Airline Marketing for Dummies
I’m not entirely sure why but most of the people responsible for marketing at major commercial airlines (within North America) are morons. At least I think they are.
I just saw that Delta has rebranded their aircraft and Air Canada did the same last month. And I remember that shortly before Air Canada bought out money losing Canadian Airlines in 1997 that Canadian Airlines threw away their trademark chevron logo for a flying goose.
I’ll take this opportunity to mention that I used to work for Canadian Airlines in high school as a baggage handler and I loved that airline with a passion. And unlike a lot of people I also like Air Canada. But when a company is losing money, and not just a little money but piles of money, the last thing I expect that company to do is gloss themselves over. Canadian’s stylized goose was pretty cool but what they should have done is spent some of that rebranding money on figuring out how to reduce costs and operate at a profit. But perhaps they are trying to make people think that things are fresh and new and that something has changed and that as a result people will switch to flying on their airline instead of the airline next door.
A company that all airlines could learn from, as far as I’m concerned, is Qantas. They have had the same distinct and world recognized logo since I can remember. And instead of rebranding their entire fleet, they simply rebrand a couple aircraft in a spectacular way, and keep the logo. Nice. And moreover, they continue to spend money improving things that directly affect me - better food, better seats, etc.
I’ve never actually flown on Delta so I can’t comment on them, but I can comment on Air Canada. I flew on AC shortly after the start of their rebranding campaign, which is either a hit or miss with people due to Celine Dion’s involvement (people either love her or hate her, there’s no inbetween). As far as I was concerned nothing had changed – the plane had the old logo and the crew had the old uniforms. Not that it concerned me. I don’t fly Air Canada because of how their aircraft look, I fly on AC because they have a number of flight times to choose from, their flight costs are pretty much on par with the rest of the field, they have in flight entertainment, they have some sort of meal that consists of more than a package of nuts and because the in flight crew is 100% professional.
I mention the crew professionalism because the last thing I want at 37,000 feet is a crew that’s all about having a good time – I want a crew that is friendly but in a professional way. And as a huge supporter of bilingualism, I hate being told (pay attention here WestJet) that “they are doing the safety briefing one more time in French because they have to.” And even then, 9 times out of ten, all they are doing is playing a recording; WJA should focus on hiring more French speaking crew (but not at the cost of quality). And I absolutely detest it when they mention that something is done “because that evil entity Transport Canada says they have to” – Transport Canada exists to ensure the safety of all involved in aviation and is a big part of the reason that Canada’s aviation safety record is so good.
Anyway, I digress. I’m not sure if the airlines have smart marketers but the CEOs ignore their advice or if the airlines have simply hired the bottom of the marketing/PR/communications barrel. In either case, the airlines need to take a long, hard look at all these rebranding campaigns – all they are to most people are a big waste of shareholder money.
Thu, 16 Dec 2004 17:29 Posted in Flying
