***This is an article written and published from scratch at 35,000 ft, in-flight on Virgin America flight 342 from San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale. Made possible by Gogo Wifi. A first on SimpliFlying**

In a recent conversation with a South American airline executive, we were talking about the state of commercial airlines in the US. And the consensus we reached was that the travel experience  within the US is just bearable at best, often frustrating and most noteworthy innovations are actually taking place in other regions around the world.

Then I took my first Virgin America flight. And I stand corrected – innovation is indeed taking place in the US too. And in addition to just flying their own airlines regularly, I’d highly encourage every senior airline executive in the world to come give Virgin America a shot on their next trip to the US. And here’s why.

Red, White and Purple – ah..so..Virgin

Virgin America probably has the best in-flight product on a narrowbody aircraft (trust me…I’ve flown a lot of them). And the brand personality truly stands out!

The ambience: The number of innovations inside the cabin are astounding. The first thing that strikes you is the cabin ambience – purple lights and swanky music. This may be common on some interrnational airlines like Emirates, but is a rarity in the US domestically.

The IFE: The advanced IFE allows you to order food on-demand, watch movies on demand and chat with other passengers on the flight – and for things you need to pay for, you just swipe your credit card right in the IFE screen! It’s all very user friendly.

The seat: When I relaxed into my seat, it felt very comfortable. After checking Seatguru.com, I realized that they have one of the widest seat in a narrowbody aircraft… in the world… both in First Class and Main Cabin (Economy), and the seat pitch is generous too.

The Service: On the flight, I was served by Aladdin, his brother Mazen and Cheryl (see photos below). One has been flying for almost 20 years, another is a former lawyer! Mazen actually made the effort to pronounce my name right – which was impressive. Again – the personal touches made an impression.

At the airport: Even on the ground, there is a diffence. Only two airlines use the International Terminal for domestic flights from San Francisco – Virgin America, and JetBlue. Is it a surprise that they’re two of America’s favorite airlines? The good thing is that you can choose to relax in the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse (another world beater), which is at the same terminal.

In-flight connectivity = future of IFE

The biggest revelation has been the in-flight wifi made available thanks to Gogo in-flight. Now, I know that there are a number of airlines trying it out, but only Virgin America and AirTran have implemented it fleet-wide. And that I feel is a competitive advantage, until the others catch up.

I have shared my views in the past that the future of in-flight entertainment, especially for budget airlines, might mean providing a power outlet and a wifi connection. These are both enablers. They empower passengers to use their own devices the way they want to.

And after flying Virgin America today, I feel the future of IFE is indeed in-flight connectivity. For the first time, I did not feel “jailed” in a tube. I even Skyped my mom and showed her the view from my window!

Delivering on the brand eXpectations…

Now,  you’ve probably already heard a number of the things I’ve shared here about Virgin America. After all, it’s been over two years since the airline launched all of what I’ve just experiencedfor the first time today. But that also meant I had sky-high expectations of the airline.

The good news is that they not only met the brand eXpectations (remember, the whitepaper?), but exceeded them at times too. And that in itself is an achievement.

The Verdict

If you’re in the airline industry – you need to fly Virgin America (and soon) to get a glimse of what the future looks like. If you are living outside the US, make sure you fly Virgin America on a domestic route if possible – it will be a totally different experience.

And if you are living in the US, then come fly probably the best airline flying domestically in the US.

P.S: Special thanks to Bowen Payson from Virgin America for meeting me for coffee early in the morning at the airport!

• Richard Branson’s interview about Virgin America goes viral. But why?
• What makes Virgin America an outstanding airline brand? The delivery.
• Virgin America’s online community – bull’s eye, or a flop?
• Virgin America takes in-flight experience to a new level
• Top five branding insights from Virgin America

When it comes to airline branding, it’s the little things that happen at the various touch points that make the brand stand out, ultimately driving customer loyalty.

I flew from Mumbai to Delhi yesterday on Indigo Airlines, a leading domestic budget carrier in India, known for its tongue-in-cheek branding.

I have a habit of being engrossed in a book or a newspaper during the take-off and landing sequence on every flight I take. On the flight yesterday, once the safety demonstration was done, the stewardess walked down the aisle checking our seat-belts. As she passed me, she realized I was reading and reached out to turn on the reading light for me.

Let me write that again. Without even me asking her for anything, or even making eye contact with her (remember, I was engrossed in reading), she turned on my reading light, gave me a smile and walked away.

It was an aha-moment for me. Having taken over 20 flights in the last couple of weeks (including flying First Class), this was the only thing that stood out. Thanks to such a simple gesture, which made me feel special, I can say with confidence that I’ll be inclined to fly Indigo when I’m in India. Of course, they greet me by my name too, when serving food – as I wrote last year.

Driving customer loyalty isn’t that difficult after all, isn’t it? Just do the small things right. Great job, Indigo!

• Building a strong Indigo Airlines brand, and outlook for 2009
• Announcement: February will be “Indian Aviation Month”
• What makes Indigo Airlines one of the best budget carriers in India?
• How AirAsia is rocking it in India, and how airlines in India can leverage their entry
• SimpliFlying, in the news…and more!

In the last two months, I traveled on a dozen different airlines, in three continents. Each with a different loyalty program. And each just a difficult to understand for the so-called “elite” traveler. It seemed that while trying to please an ever-increasing variety of travelers, airlines were creating a veil of confusion before the traveler even signs up for the program.

So then, what should an ideal frequent flyer program look like to make it truly work for the airline brand? Taking inspiration from the best loyalty programs in the world, as well as my own observations from the two conferences in Miami I spoke at last week, here are some thoughts.

What would make me a loyal traveler with an airline?

1. Simplicity – How often do you know exactly what you can redeem from the points earned from your next flight? What if it was as simple as for every $1 spent, you will be able to redeem $0.01 off your next ticket or a partner purchase? I think keeping the earning-burning process as simple as possible would attract many more customers for the airline’s loyalty programs, than currently possible. I think Westjet’s new loyalty program s doing a good job at this.
2. Comparability – Most travelers these days are part of multiple loyalty programs. When I choose to be “loyal” to an airline, I would love it if at the time of booking, I’m shown how many miles I’d earn on that specific flight, as compared to the competing airlines (which I can choose), and what can I redeem those for? This would boost retention, because more customers would “stick” to your loyalty program, than others’. I’m yet to see an airline that does this well.
   



3. Extensibility of benefits to beyond the airport and the plane – Currently, benefits are concentrated in priority security lines at airports, airline lounges and optional upgrades in-flight. How about cultivating new touch-points in the travel life cycle where the elite travelers are pampered online and offline before even traveling. How about allowing them to earn points if they “check-in” on Foursquare at the airline office, or building a travel app like Lufthansa’s MySkyStatus that offer true value to the customer? Airlines like Qantas (screenshot above) and Etihad are venturing in this space.

So, what’s your favorite FFP and why? What would your ideal FFP would look like? One that can be offered by LCCs as well?  Let’s discuss in the comments or over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

• Five lessons from the most innovative loyalty programs in the world – Inspired from Loyalty 2010
• Top 10 branding insights from the best airline loyalty programs at the Freddies 2008
• Randy Petersen of Flyertalk on social media and frequent flyers – Part 2 of 2
• Are location-based services a blessing for the airline brand?
• What makes Alaska Airlines a lovable airline brand? In conversation with Greg Latimer

The Bombardier CSeries aircraft is probably the only thing that both Airbus and Boeing agree about – that it’s a real threat to their hold on the narrow-body jet market. Due to enter service in 2013, the CSeries will be the first new aircraft to be built since the Boeing 787, and will be flown by the likes of Swiss International Airlines and Republic Airways.

Probably because it’s the largest jet being built by Bombardier, which is well known for regional aircrafts like the Q400, there are lots of innovations both inside and outside the cabin. I was privileged to be led on a cabin tour of the aircraft mock-up at Bombardier HQ in Montreal, followed by an in-depth tour of the aircraft’s aeronautical capabilities, by Sam Cherry – a Director at Bombardier who knows the product inside-out. And for the first time one the web, SimpliFlying has videos of what would exclusively be shown to airlines when they’re making a purchase decision.

The following video is of the CSeries cabin tour, which highlights the key game-changing features in passenger comfort being introduced in the aircraft. A second video, which goes in depth about the aircraft’s operational details, is also available for serious aviation buffs.

Here are three key factors that I feel make the Bombardier cabin a game-changer when it comes to the passenger experience, and will help airlines build a competitive advantage.

The middle-seat syndrome would be history

Remember the Kevin Smith incident? Where he was booted off a Southwest Airlines plane for not being able to fit in the seat? Well, such instances might be history when the CSeries aircraft enters service. Due to its unique 5-abreast seating [2:30], two things happen.

1. There are fewer middle seats. Only 20% of the seats are middle-seats, as you’ll see in the video
2. The middle seats are actually wider [19"] and more comfortable than the rest of the seats

This brings me to a couple of interesting realizations. Since even good airlines run at around 80% load factor, that means most of the time, everyone in the plane will have an aisle or a window seat. Moreover, since the middle seat is wider, it might lead to some low cost carriers (Spirit?) to charge for the “privilege” of being seated in the wider middle-seat [4:00].

Better out-flight entertainment thanks to larger and more windows

The CSeries has 30% more windows than the normal narrow-body jet, which are 20% larger as well, bringing in a lot of light into the cabin and making it feel more spacious [5:18]. Moreover, the windows are intentionally positioned at the head level [4:50], giving a great view of the outside. The inside-out design [6:07] also makes the space at the shoulder level much greater [5:38]

Save on bag fees with larger baggage bins

We all know that most airlines now charge for checking-in bags. But the CSeries comes with overhead bins in the cabin so large that not only they can take more of our smaller standard cabin bags, but larger bags up to 23″. This will eliminate the need for many passengers to check-in bags, and save on fees as well [6:41].

I personally can’t wait to fly the CSeries and embrace the future of flying. What about you?

P.S: Special thanks to Bert Cruickshank and Genevieve Laverdure from Bombardier Commercial for arranging this exclusive visit for SimpliFlying.

• In-depth tour of Bombardier CSeries’ technical capabilities – specially for the aviation geek
• What makes the Boeing 787 Dreamliner a brand differentiator? Video tour
• SimpliFlying to organize world’s first tweetup on-board an airplane, at Singapore Airshow 2010
• Latest photos: Inside the Boeing 787 Dreamliner cabin!
• Which airline has the best First Class product?

Yesterday, Mary Kirby of the RunwayGirl fame told me on Twitter that our previous discussions on iPad being used as an in-flight entertainment system are being realized rather soon. Around the same time, I received a guest post about the future of personal wireless IFEs in airplanes. And couldn’t help post it here immediately.

This guest post is written by Toms Purgailis, who is a student from Riga, Latvia interested in all modes of transport and synergies between transport and land use. He runs blog www.rigmobility.blogspot.com about transport and planning issues in the Baltic states.
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This post is inspired by Shashank’s Can the Apple iPad revolutionize the way airlines do business? and aims to take a step further. I want to share my ideas how to benefit from passenger’s devices and their content, save weight and cash.

A big part of travelers bring their laptops and smart-phones with them on-board for ground activities but use airline’s provided in-flight entertainment system (IFE) to kill the time during flight. No-brainer that such a system is not the most effective as hundreds of gadgets just lay somewhere in bags during the flight.

A simple (and very effective) solution would be to provide absolutely none entertainment system and push the costumers to use their own pre-loaded media. This makes no headache for airline and involves absolutely all media players onboard – from mp3 players to high-power laptops. But let’s see how efficient IFE system we can build by connecting the gadgets.

IFE Display – Bring Your Own

Looking from hardware’s perspective – the doubling of devices (private and airline’s offered) must be eliminated. Installing wireless intranet can give an easy access to onboard server for part of the passengers’ devices. The array of personal screens and kilometers of wiring than could be dropped and the precious kilograms – saved. Airlines then could rent appropriate portable devices to those who don’t have any and get some additional revenue. Connection to the Internet is optional but – once installed – can actually substitute the onboard media server if provided speed is high enough to watch movies online. A problem for laptop use is low batteries that can cut the movie in the most exciting moment but – if the airline is willing to invest in the aircrafts – power sockets would fix the problem.

Sharing the Multimedia

Passengers’ devices most probably contain gigabytes of legally and illegally obtained media, but how to make it accessible to everyone onboard? Copying using flash drives is one solution – slow and limited but makes people socializing and more important – is absolutely untraceable and usually considered as legal. More advanced and convenient system can be built sending the data trough the wireless connection but right now it is tricky to bring it within legal frames. I see that direct sending of files to specific users (like an e-mail) can replace copying from flash drives and could be considered more or less legal. If the concept of passenger-provided content works, two goals will be reached – the media costs will be cut and content will be more current. Airline can make the system more stable and predictable by uploading some less dynamic media which is accessible for everyone onboard regardless of the offers from other travelers.

IFE systems – especially the personal seatback ones – so far have been considered as a matter of prestige for some airlines and most likely won’t be dumped. This make the concept of wireless based and costumer powered IFE more suitable to LCC, particularly the long-haul ones.

• Love airlines just as much as branding and social media? Would you like to write a guest post for SimpliFlying?
• Can the Apple iPad revolutionize the way airlines do business? Hell yeah! (Plus: how you can get a promotion)
• Five Imperatives For Your Airline’s Social Media Policy
• Singapore Airlines, still a great way to fly? A brand analysis
• Must-have elements for your airline’s or airport’s social media policy

I have received an enthusiastic response to my article written late last week, about why the social “we”b is about the real-world relationships, just as much as it is about online interaction. In that, I recollected how the best side-effect of Twitter has been the number of highly talented individuals I’ve been able to meet around the world.

I’ve got a bunch of emails, tweets and comments over the last couple of days asking me how this observation applies to airlines. Firstly, let me address why airlines need to have real-world interaction with their online “fans”.

Why is real-world interaction needed to complement social media engagement?

Online interaction is good, because it allows the airline to connect with a lot of people across geographies, and allows those people to connect among themselves too.

Where online engagement falls short is often the creation of a long-lasting emotional bond, which comes only through real-life meetings. Imagine a Facebook fan of an airline, who has never flown them before, but has always taken part in online contests or discussions. Wouldn’t the relationship be cemented only if he flies that airline at least once? Or if he gets to meet in person with some of the people behind the airline? Or be invited to an event organized by the airline? The chances of turning a loyal online fan into a loyal customer increase dramatically when real-world interaction complements online engagement.

So, how can airlines foster real-world interaction?

Here are 10 simple-to-execute ideas, that work

1. Organize a Tweet-up – It’s as simple as sending out a Tweet, or going to http://twitvite.com/ to create an event for your followers. If your airline doesn’t have a Twitter account, then create a Facebook event and invite your fans to hang out together. The value you’re offering is to connect them with one another in the real-world. The benefits of such events can be far beyond expected, as we experienced with the Bombardier Tweetup on-board a Q400 at the Singapore Airshow 2010.
2. Translate ideas sought online into real-world action – Full fledged ideation communities are popular with brands. Starbucks is famous for My Starbucks idea, Dell has Dell Ideastorm. Airlines need not do something as extensive – but anything that gives their customers and online fans a sense of ownership of the brand can do wonders. AirTran very successfully introduced wifi on all its flights after running a competition on Everyflight.com. More recently, airBaltic [Disclosure: SimpliFlying client] painted the flags of the EU nations on its planes after seeking suggestions on its Facebook page.
3. Invite your online fans to your facilities – AirAsia ran a competition on their blog last year, where the winners would get to come down to their training center in Kuala Lumpur. The event generated a lot of excitement among the fans, who got to check out what goes on behind the scenes – certainly fostering stronger bonds with the brands.
4. Have a gathering in each of your major cities – Alaska Airlines is very good at organizing such meetups, especially with their loyal fans and frequent fliers. I’ve been to one of them myself, in Seattle, and it was a revelation. These meetings really help!
5. Get senior executives to have candid conversations with fans, online and offline – Malaysia Airlines did a fascinating job when it got its CEO, Idris Jala, to meet with some of the selected Facebook fans from the airline’s Fanpage. And the event ended with Mr Jala playing a song on the guitar, himself. That connection was hard to achieve otherwise, and made the “CEO of an airline”, very human. It helps bridge the gap.
6. Complement new route-openings with online events tied with offline ones – Southwest Airlines opened up a cafe in New York’s Bryant Park, to commemorate opening its flights to LaGuardia! And for the launch, they invited again – their Facebook fans and Twitter followers. I was there as well, and it was the first time I interacted with so many Southwest “fans”. Feels good to be part of the family
7. Recognize your most loyal online fans – Just like FourSquare Mayors get free coffee at certain cafes. Boston Logan Airport sent me a black hat with the words “I’m a followers of @bostonlogan”. And what did I do? And I told everyone about it on Twitter and even posted up a photo. “Real love” always helps spread the brand further.



8. Drive awareness about your online efforts, in-flight – I’ve always believed that airlines have that unique advantage that few other brands have – they hold their customer captive for long periods of time. Brand engagement in an airline’s case is much longer – in-flight, and this can be leveraged upon, for interacting with the customers at a new level. How about giving your Facebook fans free on-board wifi-access? Or giving your Twitter followers priority boarding on their birthdays? Little gestures can go far. Very far.

So, what do you think? How crucial is real-world interaction in making airlines’ social media strategy a success? Do you have examples to share? Let’s here it in the comments and on Twitter (@simpliflying)

• Three ways the Cathay Pacific brand can come alive by infusing social media into the People site
• The Point (or Secret) of Social Media for airlines
• #FollowFriday realization: It’s about real-world relationships, stupid! That’s what the social “we”b is about
• Alaska Airlines’ brand strategy on Twitter, revealed by Elliot Pesut in exclusive interview
• Airlines on Second Life – 5 ways to dramatically increase brand value

This wasn’t just the Easter weekend, it was also the weekend when the iPad hit the stores. Before I could get over the initial frenzy, I saw an article on Mashable that talked about a university buying iPads for all its incoming freshmen! That bold idea got me thinking…does the iPad have the potential of chancing the way airlines do business too?

In fact, there’s been ample debate already, with the queen of in-flight entertainment (IFE), Mary Kirby, concluding that it’s a fad, even as the CIO of JetStar, Stephen Tame was quoted as saying that the iPad “may lead in the future the end of airline in-flight entertainment systems”.

Why does the iPad matter for airlines?

It matters because no longer are mobile devices limited to small screens only centimeters wide, with the iPad. Combine that with the advent of in-flight wifi and we’re talking business.

I’m not talking about every passenger carrying on-board an iPad. That’s probably not possible. At least not very soon, and not across nations. What I’m suggesting is that it might be a good idea for airlines that do not have personal in-flight entertainment systems installed, to consider buying iPads to rent them out to the passengers.

iPad re-defining in-flight entertainment – both for legacy and budget airlines

Imagine sitting in the middle seat of a Boeing 747 for 11 hours from Los Angeles to London, with no personal IFE? Sounds archaic right? But a lot of leading airlines like KLM, Iberia, American and United still do not have personal IFE and I do not foresee them equipping their planes with one, until the new planes arrive. Which is still some years away. Offering the iPad option in these flights can be a competitive advantage for  legacy airlines.

For budget airlines around the world, most of which have a new narrow-body fleet, which is not equipped with IFE. These stand to benefit the most from the iPad. Just buy some, and start renting them out!

Airlines that do this have the potential of skipping a generation of IFE systems, and do away with the installation, wiring and maintainence of these systems. Think about the cost savings from less fuel-burn due to the lack of “installed weight” carried during each take-off and landing. That in itself can amount to millions per year in savings, per plane!

How to keep content fresh for iPad IFEs? Think ancillary!

I know one of the key aspects of IFE is having fresh content. And most airlines with a good IFE system update their content at least once a month now. How does that happen for the iPad?

For starters, I personally think that by the time an airline starts offering iPads to its customers, it would already have its planes wifi-equipped. And then, airlines can offer syndicated content on the iPads over wifi. If this seems to cumbersome, or if it slows down how about allowing passengers to pre-book pen-drives with the latest content? May be they can even customize the content. So when they board the plane, they’re given an iPad along with the pen-drive with their customized content. And all this can drive revenue too.

Budget airlines can have offers to rent the iPad + wifi + power outlet, or iPad + Content on pen-drive, or the whole package. This can range anywhere from $19 for short haul flights, to $49 for long-haul. Legacy carriers can include some of these as freebies for frequent fliers and Premium travelers, and charge for the rest. Makes sense, right?

iPad for check-in!

Another good use for the iPad is for check-in! How about doing away with all the e-check-in kiosks and just having iPads plugged into power outlets, for checking-in passengers? May be roving “queue-busters” can personally approach passengers lining up with iPads, to speed up the process. This is something similar to what Indigo Airlines already does.

If this sounds too far-fetched, then how about just the fact that with the iPad, more passengers will be able to use a mobile boarding pass, and not a paper one.  This is something major airlines like Continental and Lufthansa already do, so the barrier to adoption is reduced.

iPad for the pilots and ground staff

Lastly, another use for the iPads in airlines is behind-the-scenes. As the Tweet from Pluna’s GM below shows, thick manuals can be eliminated from the cockpit and replaced with iPads. This is especially true for airlines that don’t already use e-flightbag in their cockpits. Again, a leap ahead of time. And even the ground-staff can be equipped with iPads, from check-in counters to boarding gates. Eliminating the need for fixed kiosks.

How to get started? (and get a promotion)

Work for an airline? Now that you know of some ideas on how the iPad can help airlines, why don’t you use these to go get a promotion? I’m serious!

If you’re an Apple-lover working for an airline, how about putting a 4 page business plan together, entitled, “How the iPad can help our airline save $XMn and make $Xx Mn, per day!” Just split all the cost-side and the revenue-side aspects discussed above and put some numbers behind them, and present it to you boss and senior management.

It’s not as difficult as it sounds. For example, for the cost-side, figure out how much fuel it takes per additional ton of weight, per flight. Then multiply that by the approximate additional weight of IFE systems and wiring, which can be removed if the iPads come into play. And that’s your cost saving per plane, per take-off and landing. Multiply that by the number of rotations the plane does per day, and wallah – you have your magical number!

If you’re the first to present this plan to your airline, and it gets adopted, don’t you think you’ll be promoted to lead the project? Or at least play a strong role in it?

In conclusion, I don’t think iPad will replace IFE, or kill IFE, but be a strong complement, with a number of airlines just going iPad-only. Frankly, I can’t wait to board the first iPad-ified airline. It will not only be a competitive advantage, but it’ll also be something that makes+saves money, and make that airline the coolest brand in the world.

What do you think? Is the iPad a fad? Or does it have any real potential to challenge traditional IFEs? Let’s here it in the comments and on Twitter (@simpliflying)

• The Future of Personal Wireless IFE – in the age of the iPad
• Low cost airline brands get creative with ancillary revenues – lounges, shops and cargo!
• Five reasons why budget airlines in Asia are successful
• Why every visionary airline executive needs to fly Virgin America this year – to get a glimpse of the future
• Virgin America’s online community – bull’s eye, or a flop?

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

Did you ever know where the black box is located on a plane? Did you know what A.P.U stands for? Probably not, unless you’re a geek. Kulula Airlines of South Africa, which is known for its quirky branding, has come up with a solution – an airplane painted with facts about…the plane itself!

Now here’s one plane that’s bound the become the kids’ favorite. In fact, I bet that adults would be intrigued too. I’d let the pictures do the talking, and you be the judge.

• Kulula.com lures South Africans with authentic advertising
• Kulula Airlines – the most “fun” airline brand in the world?
• Have you flown the NEW Air India yet? I have. Here is my brand experience from Toronto to London Heathrow.
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So you and your team have been driving social media strategy at your airline or airport for over six months. You’ve managed to get over 5,000 fans on Facebook, you Tweet regularly, may be even have an iPhone app and have a ton of proposals already in mind to implement. Awesome! Now, what?

You do realize that it’s the in-flight experience that makes or breaks a customer relationship, right? How do you make their in-flight experience an unforgettable one using social media? And then how do you get them to talk about it? Well, here are 5 ways to do that:

1. Use a unique Hashtag for the flight

Aim: Improve customer experience

Why not include a hashtag for each flight number with the booking confirmation? It can be something simple, such as #0311JB1263 (March 11th, Jet Blue flight #1263). That way, when people send a tweet saying they just booked a flight, or are heading to the airport, they use that hashtag, and then can search for others using the same hashtag. Passengers can make their own arrangements to meet up at the gate, share a cab to the airport, or chat during the flight. They will feel much more connected to fellow travelers, if they would like to be.

2. Give freebies to those to “talk” about you

Objective: Increase word of mouth, improve customer experience

In order to encourage passengers to talk about your airline, you can run a small promotion before take-off. If they tweet or update their Facebook status and include your airline name, they will win one of 5 drinks being awarded, or pillows, or blankets – whatever you’d otherwise charge for. In order to be eligible, they must use your Twitter handle or “tag” you in their Facebook update. Winners will be selected at random before the flight takes off, so that electronics are still in use, and the drink can be awarded during flight.

3. Seating Charts with Twitter IDs

Objective: Increase word of mouth, improve customer experience

Why not give passengers the ability to see fellow passengers’ Twitter IDs when selecting their seats when booking or during checkin?  They may choose to sit near (or avoid!) someone based on their profile or tweets.  For those who like to network, this will increase their opportunity to do so.  And, most assuredly, they will tweet about the experience, giving you more word of mouth.

Note: Obviously this would need to be an opt-in service, which could be accomplished easily using Twitter’s OAuth system. Or if you want to avoid the trouble, just add in a field in the booking path, asking the passenger for his Twitter id

4. In-flight chat rooms if you have wi-fi on-board

Objective: Improve customer experience

Why not set up a chat room for Twitter users using TweetChat so they can chat during flight.  Not only will this give them something to do, and interact with other passengers, but you will undoubtedly get some marketing research at the same time.  They’ll talk about the food, the seats, the flight attendants, etc.  You can also set up a private chat room through Facebook, but that will take more technical expertise.

5. “Check-in” on FourSquare, not just onto the flight

Objective: Increase word of mouth, improve customer experience

Location based services, such as FourSquare, Gowalla and MyTown are the latest craze in social media.  Users “check-in” at stores, buildings, offices when they arrive.  Why not offer a bonus for checking in at your airline with one of these services?  Maybe advanced seating, a free drink free headphones or wireless access.

What other ideas do you have to improve customer experience using social media? Let’s hear them out

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