I came across a profound article on MSNBC Travel by Chris Elliot (of the elliot.org fame) about social media and travel, and I couldn’t help but re-post it here. Chris mentions six ways in which travel will change thanks to social media. And to me, it seems inevitable, as you’d have realized if you’d seen the slides from my recent keynote on the topic in Miami. I’m sure you’d enjoy this read.

P.S: Yours truly is quoted in the article as well (point 3).
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By Christopher Elliott
Travel columnist
msnbc.com contributor
updated 10:32 a.m. ET, Mon., July 6, 2009
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31727411/ns/travel-tips/

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Christopher Elliott
Travel columnist

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Before the latest social media revolution, Jessica Gottlieb would have probably watched helplessly when her kids, Jane and Alexander, were trapped on the tarmac, waiting for their Virgin America flight to take off.

But that’s so 2008. When it …

Air India is losing about $1 billion, on revenues of $3 billion. What’s more alarming is that Air India contributes 10% of global airline losses with just 0.35% of global traffic. And the Indian national carrier is still struggling with its merger with the domestic Indian Airlines a couple of years back. Couple that with the global economic crises and a bloated payroll, and you know how much trouble the airline is in.

Being an Indian at heart, I couldn’t help but come up with some ideas to save this once well-regarded Maharaja brand. In fact, I know that when Singapore Airlines began operations, they heavily hired the best from Air India! I’m not sure if Air India can return to its former glory anytime soon, but these ideas should certainly help it get back on track. Or at least, I hope so.
Getting the business plan in order
I frankly feel that Air India has only survived as long as it has due to two reasons – offering extremely low fares, and getting government funding. But having fares that hardly cover your costs are not sustainable, especially in the face of tough …

I flew the Premium Economy class on the Japanese All Nippon Airlines when flew back from New York (JFK) to Singapore, via Tokyo a few weeks ago. This wasn’t the first time that I was flying this Economy+ class, as I often flew Singapore Airlines’ Executive Economy from Singapore to Newark, which has now been replaced by an all-business class flight. But there was a stark difference this time – while Business class was not quite full, Premium Economy was jam-packed! But what could be the reasons for that?
The ANA Premium Economy Class
I think Premium Economy is good value for money. From ANA, you get lounge access prior to your flight, which is great for business people, since they can get some work done and have a nice meal. That also means that you can board whenever you want, rather than 40 mins before take off. The queues at boarding tend to be shorter as well. So at least in this aspect, the experience is much better than Economy Class.

Once you get to the seat, you’ll find yourself in a small, almost private, section with just 3-4 rows of Premium seating, between Business Class and Economy Class. The biggest …

***This is a Guest Post. Please see below for author info***

I’m a firm believer in quality research. But I don’t believe you need large research budgets to discover a key consumer insight for your brand. All you need is a plane ticket, common sense and passable social skills. And yes, your ‘target group’ should also use planes. (Works on rail or bus journeys, too.)

Get to the airport early. Not because of security procedures. But because airports are a wonderful way to observe and engage with your target consumer. To discover an ‘Aha Tree’.

I guess I have to tell you what an Aha Tree is, before you can find one. Aha Trees grow consumer insights. The Aha Tree is nothing more than a mind mapping method I evolved. You start by drawing out the ‘trunk’ of the tree and label it with the subject that you are researching.

On the left hand branches you note any surprises that made you go: ‘I didn’t know that….’
On the central branches, you note your surprises that made you think: ‘I didn’t realise that….’
The branches on the right are the one’s …

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You can win an autographed copy of this book or a 4gb iPod by Tweeting any quote from this article or writing a comment here. Find out more here.
I’ve been monitoring conversations about Singapore Airlines (SIA) on Twitter for the last couple of weeks. And unlike most tweets about airlines, a large majority of tweets are positive! Here’re two of them:
@thetravelingCMO, Mon 04 May 14:39: Singapore Airlines in coach is like any US carrier’s Business. Well, to be fair, the service is probably better on SQ!
@MikeyFletch, Fri 01 May 18:27: Wow, Singapore airlines is a bit posh, time to fly
How has Singapore Airlines been so successful and well-admired for such a long time? There’s always a an enigma of sorts when it comes to this question. But this latest book by Jochen Writz, Loizos Heracleous and Nitin Pangarkar attempts to answer this very question – and does a pretty respectable job of doing so too!
Discovering the secrets of SIA’s success
The book begins by an overview of the challenges faced in the airline industry and goes on to provide an overview of SIA’s overall strategy. But …

Dear fellow aviation and branding enthusiasts,

As many of you might be aware, I’ve been at Ft. Lauderdale in Florida today for a keynote presentation at the FTMA/Freddies Conference on the topic I love the most – airline branding and social media. I’ve just done the presentation and received a phenomenal response to it. And I’m sharing it with you here (with the videos included). I’d love to have your inputs too.

P.S: I’ll be Live Tweeting from the Freddie Awards about this year’s winners and you can follow me on Twitter here.
Airlines 2.0 – How airlines can use Web 2.0 for branding
View more presentations from Shashank Nigam.

A couple of weeks ago, I asked had an interesting conversation with a senior airline executive in Asia. Here’s how it went:
SN: What’s the emotional motivation (not $) for your customers to fly your airline?
Airline exec: Erm…I’m not sure.
SN: Hmm…is there someone front-line I can speak with who’d know, like the check-in staff, or flight crew?
Airline exec: Actually, the airport crew is outsourced, so we have little inputs, and it’s logistically tough to reach out to the crew.
What fascinated me the most were two things. One – I was talking to a (very) senior executive who didn’t know what, beyond price, attracts his customers. And secondly, the fact that the airport crew is outsourced may be a short term gain ($$ savings) but a long term loss due to the lack of front line inputs.


Twitter to the rescue! Tweet. Tweet.
But market research need not be that difficult. Especially when tools like Twitter exist these days, which allow you to connect with anyone – inside or outside your company – to seek opinions, cheaply and in real-time. Twitter is the in-thing these days. An …

From the moment I was handed the boarding passes for my journey, there was something special about it all…I just didn’t know what, at that time. It was the first time I was flying with Qatar Airways – which claims to be the Five Star airline. And I was prepared to put it through the test, on what makes a Five Star brand, and whether Qatar Airways is indeed what it claims it is. For a start, the photos below will give you an idea about my experience.

Five star culinary experience
As you can tell from the number of photos in the slide show with a gastronomic feel to them, I had a LOT to eat on board my flight from Singapore to Abu Dhabi (for this conference), via Doha. Not only did I have a multi-course breakfast and dinner on board the Business Class, it was the style in which it was served that impressed me even more. Fresh napkins were spread on my lap …

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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.â€

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 …

Just a few hours ago, Lufthansa raised its forecast for full-year 2008 operating profits from EUR1.1 billion to EUR1.3 billion thanks to a stronger-than-expected fourth quarter. And this comes in at a time when not most major airlines around the world are struggling, but when Lufthansa’s main rivals in Europe, Air France-KLM and British Airways have both issued profit warnings in the past two weeks.

How does Lufthansa defy the trend?
A Lufthansa spokesperson says that lower fuel prices and favorable valuation effects were offsetting a slowdown in traffic demand. But I think there’s more at play here. It’s the formidable Lufthansa brand, that has stood the test of tough times, yet again. A brand that exudes reliability and efficiency

And a strong Lufthansa brand coupled with a vast network in developing markets like India only further helps the cause.

Continuing my series of articles on what makes or breaks airlines operating in India this February, I’d like to share the story of Lufthansa – probably the strongest foreign carrier in India. Below is an article that was recently published in the Indian Express (North America) edition, which comprehensively covers the key …