After production delays of over two years, an analyst called the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the “delay-liner”. But aren’t production delays part and process of every new aircraft that is designed from scratch? It was the case with the Airbus A380 and even the Boeing 747. I believe it is important to look beyond the hue and cry about the delays and would like share my thoughts about the engineering and design marvel that the Boeing 787 is, and how it can be a brand differentiator for many airlines.

I was fortunate enough to be given a private tour of the Boeing 787 cabin, and I published the photos on SimpliFlying earlier. Now, I’m publishing the exclusive video tour of the cabin, which is housed in a life-sized mock-up of the plane at Boeing’s state-of-the-art Customer Experience Center. I was very impressed with this flying machine, and you’ll know why when you watch the video.

Here are three things I feel that will make the Boeing 787 experience very different for airlines, and passengers.
1. Boeing brings back the charm of flying
Did you know that the windows in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner are much larger than any planes flying today? Did you know …

Last week, I attended a very refreshing workshop on customer service in Singapore. Ron Kaufman, one of the best-known customer service coaches in the region, led it. I found his ideas on how front-line staff should deal with customers immediately applicable to the airline world.

Inspired from Ron’s workshop, I’ve taken three of the best lessons from him and suggested here how airlines can use these to drive brand loyalty.
Do something unbelievable
In Ron’s words, delivering unbelievable customer service comes above delivering an expected or desirable customer service. Seth Godin would call this the “Purple Cow Effectâ€. It’s about doing something that’s customers don’t expect, in turn getting them to talk about to with their friends.

A very good example of this is the now-famous rapping flight attendant from Southwest Airlines. He did something mundane – reading out pre-fight safety instructions – in an unbelievable way. And not only was this much appreciated by those on the flight, but the word spread and this rapping flight attendant was a huge hit on YouTube. He even made it to Oprah! That’s the power of unbelievable.
There is such a thing as karma – …

Starting the first week of July, Malaysia Airlines’ subsidiary FireFly will be starting routes from Malaysia to Singapore. Of course, to get to heart of the matter, I met up with their Head of Marketing, Angelina Fernandez, who sheds light into the makings of this new airline and what makes it special. They call themselves the community airline, and offer free snacks (cookies!!) on-board even flights that last as little as 20 mins (Singapore – Melaka).
What makes FireFly special?
FireFly is being positioned as a community airline, “connecting the ethnically-similar communities spread across South East Asia“, as Angelina explains. Targeted at the business traveler – due to quick turnarounds (they fly ATRs), and proximity to the city center in Kuala Lumpur, as they operate out of Subang Airport. The airline also intends to build on Malaysia Airlines’ schedule through flight timings that are complementary.

For the un-initiated, till recently, Singapore-Kuala Lumpur was one of the most heavily protected air routes in the world. Since liberalization, connectivity has increased multi-fold, with airlines like low-cost AirAsia, Tiger Airways, JetStar Asia and now FireFly sometimes offering prices even lower than the bus fares. Enjoy Angelina’s interview (just 3 mins) and then read on for …

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 …

Image by jackol via Flickr

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This is what I call daring branding! Air New Zealand has just come up with an advertisement that features the airline CEO and staff appear in nothing but body paint. The point they’re trying make is that “they’ve got nothing to hide” with their all-in prices, as opposed to budget carriers. The fares Air New Zealand advertises include baggage allowance and refreshments. In an age of rising ala-carte styled pricing, this is indeed refreshing.
A brand pushing the envelope
Air New Zealand has a history of fearless innovation – be it the introduction of an in-flight conceirge at a time when other airlines were cutting service levels, or now this advertisement, which is bound to catch people’s attention. And with all the buzz such videos create on social media these days, there’s a very high chance of this going viral too! Who would mind that? Probably just Air New Zealand’s competitors.

The carrier says that the aim is to differentiate Air New Zealand from competitors “who …

I have another confession to make. I haven’t been on Virgin America, and I really want to try it! (the first confession was a couple of weeks back that I haven’t been on Southwest, and that I wanted to meet the rapping flight attendant). Why the sudden burst of emotions? Well, because I just watched an interview of Richard Branson in one of those purple-blue cabins and I was mesmerized, yet again.
Why is it all the rave? Thanks to The Nerdist.
Because this time, Richard was interviewed by Chris Hardwick, “The Nerdist“, and Chris has been generating lots of comments on the interview, been Tweeting about it and making a lot more fans for the airline than probably a Virgin America advertisement in the morning daily would have. Why am I so sure? May be because on Twitter, Chris has 20 times the “followers” that Virgin America has! And I bet his website gets more hits than the Virgin America website too.

The point I’m trying to make? Airlines are in the service business, and not in the transport business. And because of that, airlines cannot shy away from social media anymore. Be it working with …

In my recent brand review of Qatar Airways’ Business and First Class, I mentioned that the X-Factor in the whole experience was actually on the ground – their exclusive terminal for premium passengers in transit.

I experienced similar feelings last Friday, as I was given a private tour of JetBlue Airways’ swanky new Terminal 5 (old TWA terminal) at JFK airport in New York. Given the large proportion of time travelers spend in terminals these days, especially for short-haul flights, what JetBlue has created at JFK can be a game-changer. And here are three reasons why I feel it can do wonders for the already well-loved airline brand that is JetBlue.

1. It didn’t feel like a traditional US airport (at all!)
As  you walk in to T5, the first thing that strikes you the feeling of space – lots of it. That’s created by the high ceilings and tons of natural light coming through the glass panes. Moreover, there’s soft music playing at T5 (reminded my of Singapore …

Image via Wikipedia

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I read an article about Tony Fernandes, the CEO of AirAsia, in The Economist today that got me thinking. Thinking about the last few articles I’ve written about United Airlines, RyanAir and Southwest Airlines – on how they make money off their customers – what what works and what doesn’t.

There’re a lot of airlines in the US and Europe can learn from Tony Fernandes and AirAsia (+ Azran and AirAsiaX). Here’s how the article in The Economist ended.
“Mr Fernandes says that he came to the industry with no preconceptions, but found it rigidly compartmentalized and dysfunctional. He wanted AirAsia to reflect his own unstuffy, open and cheerful personality. He is rarely seen without his baseball cap, open-neck shirt and jeans, and he is proud that the firm’s lack of hierarchy (very unusual in Asia) means anyone can rise to do anyone else’s job. AirAsia employs pilots who started out as baggage handlers and stewards; for his part, …

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I wrote about value-addition to bring in revenues yesterday. The best value addition to a customer’s brand experience is emotional. And the best value addition brings in revenues in more ways than one – like through sustained customer loyalty. After all, Southwest has been one of the most profitable airlines in the world for a long time.

A reader wrote to me recently that he was disappointed that I’ve never flown Southwest. Well, I am too! They didn’t fly from Boston all the time I lived there.

But why do I regret it? Because I feel I’ve missed out on the fun of flying with Southwest. Here’s what I feel puts Southwest in a class of its own. Just like Singapore Airlines “brings back the romance of travel”, I think Southwest “brings back the fun of travel” (and you can quote me on that!).

Enjoy the candid in-flight videos!

Here’s another……

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Ancillary revenues – money an airline makes from things other than the asirfare – have always proven to be attractive profit centers for airlines. But very often, they tend to be random, with airline executives making their decisions based on how much money the source brings to the airline, rather than anything else. Moreover, ancillary revenue streams are often garnered from outside the cabin, like having special offers on the website or charging a fee for baggage check in.

But as I mentioned in my white paper on airline branding, Brand eXperience is one of the most important factors affecting the brand perception and the time spent in the plane forms the most important part of the eXperience. According to recent research, the most important factor determining the in-flight experience is not service or in-flight entertainment, but the person you’re sitting beside! 80% of passengers feel their seat neighbor’s bahaviour influences their overall flight satisfaction. And there lies the opportunity.
Bring in Satisfly – to optimize your seating in the plane
A friend of mine, Sergio Mello, has started up a company called SATISFLY, which solves …