Dear readers,
I’m back to writing about brand today, an often-overlooked portion of the airline experience.
To be successful, airlines must differentiate themselves to attract customers. A few have truly differentiated networks, so that’s their competitive advantage. But most airlines, competing against each other with similar seats and amenities for basically the same customers, have to find and commit to another thing that makes them special.
That is brand, or more specifically, brand promise. Faced with choices, I think consumers will choose not the best airline, but the one that most often delivers the experience they have come to expect.
Successful airlines are self-aware — clear about what they are, and what they are not — and consistent in delivering on their promises. This must happen through the whole travel experience, from booking to check-in to the airplane. And while they can make tweaks to these brand promises, many of the best airlines stick to their overarching strategy through good times and bad.
But this takes clarity, discipline, and commitment. As the industry as a whole has moved up-market in response to post-pandemic customer preferences, there has been this tendency for every airline to start chasing “best-in-class,” or something like it, all under the banner of “premium.” Of course, we all know that budget airlines have their versions of premium products — I’m not saying that premium products have no place on LCCs. But the tone, the spirit, the vibe of premium on any given airline has to be the right fit for that airline.
Take too big a swing on your premium product, create something too aspirational for your base — or worse, strike a weird balance between premium and budget-conscious — and you risk muddying your identity, confusing (and potentially losing) your customers and damaging your brand.
This is a big reason I harp on American. It offers a fine product with the bones to compete with Delta and United1, but I fear its mid-level executives for so long served two masters: a debt-focused CFO, and commercial leaders who know a premium airline has to spend money to make it.
That’s enough about American. I want to discuss two other airlines that have made major product announcements recently. Each is seeking to match premium trends and increase revenues.
One airline designed a product that matches its brand promise — the new offering isn’t the world’s best, but it aligns with customer expectations, and I think that makes it the right move for its target market. The other airline’s new product is more luxurious than the first carrier’s, but I don’t think it matches its brand promise. I think that mismatch makes for a weaker product.
Can you guess the two airlines I’m talking about today?