RyanAir has a new lounge at Stansted. And it’s for real!

RyanAir is known for being creative about ancillary revenues. We all know about the much-discussed toilet charge. But did you know that RyanAir has recently opened a new lounge at Stansted Airport? For under 18 bucks, you get breakfast, wifi, sofas and even showers before you board your flight. And the lounge has received some rave reviews as well.

Now this is a sort of service I’m sure many wouldn’t mind paying for – because it’s value-added charges, not charges for un-bundling, as is generally the case.

AirAsia has a shop in a mall in KL

Forget about in-flight shopping – that’s old school and increases the aircraft’s weight. AirAsia now has not one, but two “kiosks” in Kuala Lumpur. One is at the LCCT itself, and a new one has come up at Pavillion Mall. They promise even more outlets soon! Here, you can buy AirAsia merchandise like plane models, t-shirts and even hand-bags.

I wonder what’s next for AirAsia – a restaurant in downtown Kuala Lumpur serving their legandary teh tarik and Nasi Lemak? You can’t rule anything out.

Tiger Airways and Kingfisher go big on cargo

After skirting the issue for many months, a number of airlines are entering the cargo space to drive up non-passenger revenue. Tiger Airways in Singapore is testing the cargo service on a number of South East Asian routes. Kingfisher from India has gone all the way and started a separate cargo division!

But aren’t cargo levels still very low? Isn’t that still a loss-making operation for legacy airlines? Well, it seems that re-bound is near. Tiger Airways went on record to say that they’re adding this function specifically to drive ancillary revenues.

Rosalynn Tay, managing director, Tiger Airways Singapore, said: “We have just started our cargo trials and the reason for that is it is … an ancillary revenue stream, plus it helps us to optimise our profitability and aircraft utilisation.

Why creativity is good?

So what’s common about the three new methods of generating ancillary revenues that I mentioned? The passenger doesn’t need to pay more for something he was already getting. Most of the services being offered are value-added. They bring revenue for the airline, without inconveniencing the passengers.  And that means the brand is not affected negatively.

If anything, the passengers will be pleased, like with the RyanAir lounge at Stansted and the AirAsia shop in the KL mall. And that only helps the brand impression.

What do you think? Will this work? What are some other examples of airlines getting creative in trying to drive revenue, yet not hurting customer sentiment? Let’s discuss in the comments section, and over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

I’ve been a guest writer for Mashable.com for a few months now, and my latest article was about how airlines can drive revenue from social media. Those of you who’ve attended my keynote presentation (view slides) on the topic know that I classify this as the holy grail for airlines – something not many have been able to achieve, and there are no “numbers” released from airlines on their social media efforts either.

This article seeks inspiration from the likes of Dell, who made $6.4million for selling on Twitter, and applies the lessons to airlines.  Here’s a quick summary of the article and you can read the full version over at Mashable.

1. Clear distressed inventory using real-time mediums like Twitter, e.g. JetBlue Cheeps and United Twares
2. Integrate independent social media reviews in the booking path – to boost conversion
3. Integrate with social media travel tools like TripIt – Leverage on the loads of travel information publicly available, like travel plans, to send specific deals to people
4. Create private online communities – exclusive “velvet-rope” clubs of your most valued customers who’re active on social media
5. Build relationships. Don’t just think profits. Think conversations and give free love. They’ll love you back, like Lufthansa’s MySkyStatus.com

So, what do you think? Can airlines actually drive revenue from social media? Do you know of any success stories? We’d love to hear. Let’s discuss in the comments section, and on Twitter (@simpliflying)

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.

So you’ve got a sizeable social media presence for your airline over the past year. And now, the employees are starting to participate too. But there’s a constant tug of war, between Legal, Corp. Comms and Marketing – on how employees should and shouldn’t participate in social media. The solution? An airline-wide social media policy. What is a social media policy, you ask?  Basically, it addresses the concerns that many airlines have when getting started in social media… What if an employee says something they shouldn’t?  How do we respond to passenger complaints and compliments?  How can we possibly control …

AIRSHOW-Quiet Singapore Airshow ends with fewer deals 5 Feb’10 || Reuters || Aviation India || Indian Business News Update … “It was disappointing, no commercial (aircraft) deals, everything was on MROs (maintenance, repair and overhaul). People even thought last year’s Dubai Airshow was disappointing,” said aviation analyst Shashank Nigam, who writes a blog on the industry… read more   S’pore Airshow 2010 sees US$10b in deals, down 23% from 2008 show 5 Feb’10 || Channel News Asia … Shashank Nigam, CEO, SimpliFlying, said: “I don’t think we should read too much into the numbers …

For those who don’t follow aviation closely, the world’s third biggest airshow is taking place in Singapore right now. And there’re a number of things different about it. For one, there are no big plane orders expected, which is normally the most common at airshows. Also, unexpectedly, there’s a ton of social media infused into the happenings, which makes the airshow really hot. Here’s why. Journalism on steroids, powered by Social Media Generally at airshows, you get “daily digests” – thick printed booklets with a summary of all the happenings of the previous days at the airshow. This time FlightGlobal’s …

This is an awesome week for SimpliFlying: The Airshow social media campaign has been going very well and I’ve been featured on CNBC, Channel NewsAsia and a host of other media outlets, as far as Latvia! Amidst all the airshow excitement, SimpliFlying was announced as the world’s second best aviation blog by Reed Business Information’s head of Blogging, Adam Tinworth and Vice President Cabin Design Office at Airbus, Jonathan Norris in The Webbies 2009 – Flightglobal Aviation Web Awards. …

Day 1Day 2

• SimpliFlying to organize world’s first tweetup on-board an airplane, at Singapore Airshow 2010
  
  
  
• Aviation gone WILD! Four Wild Things to Expect at Singapore Airshow 2010 – Live from the tarmac
  
  
  
• 5 Ways to Incorporate Social Media Into the Flying Experience, and leverage on your “followers”
  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:
  
  
• SimpliFlying creates history: absolutely unofficial, real-time coverage of the Singapore Airshow 2010
  
  
  
• Six Brand Leadership Lessons from Air New Zealand, and the flatbed seat in Economy Class