Airbus ATS Latin America – SimpliFlying Presentation

Here are the presentations from Airbus ATS Latin America, presented in Cusco, Peru in April 2013. If you have questions about these presentations, please feel free to email us at airbus@simpliflying.com. You can view more of SimpliFlying’s presentations here. The future of airline loyalty Bloopers and what we can learn from airlines’ mistakes Typically, SimpliFlying takes … Read more

The future of social media in travel – SimpliFlying-Skift MasterClass in New York City

Social Media Best Practices for Travel Brands workshop was held in New York City earlier this week, by Skift and Simpliflying. About 40 social media experts from various travel brands such as Marriott, VisitPhilly, Leading Hotels of the World, Travel Channel, American Express and many others attended, and great discussion ensued. Here’s the presentation and … Read more

How can Peach engage the Connected Traveller? Presentation from SimpliFlying MasterClass

Dear Peach executives, Thank you (ありがとう) for attending our Ancillary Revenues MasterClass. Your participation and enthusiasm is much appreciated and we hope you gained a number of new insights into driving revenues from the connected traveller of today. Below, you will find all the resources we shared with you in Osaka. If you have any … Read more

Airbus ATS Africa 2013

Here are the presentations from Airbus ATS Africa, presented in Mauritius in late March 2013. If you have questions about these presentations, please feel free to email us at airbus@simpliflying.com. You can view more of SimpliFlying’s presentations here. The future of airline loyalty Bloopers and what we can learn from airlines’ mistakes Typically, SimpliFlying takes on … Read more

Airlines on Second Life – 5 ways to dramatically increase brand value

Airlines are coming up with innovative ways to engage the customer, like SIA’s first flight to London graphic design competition we mentioned in this post. The next step into virtual user interaction would be to tap on the cutting edge of virtual worlds, which is led by Second Life.

A number of leading corporates have found interesting ways to tap on the bustling virtual communities on Second life, including Cisco, Adidas, ABN Amro Bank , MTV and even Toyota. Insead Business School has held MBS classes there. The hit CBS show CSI: Crime Scene Investigations plans an episode later this month where a killer is pursued into Second Life. One of the few industries not yet represented on Second Life is the airline industry – and herein lies a great branding opportunity for first movers and fast followers into the realm.

Read more

Engaging the customer in the A380 experience: before, during and after

The first A380 lands in London today. A perfect example of pro-active customer engagement is the latest campaign by Singapore Airlines (SIA) to involve the customer prior to its first A380 flight to London. Some SIA customers have received an email recently inviting them to come up with creative portraits that show the A380 near … Read more

Happy Crew = Happy Passengers = Great Brand!

With airline mergers and takeovers happening around the world, and now looming in the US too, one of the biggest “obstacles” encountered by airlines is airline staff unions. I beg to differ.

Here are a couple of the latest news about crew unhappiness in the last few days:

  • Air France Agrees to Buy Alitalia for $1.2 Billion (but faces union troubles), March 17, 08 – Bloomberg
  • British Airways Pilots Protest Plan to Start New Airline, March 15, 08 – Bloomberg
  • Pilots have much to lose during mergers, March 9, 08 – USA Today

Internal branding as a strategic corporate communications tool

Airlines should ensure that they take good care of their employees in case of a merger, and not construe it as an obstacle. Having them in the fold and ensuring their happiness would help ensure that the passengers receive a superior brand experience. Some branding experts refer to this as internal branding, other claim this is integrated branding. Regardless of the terminology, it is an established fact that if the working conditions are good, the crew is happy, and that rubs off onto the passengers so that they too are happy.

Read more

The business of business class

Since the late 1990s, many airlines have discarded First Class for Business class, or a mix of the two (think Delta and Air New Zealand). Of late, full-business carriers have come and gone (like SilverJet and MaxJet respectively). Now legacy carriers like Singapore Airlines and British Airways are looking to introduce Business-only flights on their … Read more

Former Garuda Indonesia CEO jailed – effects on the brand (+ what other airlines can learn)

Garuda Indonesia, the national airline of Indonesia, suffered a setback recently. Indra Setiawan, a former CEO of the airline was sentenced to 12 months in prison for his part in the mid-air killing of a human rights activist. From a branding perspective, this just rubs salts in the already-wounded brand image of Garuda – since it already has one of the worst airline safety track records in Asia. The airline is leaving few options for its customers to form a positive perception.
Probably the only way they can resurrect the brand is to win on price competition, while still remaining full service, and impress the customers – a tough bet, given their track record. May be the new planes they ordered at the Singapore Airshow recently will help them rescue the brand with new routes to US and Europe, at good prices (and of course, the new planes). Airlines – and other worthy brands (Apple?)- must always be vary of coupling themselves too tightly with an individual. Although this can be a huge X-Factor for the brand, which differentiates it with other airlines, it can be a risky proposition.

Read more

Oman Air’s re-branding effort – worth it?

Oman Air unveiled a new look in the first week of March, 2008. Gone were the red and green colors, as well as the “khanjar”, which have all been part of the livery ever since the airline’s inception, 15 years ago. In came a “contemporary rendition of Frankincense smoke”, with silver, gold and sober blue colors. The main reason cited for the revamp the expansion of Oman Air into long haul travel, which soon will include cities like Beirut, Zanzibar, Darussalam and Mumbasa in June (which still sounds is regional), and Europe in the future.

 



I think that with this re-branding effort, they’re stuck in the middle – not too contemporary, while tryin to blend in the tradition. A simply case of trying too hard? Ironically, officials went on the record that “khanjar” was “not viewed as a friendly image” in the West. Now, how is the smoke from an incense friendlier? Unless, of course, they smoke up the cabin to smell like Frankincense.Some reasons why switching to Frankenstein Frankincense smoke wasn’t such a great idea:

Read more

Sustainable Aviation Fuels Powerlist 2023

No, thanks