“I haven’t seen as many United employees wearing the airline’s logo. Who would want to be accosted by angry customers who had a bad experience with their employer?”
Oh? Where are you looking? Do you live in United-centric Chicago, Denver, or Houston? I live in Minneapolis and I do see Delta swag on display from time to time. Same with United Healthcare, Target, US Bank, Medtronic…even Sun Country…all MSP hometown companies.
But nobody is accosting people because that’s not what realistically happens. People that had a bad experience with a brand simply tell others about their bad experience. It’s all about working for positive/increasing net promoter score, not fear of confrontation.
Great article, as usual, Brian. I think United is definitely trending ahead with this move. Stop and look around, everyone is on their phones. Sure, some of that time is spent answering emails, texting kids or spouses, but a lot of that time is spent scrolling. Inspired travel has been coming at us for the last 4 or 5 years, mainly small startups on Instagram. How long before you can click on a United post and go straight to their .com, maybe you can do it now, admittedly I haven't tried. I think this is less about who does what well, they all do or don't on any given day, but this is about leaning into a future marketing channel that isn't being leveraged by everyone else.
United needs great advertising, as their services are not premium. Basic Business Class: Premium Marketing, Not Premium Product
I looked at airfare yesterday to EZE from ORD, and the numbers tell the story. United's fare was about $1,000 more round trip than their basic business class fare, and American's normal business class fare was about the same as United's discounted "basic" option. In other words, the basic business fare is now landing close to what the full fare used to cost, and the traveler is simply getting less for the same money.
I understand basic economy. That trade-off makes sense to travelers; the name itself is telling: economy, and somewhat to economize more than others. Business class is supposed to be different. People choose a premium product because they want it simple and straightforward, and stripping out what used to be included, without meaningfully reducing the fare, is the opposite of premium.
My own experience backs this up. I flew RSW to EZE last year on United, connecting through Houston. The outbound flight departed at 11:55 a.m. and fell inside of United's own stated meal service window, and the return flight was over breakfast time. No meal was served in first class either way. If a "premium" airline can't consistently deliver the basics it advertises, slicing the product further into a cheaper, stripped-down business fare only makes the gap between marketing and reality wider, and I can see why United is spending so much time attempting to tell people a story that is not true.
Since that trip, I've purchased three long-haul tickets with my wife and steered away from United on all of them, choosing American for two. American hasn't introduced this basic business fare structure, and that consistency matters to me. United calls itself a premium airline, and maybe that was true once. Slicing and dicing the product this way, while charging nearly what the full fare used to cost, is marketing the idea of premium more than delivering it.
“I haven’t seen as many United employees wearing the airline’s logo. Who would want to be accosted by angry customers who had a bad experience with their employer?”
Oh? Where are you looking? Do you live in United-centric Chicago, Denver, or Houston? I live in Minneapolis and I do see Delta swag on display from time to time. Same with United Healthcare, Target, US Bank, Medtronic…even Sun Country…all MSP hometown companies.
But nobody is accosting people because that’s not what realistically happens. People that had a bad experience with a brand simply tell others about their bad experience. It’s all about working for positive/increasing net promoter score, not fear of confrontation.
Great article, as usual, Brian. I think United is definitely trending ahead with this move. Stop and look around, everyone is on their phones. Sure, some of that time is spent answering emails, texting kids or spouses, but a lot of that time is spent scrolling. Inspired travel has been coming at us for the last 4 or 5 years, mainly small startups on Instagram. How long before you can click on a United post and go straight to their .com, maybe you can do it now, admittedly I haven't tried. I think this is less about who does what well, they all do or don't on any given day, but this is about leaning into a future marketing channel that isn't being leveraged by everyone else.
United needs great advertising, as their services are not premium. Basic Business Class: Premium Marketing, Not Premium Product
I looked at airfare yesterday to EZE from ORD, and the numbers tell the story. United's fare was about $1,000 more round trip than their basic business class fare, and American's normal business class fare was about the same as United's discounted "basic" option. In other words, the basic business fare is now landing close to what the full fare used to cost, and the traveler is simply getting less for the same money.
I understand basic economy. That trade-off makes sense to travelers; the name itself is telling: economy, and somewhat to economize more than others. Business class is supposed to be different. People choose a premium product because they want it simple and straightforward, and stripping out what used to be included, without meaningfully reducing the fare, is the opposite of premium.
My own experience backs this up. I flew RSW to EZE last year on United, connecting through Houston. The outbound flight departed at 11:55 a.m. and fell inside of United's own stated meal service window, and the return flight was over breakfast time. No meal was served in first class either way. If a "premium" airline can't consistently deliver the basics it advertises, slicing the product further into a cheaper, stripped-down business fare only makes the gap between marketing and reality wider, and I can see why United is spending so much time attempting to tell people a story that is not true.
Since that trip, I've purchased three long-haul tickets with my wife and steered away from United on all of them, choosing American for two. American hasn't introduced this basic business fare structure, and that consistency matters to me. United calls itself a premium airline, and maybe that was true once. Slicing and dicing the product this way, while charging nearly what the full fare used to cost, is marketing the idea of premium more than delivering it.
Stop marketing and start being a premium airline.