roll-over showing you how many points you needed to redeem an award.

The results? As Thomas Bruhn, EuroBonus Manager shared, 18,000 redemptions were generated from 80,000 visits – that’s a much higher conversion rate than the industry standard. Personalization matters indeed.

3. Swedish Rail – loyalty program from scratch, for a train service

Imagine you’re a senior executive at a government-owned monopoly that runs trains and this is your situation:

• The industry is deregulated and new competition grabs your customers
• Even though you’re the incumbent, you have no customer date, because no efforts were ever required
• There’s no concept of loyalty in the industry, which was more of a public utility previously

How do you deal with this? Frankly, I was very impressed with what Claes Lindholtz of Swedish Rail shared with me, on how he and his team built a loyalty program from the ground up in a very short period of time. It included totally revamping the customer experience, with on-board wifi and iPhone apps that you can point to a landmark outside the train to retrieve its info from Wikipedia (!!). Swedish Rail is now also the top corporate Twitter account in Sweden!

4. Milan Airport – building loyalty at an airport city

Milan Airport’s Vittorino Capobianco opened my eyes to a new category of loyalty programs – those at an airport! At Italy’s largest airport, you earn points for parking, for eating at restaurants, for buying from Duty Free shops and even by using the speed-check-in service!

And you can redeem these for lounges, phone check-in and even free wireless internet. The best part is that you can earn and burn points at both the airports run by SEA in Italy. Certainly something I’d sign up for when I start shuttling to Lake Como once a month =p

5. Payback – the most personalized loyalty program in the world?

Everyone at the conference was stunned by the presentation made by the folks from Payback – the European retail loyalty program. Yes, the basics are earn and burn, but it was the personalization that everyone was impressed by. Not only offers that were sent out highly customized to each individual’s purchase history, the trending data for each individual is also used for market research and developing more products.

Though airlines are still far from such in-depth business intelligence and personlization, I think it’s important to see what’s being done at the cutting edge and how they can adapt that to drive loyalty for their brands as well.

Air Berlin and SAS are setting the standards for airline loyalty program. I must say that I really liked Etihad Airways’ as well, in which I can redeem even my first 3000 miles, for items like USB drives and iPods! Swedish Rail offers lessons to any government owned legacy airline on how to beat the competition. Airports around the world can learn from Milan Airport’s efforts. An Payback seems a decade ahead of its equivalents in airlines. Maybe Aeroplan or The Mileage Company can acquire Payback and we’ll all have a happy life

What do you think about this programs? Is there an airline FFP that you’re very impressed by? Share your thoughts with us here in comments, or over on Twitter (@simpliFlying)

• Three keys to making loyalty programs work for the airline brand of the future
• Top 10 branding insights from the best airline loyalty programs at the Freddies 2008
• Are location-based services a blessing for the airline brand?
• Five clever ways to earn frequent flier miles for upgrades
• Does the latest social media application by Lufthansa have wings? 10 things I would do to ensure MySkyStatus flies

As promised at the start of the year, SimpliFlying will be bringing you more Guest Columns from leading aviation practitioners around the world. Our first guest article of the year is written by Oussama Salah, who is an aviation expert based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Being a Jordanian who flies around the region a lot and works in the sector, he shares with us his predictions for Middle East carriers in 2010.

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The MENA region airlines bucked the global trend in 2009. It was the only region that had an increase in traffic and had the loss forecast dropped by 50% to half a billion. The region saw an increase in flights and in destinations.

2010 promises to be an exciting year for the region. Airlines in all segments are competing for a leading position.

Emirates facing the crunch?

Emirates remain the leader of the pack, with a brand that, by far has no rival not only in the region but globally. So far Emirates has shown a financial ability to finance its expansion without burdening Dubai. The problem Emirates might face is a tightening of credit due to Dubai World’s and by extension Dubai’s problems. And as previously mentioned on SimpliFlying, even a merger between Emirates and Etihad cannot be absolutely ruled out.

Etihad and Qatar Airways expanding?

Etihad and Qatar Airways are both embarking on an expansion spree, supported by oil revenues of their respective governments, a viable means as long as oil prices hold at their current levels. Needless to say both carriers have not turned any profit yet. On a service level and as a brand both are offering services that in some cases not only rival Emirates, but exceeds it.

Royal Jordanian merging?

Royal Jordanian, the first Arab Carrier to join an alliance (One World) and the second Arab Carrier to privatize and be listed in the Amman Stock Exchange, is floating the idea of a merger with another regional airline or European airline by mid 2010 as the means of sustaining growth. This may be easier said than done since the Government’s approval is crucial (holds 39.5% of the stock) and the other problem is finding an airline that is compatible with the RJA brand displayed in their new A319, A320 and A321 fleets in terms of cabin and IFE.

Gulf Air going regional?

Gulf Air is looking to restructure and reinvent itself as a regional carrier as opposed to an Emirates or Etihad clone. For that they have employed Royal Jordanian’s ex CEO, the same person that lead RJA to profitability, privatization and into an alliance. GFA has already made its first review and as a result returned the Leased B777 back to Jet Airways and confirmed a 20 A320 orders from Airbus with a delivery rate of one aircraft a month. A sticking point is the union that opposes any Bahrain nationals staff cuts. The union has thwarted several restructuring plans in the last 10 years.

Oman Air re-inventing itself?

Oman Air has lead the region with an new First, Business and Economy seating plus connectivity on their A330 fleet with a Thales IFE and Higher bandwidth SwiftBroadband platform to deliver GSM/GPRS and WLAN via OnAir., launching a new campaign of “The Change is Here” .

The LCC onslaught?

On the LCC front as Air Arabia launches its second international hub (Alexandria-Egypt) in 2010, it faces stiff competition from FlyDubai and a reemerging RAK Airways. In Kuwait Jazeera Airways departed form the LCC model and is offering Business Class similar to Bahrain Air.  This sector is facing competition not only from within but from other Legacy regional airlines.

These are a few of the issues facing the region’s airlines and promises an even more exciting year.

• Etihad Airways charging a second bag fee? Bad idea for a brand trying to establish itself
• Gulf Air and Kuwait Airways up for sale – do the brands stand a chance?
• Will the Dubai crises lead to a mega Emirates + Etihad airline brand?
• How airlines in the Middle East are enhancing brand value through their frequent flyer programs
• The future of Middle East Super-Airlines: Emirates and Etihad to merge, and Qatar to join an alliance

This is a cross-over article from Rohit Bhargava’s Influential Marketing Blog. When I read it, I couldn’t help but request for it to be posted here. His views resonate completely with mine and this is a perfect example of how authenticity is key in branding. Especially so in airline branding – because it’s so easy for the customer to switch if the brand expectations are not met. And in this case, United seems to be getting it wrong.  I’ve also commented on these previously, in my article entitled “Airlines, stop putting lipstick on a pig!” Meanwhile, enjoy Rohit’s ideas.

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Over the course of two days, I saw two stark examples of what could easily be considered the best and worst of airline advertising messages encompassed in two ads done for domestic US-based airlines. Let’s start with the worst from United:

What makes this ad so ineffective? First of all, the call to action to experience their first and business class has almost nothing to do with the visuals and storyline of the animated character. She could just as easily be in economy class. Or on another airline. And the last thing I want to think about is all the creatures in the sea when I’m on a transcontinental flight. If I’m lucky, I won’t see any – which means my plane stayed in the air where it belongs. The beautiful animated characters and music have little relevance to our lives and have been a random choice for as long as United has been running this campaign.

The choice of Gershwin for the music has become a signature for United and most consumers would recognize it as their “theme song” – but again there is no built in message or purpose for this beyond brand awareness. And as one of the largest airlines in the United States, I think it is safe to say that awareness isn’t really what United needs in the first place. Ultimately, as a United customer, I end up watching that ad and wondering to myself what else they chose not to spend money on so they could produce this ineffective message and buy expensive media time to show it (it first aired during the Beijing Olympics).

In contrast, here’s the Southwest ad:

What makes this ad so effective? The first reason is that it is topical. At a time when most domestic US airlines have started charging passengers to check their bags, Southwest is one of the few that has not done this. The ad smartly focuses on one attribute that actually DOES set Southwest apart from their competitors: that your bags fly for free. The execution of the ad is strong as well, featuring a man who is presumably a real baggage handler smiling and generally looking happy to be taking care of your bag. The voiceover humanizes your bag – noting at one point that your bag can even bring its “little bag friends” for free. I love my bag – so I respond to that message. Chances are, you do too. At the end of the ad is a simple, yet effective call to action to pack your bag and go on that trip that you might have been planning for some time, because you’ll save money with Southwest and your bag will fly for free.

Clearly the audiences for these two spots are different. Southwest is going for the leisure traveler on domestic travel while United is targeting the business and first class crowd for international travel. Yet their different approaches underscore the shift that is taking place in marketing today. The more authentic message focused on something people actually care about will trump the artistically created piece of fluff that lacks any strong insight or message any day.

The irony, perhaps, in this post is that because I live in the Washington DC area – I travel all the time with United and rarely on Southwest. In the past I have often pointed to United as the brand that I would most like to work with because they have such a clean slate of possibility. If they could rethink their entire approach to marketing, add more personality and use social media more effectively – they could completely reinvent people’s perception of their brand.

There are some early signs that this is starting to happen – including United starting a twitter account. What it truly needs is a vision from the highest level of marketing to rethink their advertising and pour more internal support into the nacent social media activities starting within the company that have such big potential but are likely underfunded and underappreciated. In case United is listening, drop me a line … as a loyal customer and hopeful marketer, I’d be happy to help.

• Are location-based services a blessing for the airline brand?
• The Point (or Secret) of Social Media for airlines
• Rohit Bhargava feels that United Airlines lacks a brand personality. Is he right?
• The day airlines’ Twitter accounts were hacked, and three steps to reverse the brand damage
• Southwest Airlines’ success secrets on social media revealed by Paula Berg

Note: This is a guest article by Darren Dunn

I love Fall weddings! The bustle of summer is gone and the holidays are still a distant thought. You can relax and enjoy the ceremony letting your thoughts turn to the blissful life ahead for the new couple. Even bridesmaid dresses look good against mesh of Fall colors in the background.

So why am I so disappointed about Continental taking their vows and joining the Star Alliance family on October 27th? It is the one time in my life I want to be the guy who stands up on a pew and shouts.. “Stop the Wedding”.

Star Alliance is clearly marrying up as Continental has the best product and service of all the major US carriers. Customers flying in on carriers such as Singapore and Air New Zealand can finally connect on a domestic Star Alliance Member (Continental) who knows that product, service, and accountability are the cornerstones of delivering on brand promise.

My chief concern about the pending union is the domestic company Continental will be keeping with United and USAir. I can’t imagine a greater disparity in service. I relayed my concerns to a Continental representative at a recent industry trade show to which they responded, “Well, we are hoping that our joining Star Alliance will help bring the level of service up on the other US partners.” Speaking from personal experience, if I had a dollar for every person I know that hoped their partner habits and quirks would change after the vows. I’d be a rich man. As a frequent traveler moving to a United hub, I pray this partnership will be the exception to the rule.

The good news for United customers is they will be able to use their status when flying on Continental. Premier members will find out all the things they are missing like automatic upgrades, the newest fleet of planes, and having your luggage be first off the plane. The commitment to excellence extends beyond the first class cabin to once extinct amenities like free meals at meal time, pillows, blankets, and direct TV. The brand promise begins at check-in, continues to the back of the plane, and onto the luggage carousel before you leave. Like the Virgin brands, they don’t forget their job is to create an exceptional experience.

Great brands create an emotional response and nothing creates emotions better than a wedding. With that in mind, a wise person once shared the following advice with me. “The most important thing to remember about a planning a wedding is that the Big Day isn’t about you. It’s about the people who are experiencing it with you. Focus on making the people comfortable and happy, yes even that embarrassing uncle.. and the day will be perfect.”

Darren Dunn is currently Director of Sales at WorldMate Inc. The World’s leading travel management application for smart phones. He has spent 13 years in the online marketing space working with destinations and travel suppliers around the globe. He flies about 150,000 + miles a year and appreciate airlines that are passionate about service and culture.

• Thoughts on the United and Continental merger – as quoted in the press
• Will a bloated Star Alliance result in a branding nightmare?
• Mexicana must understand that traditional rules of airline branding do not work any longer
• SimpliFlying in The Media: FinanceAsia, USA Today and Aviation Security International
• Conde Nast Traveler 2008 airline rankings prove that product is the brand

I had a great laugh watching this latest advertisement by Southwest Airlines. It’s the baggage handlers who take a dig at other airlines (they’ve even censored a United Airlines tail) who charge bags and don’t take good care of them. It’s a refreshing perspective from the tarmac, and I’m sure you’d enjoy it too.

Airline branding at its best! And no, they don’t break guitars.

• The Air New Zealand brand bares all – CEO and staff go nude in latest TV advertisement
• Airline Baggage Fees : The Airline Industry’s Financial Salvation?
• Tearing apart airline lingo, great laughs ahead
• Southwest vs. United: Why Authenticity Wins, Even In TV Advertising
• Three economics tips for airlines, and why a baggage charge does not make sense

I recently read in the news that Aeroflot Russian Airlines had sent their flight attendants to Singapore, for training in grooming and customer service, by Singapore Airlines. This, after holding a competition among 40 design agencies to refurbish their image, including new uniforms. I’ve personally taken four (not-very-memorable) flights on Aeroflot, and trust me, this comes as a pleasant surprise.

In Russia, airlines are often ridiculed for rickety planes, atrocious service, inedible food and constant delays. Moreover, airlines often started on the whim of a billionaire. But this seems to be changing. First, it was Siberian, which hired Landor to re-invent itself at S7 and now there’s Aeroflot trying to pull up its socks. But are these just exceptions, or the coming of age of the Russian aviation industry? Why not have an expert share with us?

In conversation with Stuart Barwood – Russian aviation expert

We had the opportunity to catch up with Stuart Barwood, the Commercial Director for Brolin Consulting. Formerly with easyJet, Stuart is now a Russian aviation expert who probably spends more time in Moscow than his home in the UK.

Watch the interview with Stuart (17:12 mins) to hear him explain:

• The massive untapped potential of the Russian market (1:30)
• The need for non-Russian managers (2:04)
• Why over-regulation is not always a good thing (3:55)
• Why crashes are a thing of the past (3:03)
• Why anything not “Made in Russia” has penalties (4.20)
• Not all Russian aircraft are bad, they just don’t have the leasing agreements (5:19)
• Which Russian airlines stand out (6:00)
• Why foreign investment may not rush into the Russian market (8:25)
• The biggest opportunity in the Russian market (9:40)
• The need for change with airport infrastructure (10:53)
• Why marketing is a “new science” in Russia and the dominance of charter carriers (12:12)
• Aeroflot on Twitter? 3D tours of the aircraft? Why? Why not? (14:46)

So, what do you think? Are Russian airlines pulling up their socks? Or is it all doom and gloom?Let’s discuss in the comments or over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

• SimpliFlying Associates: Bringing together the best brains in the world on airlines, branding and social media
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• Why time is running out for the Singapore Airlines brand to get into Web 2.0
• Etihad Airways charging a second bag fee? Bad idea for a brand trying to establish itself