This is not an imaginary seven star hotel, but the new Turkish Airlines International CIP Lounge in Istanbul that I’m talking about. And I lived every moment described above during my first visit there, as you can see from the photos shared below. You’ll also realize that these are amateur photos, taken by my point-and-shoot digital camera.

A complete transformation

I’ve been to Istanbul twice before, and both the times used the Turkish Airlines lounge, which is also open to Star Alliance Gold and Business Class travelers of other airlines in the alliance. It seemed large, yet congested and it was yet another “waiting hall” – just with nicer sofas and better food than what was available outside the lounge. Pretty much the same as most other Business lounges at airports around the world. Basically, nothing much to talk about.

This new lounge, which opened in mid-2011 has replaced to old one and comes complete with a theatre, a kid-zone (Curio City), PlayStation consoles, Study areas, library, pool table, Live flight tracking, showers and lots of food zones. The food is freshly cooked by Do&Co, the famous Austrian gourmet company that we have featured before, showcasing their in-flight catering skills.

All this, in the same space as the old lounge! And that’s the beauty of it all.

“It’s like a walk in the Apple store”

Imagine if Apple designed an airport lounge. That’s how being in the new Turkish Airlines lounge feels. The design is contemporary-chic with lots of white and glass everywhere. The curves of the walls hide very well any corners or right-angles and you feel very relaxed. Even the luggage-deposit area seems like a Gucci store! In the words of the gentleman I played pool for an hour with, “It’s like a walk in the Apple store.”

Just one thing that could have been improved – as an aviation geek, I couldn’t just sit in the lounge and watch planes. In fact, the lounge overlooks the carpark on one side and the entrance to the airport on the other – so the plane spotter in you might be a little disappointed.

But then, there are enough distractions to keep you busy – from a game of pool, to reading Ottoman empire’s history! All while you wait for the boarding announcement

All said and done, the new Turkish Airlines CIP lounge in Istanbul is by far the best Star Alliance lounge I’ve been in, ahead of the Singapore Airlines Silverkris lounge in Singapore, and the Continental Airlines lounge in Houston. In fact, I might even pay a premium to fly Turkish Airlines in order to visit the lounge again. Who wouldn’t?

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The future is mobile

Given the rapidly changing interactional/behavioural habits of the traveler, it has become important for airlines to target them where they can be found. Close your eyes and think for a moment about what the word mobile phone means to you: I’m quite certain that most of the readers here will at once think of an iPhone, Android phone, Blackberry or a similar device. It seems that the growth of social media – Facebook and Twitter primarily – as a valuable engagement tool to drive business goals has only helped create a more complex landscape. The growth of iOS and Android (especially iOS which is not just available on phones but on iPods and iPads as well), coupled with the ability to create custom apps to target customers and offer them value-added services right on their cellphones has changed the way airlines are thinking about customer engagement and driving revenue, customer service etc. In the past we’ve illustrated how mobile has been an important part of various airline initiatives in the social era: travel distribution, social loyalty and location-based-service initiatives. However, this case-pack deals purely with how airlines have specifically created mobile apps (in particular, on the iPhone and iPad) to engage customers while driving revenue and customer service as well.

Before we move on to the case-pack, here is a checklist of ways in which airlines have tried to differentiate their apps while offering value to their customers:

1. Booking: Some airlines, such as Turkish Airlines, have made it ridiculously easy to book tickets from within the apps in a crazily small amount of time. Customers love it of course: the easier and quicker you make the booking process, the more likelihood that the sale will be completed.
2. Convenience: British Airways allows boarding by flashing the QR code powered boarding passes that can be shown directly from an iPhone. Way to go paperless!
3. Travel inspiration: Lufthansa and KLM have created apps that are excellent at making the users of their apps drool at the prospect of travelling to delicious destinations on these airlines.
4. Complimentary travel services: A number of airline apps now allow customers to rent a car, know the weather and do more at their destination that is not strictly airline-related.
5. Augmented reality: A new player but one with huge scope for engaging the customers who’re usually more than happy (and mostly fascinated) to use the service for things such as navigating an airport or finding places to redeem loyalty points (Qantas).

That’s it, for now! Enjoy the case-studies!

Do let us know what you think of this Top 10 case-pack. Comments, suggestions, brickbats are all welcome in the comments section below. Alternately, you can tweet us @simpliflying.

• Top 10 Travel Distribution Initiatives by Airlines: Reinventing the booking cycle to drive revenue (from #eftamerica)
• The Always Connected Traveler – how mobile will transform the future of travel [Infographic]
• The Top 10 Viral Videos by Airlines (plus bonus videos)
• Q&A: How Brands Can Perform Real-Time Customer Service on Social Media
• [Presentation] How airports can track passengers, throughout the Evolving Traveler Life Cycle

Some airlines have booking engines on Facebook, some provide customer service only on Twitter while some initiate extensive, integrated social media campaigns to drive brand engagement. This month onwards, SimpliFlying will publish a monthly feature highlighting the best of such social media strategies by airlines.

This month we bring to you the 10 best Facebook contests by airlines, as Facebook has become the “real” playground for airlines to showcase their creative brand strategies. This is because of the more immersive and multimedia-rich features of the Facebook platform itself.

In recent times, a number of airlines have organized some rather interesting contests on Facebook. For some airlines, such as All Nippon Airways, contests are a way of gaining more fans on their Facebook page and generating more awareness about it. For some, such as Hawaiian, contests are used to promote route-launches; for others it might be about a new product such as Turkish Airlines’ new Comfort Class. Of course, some, such as Cebu Pacific choose to be fantastically creative and drive engagement by directly channeling the power of their followers’ cults. Ultimately, these contests prove with more certainty than ever that airlines are getting serious about their social media strategies. Moreover, airlines which haven’t hopped on to the bandwagon have much (if not everything) to lose.

So, which airline did you think have the most creative and innovative Facebook contest amongst those shared in this presentation? Or do you know of others that have impressed you? Let’s hear it on Twitter and in comments.

Some fascinating facts about this presentation:

1. It became the most Tweeted presentation on Slideshare within 2 hours of it being uploaded
2. It was in the Top 10 Slideshare presentations within 5 hours of being uploaded
3. And it was the #1 presentation on Slideshare within 8 hours of being uploaded!

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• Airlines 2.0: Using technology for branding through the recession – webinar slides

Turkish Airlines has taken this quite seriously – a partnership with Austrian gourmet entertainment company Do&Co has not only resulted in the ‘Best Economy Class Catering’ at the 2010 World Airline Awards and some delectable premium class meals, it has also given birth to the Flying Chef And we at SimpliFlying got an exclusive behind the scenes tour at Turkish Do&Co’s Istanbul facilities.

Culinary branding at its best

When you enter Turkish Do&Co’s facilities, you can be forgiven if you think you’re in the Ritz-Carlton. Right at the entrance, you’re greeted with a huge banner announcing the Best Economy Class food award, and the facilities are nothing like an office. In fact, from what I hear, there’s a screen showing Fashion TV in the ladies’ restroom!

Getting back to the food – when I asked the GM why the focus on food, he told me that at Turkish Airlines, it’s the key differentiation in the in-flight product. It’s something that creates a lasting impression on the passenger, and is a competitive advantage as not all airlines pay much attention to it.

And having experienced food on board Turkish Airlines on both Economy and Business Class, I thought this was culinary branding at its best.

The Flying Chefs

One of the more impressive initiatives introduced by Turkish Airlines in July 2010 is a Flying Chef on-board all of their long haul flights for First and Business Class passengers. One might think that it’s a small galley in the aircraft and the role for the chef might be limited, but in reality, it seems to make a significant impact on the passengers’ dining experience.

I had the chance to meet with a graduating class of Flying Chefs. Most of them were in their early twenties, with anywhere from two to four years of experience in top Turkish restaurants. In-flight, they will not only ensure that every meal is served right, but also be involved in overseeing the cooking process. Rice, not too hard, not too soggy. Kebab well done. I guess you know what I mean. Innovative initiative, and I’m looking forward to my first flight with a Flying Chef next week.

Large scale personalized cooking

I was also lucky to be given an extensive tour of the catering facilities, where over 90,000 individual meals are prepared each day. The significant point to note is that much of this cooking is done by hand – Turkish Airlines Do&Co intentionally keep the use of machines to a minimum, to ensure the authentic food quality.

I’m sure you’ll be as impressed by the scale and skill of the people who work there, from the photos and videos below, as I was.

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Isn’t it impressive? We’ve previously covered airlines with the best food – what’s been your experience with Turkish Airlines? Let’s here it in the Comments or over on Twitter!

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• [PICS] Turkish Airlines International CIP Lounge in Istanbul – possibly the best Star Alliance lounge there is!

Airports demonstrating leadership

For starters, no speakers backed out, and the conference hall was full. This may not sound significant, but it’s one of the early indicators of things getting back to normal. Among all the speeches, I was impressed by the efforts airports like Melbourne and GoldCoast are making to work in-tandem with airlines to ensure a healthy, business-driving relationship.

In fact, Malaysia Airports is doing a tremendous job creating the hub of the future, with an LCC terminal interconnected with the existing Kuala Lumpur International Airport. That means when the new LCC Terminal is ready in 2011, passengers would be able to seamlessly connect from a Cebu Pacific flight from Manila, to an AirAsia X flight to Delhi, or a Malaysia Airlines flight to London. And at a combined capacity of 53 million per year, it would be the largest airport-hub in the region.

To read more about what folks from Dubai, Melbourne and other airports are doing, head over to SimpliFlying Airports.

Now you see why I’m excited about the future?

Below, I have highlighted key points from a number of speaker’s presentations, to give you a sneak peek into what was discussed at the conference. Enjoy!

Dr Temel Kotil – Turkish Airlines

Every time I’ve met Dr Kotil, the CEO of Turkish Airlines (TK), I’ve felt a sense of calm and humble attitude that probably earns him a lot of fans. He delivered a keynote and shared the roundtable with other airline CEOs at the conference, and here are highlights form his speech.

• Two types of crises – global/industry-wide, and company-wide – the last one was global and Turkish Airlines (TK) came out stronger
• TK 24 new routes in four months (!!)
• 2008 was the best year in terms of profit, in 77 years of history!
• How to get staff aligned to industry realities? TK is still a small company in terms of employees – and it’s all about communication. Communicating to them what’s right for the company and what they need to do.
• TK’s focus: Good network, frequencies, products, brand and a low cost structure needs to be taken care of and passengers will come
• The balance between five-star service and low price – that’s the key

Airlines vs Airports debate

• Convergence of LCCs and legacies causes a problem for airports
• Airports have been built with the network carrier in mind
• The sudden explosive growth from LCCs result in airports trying to morph. By then LCCs change again – that’s the dilemma

A tsunami of statistics from Frost & Sullivan’s Amartya De

The panel discussions were followed by a presentation by Amartya De of Frost & Sullivan, who provided his typical tsunami of insightful and statistically based observations and predictions.

• By the end of 2010, 1bn travelers, 1.6bn by 2020. Of this, 75% will be short haul, 25% will be long haul (from 18% currently)
• Travel has become a commodity –> Service component at the point of sale that is the tipping point
• South Asia has grown to 50mn pax per year. North Asia – personal travel has increased
• LCCs have transformed not just the travel industry, but the entertainment industry – now, people
• Asians travel when they have a discretionary spending, as opposed to planning only 1 or two vacations per year
• 50% increase in fuel prices in 2009, and now it’s dipped by a lot – both changes are dis-proprtionate
• US – LCCs % has remained constant. It has grown in EU and Asia Pacfic
• Both LCCs and legacies are focusing mostly one the same segment – but yield management can be drastically different
• Legacy – -0.8% in EU, decreasing everywhere
• LCCs are growing by 45%
• 10-12 different fare buckets in LCCs – first bucket accumulates the losses (hence they need to be reduced?)
• How about rewarding passengers for booking late, like adding perks? Because
• New classes of travelers – The Busy Class – between Econ and Biz
• Upper movement from LCC to hybrid airlines, and downward from Legacies
• LCCs may switch to GDS – so traveler can mix and match – KL-SIN on Tiger, SIN-Auckland on SIA
• There can be class upgrades
• Social media as a distribution tool
• Airlines of the future will give value for money – unified model

CEO Court

One of the more interesting sessions of the day was CEO Court, where 5 airlines CEOs were asked a variety of candid questions.

• Turkish Airlines – 3 types of Mkt – domestic, intl P2P, intl transit
• Malaysia Airlines – more point-to-point (P2P) or origin-destination, like Malaysia-UK. enough demand for 1 daily 747. But 2 flights a day – that means at least 50% connecting. P2P is most profitable in the 3 hour flying distance.
• Oman Air
  • Focus on P2P traffic – the biggest strength. Especially to India and Pakistan. There’s also the Ramadhan period when yields are very high
  • After GulfAir pull out, Oman Air is now into mid/long-haul market. 3rd/4th freedom market
  • Won’t look at a market if in some time it can’t develop into a daily service
  • Won’t be like EK and EY, but will be a niche player in the market
• Alliances
• How has Star Alliance helped Turkish Airlines?
  • Alliance has helped TK like never before, much more than Interline
  • The biggest help has been in terms of spreading the brand – can reach many new markets. You can have the best product in the world, but can’t sell any seats if the brand awareness is not there
• Malaysia Airlines: Alliances are good for the customer, it offers choices. Want to get in, but with a position of strength
• Oman Air
  • Heavy investment in product – joining an alliance will dilute the product distinction
  • First widebody broadband wifi in the world, LiveTV – all with OnAir
  • Leverage the partnerships with suppliers – when times are tough, you get very good prices
  • Competition from regional A380s: “We’re still the best way to get to Oman – tight focus on P2P markets”
  • “We do not need alliances” when you’re a small, niche carrier focusing on P2P
  • We’re not big on transit market
  • Putting your code on someone else’s product is a BIG risk in terms of brand dilution
  • “I will build my penetration in the markets I want to target”
  • Domestic growth will also be key – 2 to 6 destinations in the next couple of years – much like public service
• How will MH win the battle with LCCs?
  • The Odd Couple – Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia/other LCCs
  • Live together in one market, supposedly for different markets
  • Implementing OpenSkies is ideal, but difficult to implement
  • MH needs to focus on types of aircraft, and P2P – high yielding
  • There are lots of opportunities following a Blue Ocean strategy
  • Go for different markets and not go for bloodbath – different markets, increase the pie for both
• Business opportunities for growth
  • TK: Focus on transit, in addition to P2P: TK – Timing is key, when it comes to finalizing strategies – 10Mn P2P,
  • TK: Last 3 years, 3X the pax, 4X the cargo (!!!), a lot of it thanks to the alliance and increased brand awareness
  • MH: Focus on codesharing – eg with OmanAir for domestic M’sia, MH+TK for eastern EU/Germany – hence pick and choose your partners
  • OmanAir – when you think of p’ships, think about 10-15 yrs, not 2-3 years. Plans must be in-sync
  • If EK flies 3X daily to KL, 60% of pax connect on to other cities on MH – so that helps too

Feel Air rises in Scandinavia – following in the footsteps of AirAsia X

Another reason to think that things are getting better is when airlines start popping up around you. A new airline will soon be taking flight in Norway – FEEL Air, duplicating the low-cost, long-haul model AirAsia X is starting to prove works. Kai Holmberg, the CEO, introduced his airline to the audience.

• Market opportunity – Scandinavia is one of the most underserved, given how much they travel -
• Every Scandinavian travels 4X/yr, EU = 1.5X/yr, Global average = 0.4X/yr
• Low cost long haul is sustainable
• Top 10 LCC carriers made a collective $1bn profit last year, while the industry overall lost $9bn
• LCC model is embraced in Scandinavia, hence driving awareness won’t be a problem
• First routes: Norway-NYC, Norway-Miami, Norway-Bangkok
• Launching in Feb 2011

AirAsia X going strong, and independent

Azran from AirAsia X shared the stage with Kai and shared some of his statistics, which startled the audience.

• Low Cost Long Haul = creating new markets. It’s not about sharing traffic, but stimulating demand
• Cost structure = 2.8cents vs 7.3cents operating cost per ASK. 2.5 liters per seat per 100km flown, vs 5.0 in legacy like Cathay Pacific. Over 50% cost difference
• Malaysia was one of only 1 of 6 countries that recorded +ve growth. , and average spend per tourist also grew!
• AirAsia X’s primary customers – families with little kids and retirees, not just backpackers
• 1/3 of the average business class fare, for the flat-bed seats (which I will be flying from London-Melbourne)
• KL-LON = 90 tons of fuel for AirAsia X vs 160 tons of fuel for 747 of Malaysia Airlines
• AirAsia X no longer part of AirAsia group, and gearing for IPO in 2011.

Hope you now see why I have a positive feeling about the industry. What are your thoughts? Let’s discuss in comments, and over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

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• How AirAsia is rocking it in India, and how airlines in India can leverage their entry
• Why Air Asia’s “budget alliance” with Qantas and Jetstar is a stroke of genius – Live on CNBC Asia with Martin Soong

Right in the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney, Turkish Airlines had this flagrant display of teenagers in red, visible not just to all the conference attendees but also to those passing by the hotel (see pic below). And they had totally stolen the thunder from Malaysia Airlines, which had paid thousands of dollars for being the official sponsor of the conference.

Turkish Airlines had announced its presence, and in quite some style. After spending some time with Dr Temel Kotil, the airlines’ humble CEO, I feel other competitors should be vary of the rising star from Turkey.

Why’s Turkish the atypical Middle Eastern airline?

Dr Kotil mentions a number of points in the video interview below which prove that Turkish Airlines in not yet another Middle Eastern airline with global ambitions. Rather, it’s doing things differently, connecting with customers differently and is not just going after explosive growth. Here’s why I believe they pack a punch.

• Turkish Airlines was one of the Top 4 most profitable airlines in the world in 2008 (according to AviationWeek TPC)
• The current cash reserves of $1.5 billion are certainly adequate for surviving the recession and measured growth
• It leverages its membership of the Star Alliance when entering new markets – something most other carriers in Middle East lack
• Turkish hires locals when it enters new markets – key to reaching out to the local customers and cater to local tastes
• Turkish is working hard on delivering a consistently great product, with special focus on the in-flight cuisine – certainly a brand differentiator

In Dr Kotil’s words, “Potential is high, and ambition is big for Turkish Airlines…and quality doesn’t need a passport.” Hope you enjoy his interview in which he talks about what makes Turkish hard to ignore.

Isn‘t it a good feeling to hear some positivity in these gloomy times in the industry? What do you think about Turkish Airlines’ prospects viz-a-viz other Middle Eastern carriers? Let’s discuss in the comments or over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

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• [PICS] Turkish Airlines International CIP Lounge in Istanbul – possibly the best Star Alliance lounge there is!