This is a guest post by Jonathan Haysom, who is a respected marketer and business development strategist. Currently working for Australia’s number 1 telco and number 1 company by brand value, he is responsible for maintaining and growing a multi-billion dollar product portfolio focused on next generation products. He has recently received awards for innovation in marketing and accolades for his social media campaigns and brand strategies.

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Virgin Blue, after fighting hard as a “renegade” brand for a slice of the Australian carrier market is tipped to undergo a marketing face lift and re-invent itself as a full service brand. Some of the purported changes include the introduction of a new business class product, integrating the other brand properties (Polynesian Blue and V Australia) as well as the introduction of wide body aircraft on trunk routes between capitals.

(Image credit: ABC News)

Virgin Blue going upscale?
It is apparent from the changes the new CEO, Ex Qantas Senior exec John Borghetti is primarily going after the lucrative corporate segment of the market, one which Virgin Blue has traditionally struggled to break into due to Qantas’ having a …

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Recently, the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation (CAPA) published a report which concluded that the “full-service airline model break down in the new-world order”.

“Worldwide, the number of passengers travelling on First or Business class tickets fell by 16.7% in Jan-2009, a further substantial fall from Dec-2008 levels, which were 13.3% down on the year.”

That means that legacy airlines, which made a majority of their money from premium passengers, are struggling, even as low-cost carriers see greater traffic from people downgrading and new people taking to the skies.
What does the future full service airline model look like?
Here’s my prediction.
It will consist of airlines charging for providing value added services, rather than those un-bundling their products. Moreover, customer service will become a key brand distinction for the full-service airline, as prices would generally be competitive and so would most of the in-flight products too. The savvy traveler of the future will not only hunt the lowest prices, but be loyal to the airline that treats him well. Lastly and most importantly, employees of the full service airline will be part of the family, and share the love with customers at every touch point too (up to 16 …

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Dear Readers,

I hope you enjoyed the India Special in February on SimpliFlying, where I featured case-studies and interviews on airline branding in India, including that of the COO of SpiceJet and COO of Indigo Airlines. I received an overwhelming response to these articles too. Hence, I’ve decided to make the first fortnight in March, the Ancillary Revenues Special.
Ancillary revenues + airline branding = Even greater profits!
Why, ancillary revenues, you may think. That’s because it becomes an extremely powerful concept when in sync with the brand strategy. For example, when you fly Singapore Airlines, you don’t imagine paying for food on-board, due to their brand positioning as a premium airline. And that’s why their decision to charge for emergency row seats came as a shock to many. This is because the ancillary revenue strategy did not resonate with the brand strategy. Hence, the aim of this special feature will be to feature case studies, …