Airlines
Over the last few months, the previously low-key Korean Air appears to have found an almost limitless media budget, for TV, print and online advertising. With their new Tiffany blue color scheme and “Excellence in Space” positioning, they have raised their profile enormously.
However, we have to wonder whether their new print ad is going to attract any new customers…
It mentions their “180 degree reclining Kosmo Sleeper Seat” but the image features a a seat that looks like an unreclinable plastic shallow bucket seat, and while the model appears to be in the throes of relaxation, the reality of having a plastic spike resting against the back of your neck suggests the opposite.
The ad might be communicating on the other tagline “From departure to arrival, witness the creation of your own private room”, in which case this is a metaphorical seat.
Either way, it’s not a very helpful ad.
Airlines
Eos Airlines, the all-business airline once considered the brightest contender in its category has announced that it has files for bankruptcy protection
The airline will halt operations immediately.
Analysts concluded last year that the viability of the all-business category was in doubt, after MaxJet disappeared earlier this year, and now Eos is grounded, the only major contender is now SilverJet.
The airline reconfigured Boeing 757s meant for 220 passengers with 48 seats that could extend into a fully flat bed. Flights served wine, champagne, cocktails and gourmet foods. There were individual DVD players, and helicopter rides to the airport were offered to some travelers. The price for the New York to London flights, which it offered twice a day, ranged from $3,500 to $9,000 roundtrip. — (Via Associated Press)
Meanwhile the one remaining contender, SilverJet has just landed a $25M lifeline which will support it to the end of the year, but factors beyond its control continue to cause worry.
Silverjet’s survival will owe much to the praise that passengers have heaped on the airline for its service. However, like other airlines it will still struggle to become profitable this year with oil prices at $120 a barrel. — (Via The Times, UK)
Retail
Airport retail strategy is beginning to understand the full extent of the luxury retail opportunities that are possible. The capsule boutiques which have - until now - characterized airport shopping, have sometimes risked damaging the brand. Two recent articles from The Moodie Report set the scene…
US. Duty Free Americas (DFA), owned by The Falic Group, creates a retail initiative based on “dreams and fantasies” as it expands its luxury airport retail throughout South America, and beyond. — (Via The Moodie Report)
Hong Kong airport seeks luxury brands for its East Hall development, billed as one of the most concentrated luxury brand locations of any airport worldwide. — (Via The Moodie Report)
Meanwhile, airport retail is innovating in other ways too, for example the new British Airways home shopping initiative.
Customers will be able to buy the full duty-free range from the HighLifeShop, with the exception of cigarettes and alcohol, regardless of whether they have bought a BA flight. — (Via The Times, UK)
Airlines
Most airlines operate a range of unpublicized VIP services for celebrities, and others, who want to be protected and pampered from their arrival at the airport until the plane takes off.
The Wall Street Journal reports that if you have to ask for it, you probably don’t qualify for special-services treatment. But even if you haven’t won an Oscar, you can purchase a bit of special coddling for yourself for as little as $100.
Here are three places to start…
#1 American Airlines’s “Five Star” concierge service; telephone 877-578-2702.
#2 Airport Assistance Worldwide (website); telephone 888-444-419.
#3 LJR Associates; telephone 310-316-2279.
For airlines, star travel is big business. In the early days of jet travel, photos of celebrities on aircraft stairs or smiling at the door to a plane amounted to extraordinary advertising, highlighting the glamour of air travel back then and confirming the credibility of airlines to a public unaccustomed to everyday air travel… These days the glamour is gone from air travel, but the benefits of carrying celebrities remain. Besides the secondary perks of rubbing elbows with the famous, Hollywood is a big buyer of travel, particularly high-dollar first-class travel. Being the carrier of choice for stars, or having your name show up in celebrity photos, can be a public-relations windfall. — (Via Wall Street Journal)
Airlines
The premium aviation category is going through an interesting period of growth and uncertainty. A battle is growing between emerging brands - such as the private jet companies and all-business airlines - and the traditional airlines who are trying to enter the market.
For the established brands, it’s a question of successfully integrating a faster, more nimble business model into the existing corporate structure. Lufthansa sees an opportunity in the private jet market — (Via LifePR)
Their confidence is echoed by Blue Star Jets, which grew 27% in the last year — (Via PR.com)
While for start-up alternatives, particularly all-business airlines, the question is also one of distinct positioning.
Marketwatch reports on the battle between Eos Airlines of the U.S., Silverjet of the U.K. and L’Avion of France to prove they have found the secret of long-term survival. — (Via MarketWatch)
And at a more rarefied level, Richard Branson is confident that the future is galactic — (Via Reuters)
Airlines
The traditional airline industry – and new challengers – continue to tweak the business models that aim to develop better strategies for the economics of luxury travel.
Five recent stories;
The economics that killed the much-missed Concorde (Via Wired)
Increasingly confident US airlines upgrade to compete with European rivals (Via USA Today)
In the new battle over business-class only flights, MaxJet becomes the first to announce chapter 11 bankruptcy (Via Reuters)
While, ultra-exclusive NetJets booms (Via The Telegraph, UK)
And at the fringes of airline travel, the world’s first luxury flying hotel (Via Dezeen)
