SimpliFlying

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Innovative products and services - the key ingredient for strong brands - ooze out all the chart-toppers in Conde Nast Traveler 2008 airline rankings released recently. Last week, in an interview with this blog, Gary Leopold, the CEO of ISM Boston shared that “the product is the brand”. This certainly holds true for for the top few airlines in each category. Below, we’ve pointed out what the top two airlines in each category do right, that makes them so good.

Surprise! in the air

Before we get into what the to airlines do right, how about pointing out some surprises about this latest ranking? Interestingly, Singapore Airlines operates only one trans-Atlantic flight (Frankfurt - JFK), and yet they are in the top two airlines on this route. Even though they don’t use their latest and best planes on this route, the great brand leverage they’ve built for themselves continues to give them lots of mileage on this route.

Where are the US airlines? Bad product + Bad service = bad brand!

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The US airlines are glaringly missing from the international rankings, but even in the domestic US rankings, where are the biggies? Right at the bottom. Only Continental is in the top three, and Delta just peeks in at the fifth place. Where is United Airlines? Where is American Airlines? Where is Northwest Airlines? The fact that these airlines are missing further enforces the importance of having a strong product to build a strong brand in the airline industry. Will the US airline industry ever get back its mojo? We wonder… May be the rest need to learn from the upstart, Virgin America, which has topped the ranking in just one year!

Here are some rankings from the annual Conde Nast Traveler business-travel awards 2008:

Top Trans-Atlantic Business Class

Top Trans-Pacific Business Class

Top U.S. First and/or Business Class

A Virgin America boarding pass

In a recent blog post, Cam Beck at MarkeringProfs.com mentioned that he had attended a workshop by Stephen Anderson and Travis Isaacs on effectively organizing information. The result of that class was an airline ticket redesign Cam and friends did, as shown below. Cam went on to suggest in his article that once unnecessary information has been removed, there enough space for a special offer for the passenger too! Personally, I feel the both the re-designs below are an immense improvement from the existing ticket designs. So how can these better designed tickets help increase brand affinity? Read the rest of this entry »

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In service businesses like airlines, first impressions count. On my hour-long American Airlines flight last evening from Toronto to Boston, I was welcomed on-board by a cheerful flight attendant, Heather. She was genuinely pleasant (and not over-doing it) and extremely courteous, even though she was the only flight attendant on board the small Embraer jet. She played along when people were not paying close attention to the safety demonstration, and cracked jokes while serving beverages. A very pleasant experience - but that’s just one tenth of the job done for the airline when it comes to creating first impressions.

Creating lasting first impressions - a hundred million times

Air Canada’s Robert Milton mentions in his book that on average each passenger comes in contact with the airline ten times, every time he flies. This may be through the call center, website, at the check-in counter and of course, on-board the plane. So if an airline flies 10 million passengers per year, there would be a total of 100 million interactions on average! So how can airlines create a lasting first impression, every customer interaction? Here are three ways.

1. Exceed expectations. Before a customer interacts with an airline, he has certain expectations formed through advertisements, word-of-mouth or previous experiences. Airlines should aim to exceed them. Reduce the waiting time at the call center. Have pleasant check-in counter staff. Cater to the fliers’ needs on-board. This is not to say that each and every airline must spend millions in sprucing up service levels, but rather exceed the expectations they have set themselves. For example, budget airlines like AirAsia promise on-time performance and not in-flight luxuries. They then ensure these metrics are adhered to. Airlines like Thai Airways and Qatar Airways promise a pampered service for their business class passengers, and then deliver it. Prioritize, then execute and keep the word. Read the rest of this entry »

   

   Tags: AirAsia, American Airlines, Robert Milton, Virgin America
   

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Last week, a friend of mine boarded a Virgin America flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles. As is the case often at most busy airports these days, there was a delay in departure, due to air traffic delays. The flight sat on the tarmac for 10 minutes. But this is where the typical story ended and the fun started.

The Virgin America flight attendants took their positions in the aisles, but not for safety demonstration, since they already have a super cool video for that. They announced to the passengers that since they are waiting, they should have some fun. They started playing games with the passengers! The flight attendants asked the pleasantly surprised passengers questions about Virgin America as well as other topics, and those who answered correctly even received prizes! What a brilliant way not just to engage the customers, but leave an indelible impression about the airline.

Airlines must find innovative ways to engage the customers before, during and after the journey. Having a captive audience for a sustained period of time is something marketers crave for. That not only enhances the experience, but empowers the customers with stories they can share with others. After all, this experience was shared by a friend of mine too. Virgin America is already doing a great job at enhancing the in-flight experience, and this is yet another feather in the hat for them. The rest of the airlines, especially those in the US, should take note and put on their thinking hats.

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With air travel in the US probably as commoditized as bus rides in Brazil, the industry was ripe for some disruptive innovation. The spark was provided when Virgin American entered the foray a few months ago. Much has been written about their famed safety video as well as a bunch of innovative in-flight amenities. But there is also a ton that other airlines not only in the US, but globally, can learn about fresh, innovative branding from the folks at Virgin.

Welcome to the Branding 101, Virgin style. Here are the Top 5 insights to be cherished.

1. To exceed great expectations, do the unexpected. As it is, it’s tough upholding the promise of being the airline that is “reinventing air travel”. But Virgin actually does a good job in not just meeting expectations, but exceeding them too, by consistently surprising and delighting the customers. On Earth Day, all passengers in green were allowed to board first. Even the toilet plays trance music. How is that for a pleasant surprise? Read the rest of this entry »

   

   Tags: Branson, green, Virgin, Virgin America