SimpliFlying

Image by James Cridland via Flickr

When compared with other airlines in the region and around the world, Singapore Airlines (SIA) is by far one of the best in terms of product and service. The multitude of travel industry awards over the years is proof of this fact. But things can get contentious when SIA is compared against itself, over time and across products. Let me share a personal experience, and you be the judge.

Impeccable service, differing products

Since Singapore Airlines has converted their non-stop flight from Newark to Singapore to an all business-class configuration, I instead took their other flight from JFK to Singapore, via Frankfurt earlier this month. Upon boarding SQ26 from JFK, I wanted to charge my laptop, but realized that there were no power points in Economy on board the 747 aircraft, as was the case in my previous flights on the A340 aircraft. Moreover, the in-flight entertainment (IFE) system did not work for my whole row throughout the flight from JFK-SIN. Having only flown the Executive Economy from EWR-SIN on all my prior flights from New York to Singapore, this came as a surprise.

A week later, on my flight from Brisbane, Australia to Singapore, the IFE was not even on-demand, with no personal movie controls. Ironically, the Krisworld magazine page demonstrating the IFE functions showed the passenger how to pause and play the movies (see picture below). This caused much confusion among the passengers near me, as they kept requesting the stewardesses for help. Being SIA Girls, they helped as much as they could. The in-flight service was impeccable as usual.

The important question here is what, if any, efforts were made to set the right expectations among the passengers prior to the flight, to minimize confusion or even disappointment? Furthermore, how was the feedback gathered and acted upon?

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Image by msmail via Flickr

Some of us have jobs important enough to fly business class frequently. Are the rest of us destined to be packed into cattle class unless we pay an arm and a leg for business? Not really, even when it is generally getting more difficult to earn and claim Frequent Flier miles.

But frequent fliers are often pampered by the airlines in a variety of ways. So why not try out a few interesting techniques to be taken good care of in the air? Here are five ways the clever people earn and use their miles, especially for upgrades.

1. Just Fly It!

The fastest way to earn an upgrade is to earn miles, especially if you fly frequently. A return trip from Singapore to New York on Singapore Airlines economy class generates nearly about 20,000 miles, not far from the 30,000 miles needed for a one way business class upgrade, or a free economy ticket to Hong Kong. Stick to one major airline, or network such Star Alliance or One World. Do take note that super discounted fares may appear attractive but do not usually qualify for miles accruing.

2. Splurge on Regional, upgrade on International

Passengers may want to consider paying to fly premium on regional routes and using miles to upgrade on international routes. This is simply because the costs are so much more manageable. The actual price difference between an economy and business ticket begin to widen with trip distance. Yet flying comfortably is so much more important on long hauls. Splurging on regional and upgrading on international reduces costs substantially. However, this would not work if the majority of the sectors that the passenger is intending to fly are long haul.

3. Swipe your way to an upgrade

Co-branded credit cards are common and available across the globe for major airlines. Singapore Airline’s most premium credit card, the American Express Singapore Airlines PPS Club Platinum card, earns a mile for every dollar spent. To earn a trip from Singapore to Hong Kong, the card holder would have to spend S$30,000 for a return ticket on economy class. While credit cards can be useful to top up that few thousand miles that you need for your next Business ticket, depending on credit card alone for a fee ticket, or even an upgrade could take ages.

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Airlines often showcase their First Class products to set themselves apart, and attract masses’ attention. After all, it provides great brand leverage, as many people aspire to get there one day and fly First. But First Class is either a dying flying style, or has gotten more exclusive than ever before, depending on how one looks at it. With the relentless piling of more luxury and space to the in-demand and lucrative business class, a number of airlines have done away with First Class on many routes. This article hunts the remaining First Class products where the very best is offered to the most privileged. First Class provides the passengers with what is the scarcest, and thus most exclusive, on-board an aircraft – Privacy, Space and Novelty.

Emirates Airlines First Class

First available on its A340-500, Emirates’ suites presented a novel idea of flying – enclosing the passenger with a door to create ultimate privacy. Although the seat is smaller and narrower compared to the newer SIA’s suites, Emirates’ suites are more elaborately furnished and still one of the world’s finest way to fly. Emirates wins my applause in providing showers for First Class passengers on-board their A380. Safety issues aside, I cannot recall how many times I had wanted a shower on a long flight before I settle down to sleep. A novelty with a strong dose of practicality – one of the few things rarely seen from Emirates in these days. Privacy: 9/10, Space: 7/10, Novelty: 9/10

Smaller but very tastefully decorated private suites on Emirates

Singapore Airlines First Class Suites

Available only on the A380, the Singapore Airlines Suites are slightly wider and larger than Emirates’, the pioneer to a room-suite seating concept on a major commercial airline. The 35in-wide seat transforms into a 27in by 78in bed. The ultra rich can opt to book one of the two pairs of adjacent suites and transform a pair of suites into a huge room with a double bed. The doors, however, are translucent and do not extend to the ceiling.  Privacy: 8/10, Space: 9/10, Novelty: 9/10

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Qantas became the third airline to take delivery of the Airbus A380 aircraft last Friday, after Singapore Airlines and Emirates. Qantas has ordered 20 A380 planes from Airbus, the first of which will enter service from October 20, initially flying between Sydney/Melbourne and Los Angeles but in January next year expanding to the Sydney-Singapore and Sydney-London routes. But the fanfare and buzz is nothing close to that generated by Singapore Airlines’ first A380 flight to Sydney or Emirates’ A380 flight to New York City.

Given the significance of being one of the first few airlines to operate the Airbus A380, and since it will once be the 2nd largest operator of the A380, it’s a mystery why Qantas has not capitalized on this event to build its brand further. Moreover, given the recent negative press generated by the string of Qantas safety lapses, there is an urgent need to repair the damage done.

How did Qantas miss this golden opportunity?

1. Lack of radical product innovation: The four classes Qantas product for the A380 are not a radical improvement from its existing fleet of wide body planes. Moreover, the peculiar seat color choices make the cabin look dull. This, as opposed to the double-bed suites introduced by Singapore Airlines for First Class, and showers as well as a bar introduced by Emirates for First and Business Class, in their A380 planes. Both of these airlines took full advantage of these product innovations and marketed themselves well – rightly so.
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   Tags: A380, Airbus, Airbus A380, Emirates Airline, Qantas, Singapore Airline
   

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It is always good to learn from the best - and when you think of the most memorable brands in the world, Starbucks ranks right at the top. Like Ritz-Carlton, Starbucks can offer key lessons in branding to airlines, many of which often don’t cost a lot to implement and can create great leverage for the brand.

What does the brand stand for?

In his book, A New Brand World, Scott Bedbury - the former Chief Marketing Officer of Starbucks - details how he personally led the creation of the formidable Starbucks brand. This is how he explains the Starbucks core identity.

“The Starbucks brand’s core identity is less about engineering a great cup of coffee than about providing a great coffee experience….the Starbucks brand is about what Abraham Maslow might have called the coffee “gestalt” - the atmospherics.”

Similarly, airlines need to understand that they’re not in the business of just transporting people point A to point B. Even freight companies like Fedex and UPS talk about principles like on-time delivery, rather than transportation. The first thing airlines need to realize is they will only survive in the long term if they deliver a decent pleasant flying experience - after all, passengers can be on-board the plane anywhere from one hour to twenty two hours (I’ve been on one!). As it is, going through security and immigration before getting on the plane is extremely stressful. They need to feel cared for and enjoy the in-flight experience.

Airlines like JetBlue in the US do it well, with their on-board amenities and convey the message across well too, with their “Flying - That’s why we created Jetting” campaign. Just like Starbucks, it talks about delivering an experience, and not so much the basics of transportation. Singapore Airlines talks about bringing back the “romance of flying” - which is indeed becoming a novelty these days. Simply put, these airlines know what their core brand identity is, and work to deliver an experience that is consistent with it.

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This is a touching letter, from a flight attendant’s perspective, which was first published on Airliners.net. We felt compelled to share it.

To the Flying Public: We’re sorry

We’re sorry we have no pillows.
We’re sorry we’re out of blankets.
We’re sorry the airplane is too cold.
We’re sorry the airplane is too hot.
0AWe’re sorry the overhead bins are full.
We’re sorry we have no closet space for your oversized bag.
We’re sorry that’s not the seat you wanted.
We’re sorry there’s a restless toddler/overweight/offensive smelling passenger seated next to you.
We’re sorry the plane is full and there are no other seats available.
We’re sorry you didn’t get your upgrade.
We’re sorry that guy makes you uncomfortable because he “looks like a terrorist”.
We’re sorry there’s a thunderstorm and we can’t take off.
We’re sorry we don’t know when it will stop.
We’re sorry you’re crammed into a space so small that if you were an animal PETA would protest.
We’re sorry our plane has no music or video entertainment for your 3 hour flight.
We’re sorry we ran out of your favorite soda.
We’re sorry there are no more sandwiches.
We’re sorry that Budweiser costs $6.
We’re sorry we don’t have diapers for your baby.
We’re sorry we don’t have milk for same baby.
We’re sorry you can’t hang out by the cockpit door waiting to use the bathroom.
We’re sorry you can’t hang out at the back of the airplane.
We’re sorry you have to sit down and fasten your seatbelt.
We’re sorry you have to put your seat up for landing.
We’re sorry we don’t know when we’re going to land.
We’re sorry we don’t know whether your plane to (substitute any city in the world) will be waiting for you when we land.
We’re sorry we’ve been diverted because we ran out of gas waiting to land.
We’re sorry for these and so many other things that we have absolutely no control over but which we are held accountable for EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Please understand. Flight attendants are not the enemy. We share your space. More than anyone - we want to have a nice, pleasant travel experience.
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A Virgin America boarding pass

In a recent blog post, Cam Beck at MarkeringProfs.com mentioned that he had attended a workshop by Stephen Anderson and Travis Isaacs on effectively organizing information. The result of that class was an airline ticket redesign Cam and friends did, as shown below. Cam went on to suggest in his article that once unnecessary information has been removed, there enough space for a special offer for the passenger too! Personally, I feel the both the re-designs below are an immense improvement from the existing ticket designs. So how can these better designed tickets help increase brand affinity? Read the rest of this entry »

August 1, 2008 is bound to go down as a special day in aviation history. It was the first time the world’s largest passenger jetliner, the Airbus A380, started regular passenger service to the US. It all happened at the JFK Airport in New York City, and we were there to catch it Live!

These are the photos and videos taken Live! at JFK Airport . More analysis coming soon.

Emirates A380 gets a water canon salute at JFK Airport - a historic moment

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When airlines across the world are cringing due to rising costs and reacting in a knee-jerk manner, hurting both employees and customers, Air New Zealand (ANZ) has taken a bold step in customer service practices and introduced an in-flight concierge on board. The concierges will commence their new roles flying the airline’s London to Los Angeles route, and later operate on flights out of New Zealand. The concierges will be providing a range of services, from travel advice to assistance with onward bookings, to all Air New Zealand’s passengers in the plane, regardless of the class they are in. They will be dedicated to assisting customers with questions and will have no additional roles.

Great for customer retention

This initiative by ANZ is worth a standing ovation. It reflects tough adherence to company standards, even in times of crises. It is such distinguishing services that will make the customer feel the center of the universe – a key to success in service industries. Hotels like Ritz-Carlton to a great job at doing this, and now ANZ might possibly achieve that too. This initiative would be great not only for retaining customers but also win over new ones from competition.

Clear brand leadership

Providing a level of personal service that regular in-flight attendants at other airlines may find it difficult to match, ANZ is taking service to a new level. They are perfectly applying lessons from Blue Ocean Strategy, which talks about fighting the competition on a new plane, on your own terms. If ANZ executes well on what’s touted as their “walking wikipedia”, they would have led the way in building a strong brand, by providing unmatched levels of customer service, on board their flights. Such leadership is what paves the way for a Brand X-Factor – something that puts an airline in a class of its own.

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Most airlines are squarely putting the blame for their woes today on fuel costs. Many are doing everything they can to cut costs by removing any little amenities they offered to passengers - from pretzels to in-flight video - and starting to nickel and dime them for any remaining amenities. But it is in times like these that airlines that take care of the customer - even relatively better care - will stand to gain not just a profitability edge over their competitors but also brand loyalty.

Given the circumstances, why not learn from the best in the hospitality business – The Ritz-Carlton hotel group. Not only is Ritz-Carlton known for service excellence, looking closely at their service credo and mission, you’ll realize that most of what makes them admirable doesn’t cost a bomb.

The best customer service in the world is free!

All Ritz-Carlton staff carry a laminated card in their pockets, which has on it the company motto, “Three steps of Service” and “The Employee Promise”. Contrary to the usually hard-to-decipher corporate speak, these are actually very easy to follow and implement. Even if airlines adopt the Ritz-Carlton credo, “We’re ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen”, their service would improve by leaps and bounds. Simply put, treating customers and peers with utmost respect (like ladies and gentlemen) will create an uplifting experience for everyone.

After treating everyone with respect, if airline staff can incorporate Ritz-Carlton’s “Three steps of service” into their daily routines, they would be winning many more hearts. The first is using a personal, warm and sincere greeting. This really does wonders. Anticipating and addressing guest needs leaves an indelible impression on the customers’ minds for a long time. Lastly, giving them a personalized, warm farewell will ensure that they remember their last moments on the flight with a smile.

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