Let me say this again. I think Air Asia is one of the most innovative airlines in the world today – right up there with JetBlue, Virgin, Singapore Airlines, Southwest Airlines and LAN Airlines. And today they pulled out a trump card – a joint venture with Australia’s Jetstar Airways. You can keep reading the press releases, but here’s the essence of the agreement and how it will benefit the airlines and their customers (you and I!) What the AirAsia and Jetstar “budget alliance” means The most significant difference is the departure from Star Alliance – type marketing or revenue driven alliances. Air Asia and Jetstar have formed a cost alliance, or what I’d call a “budget alliance” (pun intended). Here is the nitty gritty. The airlines will pursue joint procurement of aircraft – This means that they will be able to leverage economies of scale while buying from Airbus. Joint design specifications – since they’re going to order a lot of planes, they can demand from Airbus things like a twin-aisle A320 or more efficient …

At the Aviation Outlook Summit in Sydney early this month, where I delivered a keynote on airlines + social media branding, the first day was mostly doom and gloom whereas the second day was much more up-beat. Not surprisingly, executives from legacy carriers like Qantas, Air New Zealand and the European Commission spoke on the first day, and up-beat executives from rising stars like AirAsia X, Oman Air and Gold Coast Airport spoke on the second day. That got me thinking…are legacy airlines dead? I now believe they are. Here’s why.
1. Legacy airline brands come with legacy baggage
Unions, legacy systems, government bureaucracy, old planes, old workforce, high costs, bankruptcy… these are all words that can be easily associated with Air India, Alitalia, Japan Airlines, Air Canada and many more legacy airlines. And these are all aspects that do not allow these airlines to function efficiently in the current climate.

The airline industry has evolved drastically in the past decade. With each new shock (9/11, SARS, H1N1…) we see new stars emerging, which have streamlined costs, efficient operations and specifically targeted markets they go after. And they beat the hell out of monolithic airlines that legacy carriers have become. Just read …

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Air India is losing about $1 billion, on revenues of $3 billion. What’s more alarming is that Air India contributes 10% of global airline losses with just 0.35% of global traffic (stat. from Bangalore Aviation). And the Indian national carrier is still struggling with its merger with the domestic Indian Airlines a couple of years back. Couple that with the global economic crises and a bloated payroll, and you know how much trouble the airline is in.

Being an Indian at heart, I couldn’t help but come up with some ideas to save this once well-regarded Maharaja brand. In fact, I know that when Singapore Airlines began operations, they heavily hired the best from Air India! I’m not sure if Air India can return to its former glory anytime soon, but these ideas should certainly help it get back on track. Or at least, I hope so.
Getting the business plan in order
I frankly feel that Air India has only survived as long as it has due to two …

Starting the first week of July, Malaysia Airlines’ subsidiary FireFly will be starting routes from Malaysia to Singapore. Of course, to get to heart of the matter, I met up with their Head of Marketing, Angelina Fernandez, who sheds light into the makings of this new airline and what makes it special. They call themselves the community airline, and offer free snacks (cookies!!) on-board even flights that last as little as 20 mins (Singapore – Melaka).
What makes FireFly special?
FireFly is being positioned as a community airline, “connecting the ethnically-similar communities spread across South East Asia“, as Angelina explains. Targeted at the business traveler – due to quick turnarounds (they fly ATRs), and proximity to the city center in Kuala Lumpur, as they operate out of Subang Airport. The airline also intends to build on Malaysia Airlines’ schedule through flight timings that are complementary.

For the un-initiated, till recently, Singapore-Kuala Lumpur was one of the most heavily protected air routes in the world. Since liberalization, connectivity has increased multi-fold, with airlines like low-cost AirAsia, Tiger Airways, JetStar Asia and now FireFly sometimes offering prices even lower than the bus fares. Enjoy Angelina’s interview (just 3 mins) and then read on for …

Singapore Airlines has created probably the most well recognized airline brand in the world. The Singapore Girl has done great wonders for the airline and the nation over the years. Even ardent competitors like the CEO of AirAsia, Tony Fernandes, openly claim to be learning from the airline.

But the recent tough times have hit the airline hard, just like other premium carriers like Cathay Pacific. Singapore Airlines has decided to cut over 200 flights and is experiencing low load-factors in its premium classes – where it makes most of its money. So the big looming question is what should the airline do now? Change strategy? Probably not. How about using social media to soften the impact, by engaging the customers and employees real-time? Why not?
You can run, but you can’t hide
In my conversations with folks over at Singapore Airlines (quite a few of them!), I’ve sensed educated-nonchalance when it comes to adopting social media to pursue its business goals in this downturn. Not only are they hardly present on social media outlets, the airline seems unconvinced about the importance of a two-way conversation. SIA doesn’t have a blog, Twitter account, Facebook page or even social-media-friendly press releases (I …

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I read an article about Tony Fernandes, the CEO of AirAsia, in The Economist today that got me thinking. Thinking about the last few articles I’ve written about United Airlines, RyanAir and Southwest Airlines – on how they make money off their customers – what what works and what doesn’t.

There’re a lot of airlines in the US and Europe can learn from Tony Fernandes and AirAsia (+ Azran and AirAsiaX). Here’s how the article in The Economist ended.
“Mr Fernandes says that he came to the industry with no preconceptions, but found it rigidly compartmentalized and dysfunctional. He wanted AirAsia to reflect his own unstuffy, open and cheerful personality. He is rarely seen without his baseball cap, open-neck shirt and jeans, and he is proud that the firm’s lack of hierarchy (very unusual in Asia) means anyone can rise to do anyone else’s job. AirAsia employs pilots who started out as baggage handlers and stewards; for his part, …

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On Wednesday another bid to make a success of long-haul, low-cost flying takes off from Kuala Lumpur, destination – London Stansted.

AirAsia X has been selling seats for as little as £99 each way, though after making a series of test bookings it seems a more likely one-way fare is £200. In true low-cost fashion, “you’re only buying the flying”. Checked luggage costs £12 each way for a 20kg bag, with meals a further £7 per flight (and you get a discount if you book before-hand).
But…AirAsia X is different
Did you know that to optimize aircraft utilization, AirAsia X planes will land in London at different times on different days? And though that’s out of the norm, as a passenger, I only care about my flight timings, not the next day’s flight timings. Hence, I personally quite admire this move.

Did you know that AirAsia X CEO, Azran Osman-Rani, regularly writes on the AirAsia blog, Just Plane Thoughts. And he does so …

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In the last part of his three-part interview, Joe Crump,  the VP of Strategic Planning at Razorfish, reveals that instead of fearing the recession, airlines around the world can use it as a catalyst to build strong brands. Joe believes that “incredibly narrow constraints usually present the biggest opportunity for innovation”. I couldn’t agree with him more.

Companies like Apple, GE and Toyota have emerged stronger by just doing that in the past. In fact, the airline industry is full of success stories from the recession as well, like AirAsia and JetBlue. Right now, Virgin America in the US is doing a fabulous job at building a strong brand by offering great value in the recession.
Digital investments = greater ROI
Joe makes a startling revelation in his interview below. He shares that contrary to popular belief, investments in product upgrades on-board an aircraft, as well as other “hard” invesments like frequent flier lounges seldom match the …

Canadian playwright Raymond Hull is famously quoted as saying that “he who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away.” Laura Reis has aptly applied this concept to airline branding, and concluded that airlines need to “do one thing and do it well” to build lasting brands.

Laura Ries is a world renowned branding guru and is the president of Ries & Ries, an Atlanta-based marketing strategy firm that she runs with her father Al Ries – the person who coined the term “positioning”. Together they have consulted with many Fortune 500 companies, including leading airlines. Hence, it is an honor to feature her exclusive interview on airline branding at SimpliFlying.
The power of focus
In this Part 1 of 2 interviews, Laura and I discuss the importance of laser-sharp focus for airlines. She shares the example of American Airlines – whose latest campaign is “we know why you fly”. “Who doesn’t know why a person flies!”, Laura exclaims. American Airlines is a textbook example of unfocused and diluted branding, where a company is trying hard to please everyone, and in the end achieving little.

On …

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Not only did Mr. Obama win the US general elections last week, he was also selected as Advertising Age’s Marketer of the Year by the executives attending the Association of National Advertisers’ annual conference in Orlando last month.

For a person who has come from behind, fighting tough opponents to win the elections, success can be attributed to many things. But one that cannot be ignored is his super-efficient marketing machine, which not only helped raise a record $600 million, but also brought Barack Obama and his message to the hearts of millions. So what are some lessons airlines can learn, from Mr Obama, to build a strong and long-lasting brand?
The power of simplicity
Change. It was a message that was understood everywhere, from the boardroom, to the hinterlands. There was no confusion over the meaning of this “mantra”. Effective slogans needs to be simple and grounded in reality. Only then will they drive masses of people toward a brand.

In the airline world, a good example of …