Over the past few months, I’ve had a chance to interact with some of the brighest minds of the airline industry as well as key brand leaders. Though these were all individual interviews, there was a common question in all of them – “What’re your thoughts about airlines and branding in 2009″.

I’ve now compiled them in the video below and you can hear the expert views of Lisa Markovic – VP of Sales & Marketing at Jet Airways, Joe Crump – VP of Strategic Planning at Razorfish, Rodney Abbot and Randall Stone – Senior Partners at Lippincott.

Their predictions?

Fewer airlines at the end of 2009

Lisa  of Jet Airways feels that this is probably the most difficult of recessions for the airline industry. She believes that the year ahead will see a number of consolidations in the industry, and generally the larger airlines will emerge as dominant players globally.

Focus on customer service and the brand

Rodney from Lippincott believes that the fewer airlines that survive will have to focus on the brand experience, because customers will be extremely picky about choosing a carrier that provides the best value. This way, not only will they retain existing customers, but also attract others disgruntled with the competition.

Mobility – in-flight wifi will be a hidden opportunity

Joe from Razorfish is looking forward to surfing the internet on-board airlines and is curious to see what opportunities arise from this developement. Moreover, he believes that “transactions” and “advertisements” will become much more seamless than they are right now.

Without any further revelations, I’ll let you enjoy the video yourself! I have to admit that two of these interviews have not been released on the site yet, so here’s a sneak preview for you!

Lisa sums her love for the airline industry the best, “it’s the dynamics, never a dull moment, always new challenges and I clearly don’t see any of that changing in the future.” That’s the reason I’m in love with the industry as well! Always keeps you on your feet, isn’t it? What’re your thoughts on where the industry is headed in 2009, and what role branding has to play?

• Lippincott Senior Partners, on airline branding
• Jet Airways’ VP of Sales & Marketing shares what it takes to build a strong airline brand in the US
• Airline brands need to emerge from the “jurassic era” – Joe Crump
• Can Jet Airways survive the recession (and what does the Kingfisher alliance mean)?
• The essence of SimpliFlying: aviation, branding, travel, airlines and social media (Plus: What’s new in 2010)

Image via Wikipedia

Jet Airways is relying heavily on ethnic marketing in the US to get in touch with its key target market of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), and tapping on distribution networks like grocery stores to allow access to tickets! In this part 2 of the exclusive interview with Lisa Markovic, the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Jet Airways in the US, shares with us ways in which Jet Airways is trying to trump the current economic crisis.

Flying through the current economy

Jet Airways has been targeting niche events such as Diwali celebrations and India Day Parade in the US to get targeted exposure with the people who regularly fly to India. Moreover, Lisa realizes that these customers “shop around a lot and do their homework before they make a purchase”, and hence Jet Airways offers a product that offers “great value”.

Alliances and more…

One of the mitigation strategies for the current crisis has been to form an alliance with rival Kingfisher Airlines. Lisa shares that this alliance  “really is code-share agreement” such that both the companies can jointly reduce costs on routes globally by sharing resources. Moreover, Lisa reveals that joining a global airline alliance is certainly on the cards for Jet Airways and we should hear about it soon.

I’d encourage you to listen to the 10 mins Part 2 of the interview to learn more about these initiatives and other details Lisa shares about how Jet Airways is aiming to emerge a top airline brand from this crisis.

In case you missed the first part of this interview, you may want to listen to it too. Lisa spoke about the marketing and branding strategies Jet Airways employs in the US and the challenges encountered while entering new markets.

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