
Trying to spark an emotional connection in the commoditized airline market - BobbyVsTheDevil
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-12-01/pivot-to-millennials-it-might-work-for-airlines
======
rogerbinns
My opinion is that airlines brought this upon themselves. With the
introduction of yield management[1] they used variable pricing to get most
revenue. But it also meant that although customers get the same flying product
experience (same seats, same plane, same service etc) they could each have
paid wildly varying amounts. The airlines started the game of trying to charge
more, which lead to consumers responding trying to get charged less. So now
you see airline related sites all focused on price.

It is a hard issue to address, but if you tell your customers that you focus
on issue X (prices in this case), don't be surprised when they respond in
kind!

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yield_management](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yield_management)

~~~
rwmj
Why has no airline tried having a pool of aircraft and flying them on
different routes depending on current demand for that route?

~~~
rogerbinns
There are charter operators who do that kind of thing, such as for holiday
destinations and religious pilgrimages, as well as cargo airlines. There are
also "wet leases" where a provider has aircraft and crew packages you can
deploy for a fee, as well as dry leases where it is just the aircraft.

However as other responders mentioned, aircraft logistics are complicated.
Unless you operate virtually identical aircraft (the Southwest, Ryanair etc
model) then you need both pilots and cabin crew that are certified on the
aircraft model. Plus you need appropriate maintenance staff, baggage handlers,
gate staff etc.

It is just too complicated to pull off logistically. That isn't to say major
airlines don't have the ability to respond on-demand. They do have spare
aircraft around, and have ones that can be chartered. For example that is how
sports team travel around the US.

Also be aware that airlines have a typical load factor (how many of the seats
they sold on each flight) of around 85%. There isn't that much slack in the
system. 25 years ago, load factors of 65% were considered the norm. These
higher load factors are also why the frequent flyer programs are so much more
stingy now - they have more paying customers to fill more seats.

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jasode
For some extra background on EasyJet and Ryanair's ability to charge lower
prices than Air France and KLM, Wendover has a short 8 minute video:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=069y1MpOkQY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=069y1MpOkQY)

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gumby
It's amazing to see AF, which used to be one of the stogy legacy carriers,
trying an experiment. Most of the legacy "experiments" have been simply low
cost, and it's hard to pull that off when you have so much, well, legacy, when
your competitors in that strategy are all-in (e.g. easyJet, Ryan, Spirit,
Norwegian). Air Berlin re-invented themselves as an easyJet-like carrier for a
while (amazingly cramped seats) but apparently couldn't change their DNA. I
wish AF the best of luck -- and they seem to be trying the experiment in an
interesting, incremental way.

On the distinctive side though there are other new-entrant carriers trying
that strategy (Virgin, JetBlue) and mostly pulling it off (well, Virgin didn't
make it in the US). In the US I prefer JetBlue when it's available, then
Alaska/Virgin, and then Southwest. I'll pay a small amount more but know I'll
get a reasonable product. I avoid the legacy carriers where the experience is
both expensive and dire, even for international flight.

My experience: former Espace Bleu on AF, 100K on UA, Exec Platinum AA, Mosaic
on JB. In other words, despite being considered one of the desirable
passengers on UA and AA, service is so bad and so generic that I avoid them.

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corford
For short/medium haul flights, all I care about is price and itinerary times.
For me it's a simple transport utility like a bus or train and so
commoditization feels inevitable. I actually care more about the airport and
ground transport options that I do the flights.

Long haul is a different story and it feels like there's still lots of space
to differentiate.

~~~
hkmurakami
I'm actually starting to get excited about good airport food options these
days.

~~~
corford
hahaha :)

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cyberferret
Back to old fashioned service and perks maybe? I still have drawers full of
engraved metal spoons, branded playing cards, and even "Junior jetter wings"
that I collected 3 or 4 decades ago when flying.

I look back at these mementoes with fondness, and while I cannot actually
remember the flights or the destinations any more, it does elicit a strong
emotional tug towards that airline.

What will it cost an airline to give each kid that flies with them a set of
metal or plastic wings? $1? Get that brand association and pride in early!

~~~
jstarfish
Most airlines I've flown recently still have plastic wings for kids. You just
have to ask for them.

~~~
cyberferret
That is cool. Most Australian airlines don't seem to. I am guessing the US
(and maybe European) ones still might do. (Some of my pins are from Pan Am,
BOAC and SAS)

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Thriptic
I've always been confused as to why people are so dissatisfied with airline
quality. If what you say is all I care about is price and nothing else
matters, then of course your experience is going to be awful as carriers slash
everything to save money. If you are willing to pay (nicer seats, priority
boarding, airport lounge access, food, booze etc) then flying isn't that bad.
This goes double for flying international.

~~~
1_2__4
Hmm. Could it be perhaps that cheap prices and bare-bones service _isn 't_
what the majority of people wants, and that since that happens to just be the
most profitable thing for airline companies to offer, they pretend that's what
the customers are demanding?

I mean it's not as if there's no precedent for that kind of behavior. The idea
the airlines are entirely subject to the whims of consumer demand seem
laughable at the surface.

Maybe phrased another way: What evidence do you have that this is what
customers want?

~~~
Thriptic
If customers were categorically willing to pay for and expected nicer features
then the nicer features wouldn't be optional, they would be standard and the
prices would rise. The fact that we are going in the opposite direction with
more and more standard features turning into options with correlated price
drops supports my theory.

Similarly, if users cared about quality then budget carriers would be dying
rather than exploding in popularity.

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PeachPlum
Once you've hit the bottom, the only way is upping the service level.

RyanAir have been trying it [1], EasyJet to some extent [2]

[1] [https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/michael-oleary-
pla...](https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/michael-oleary-plays-down-
new-nice-guy-ryanair-image-29719137.html)

[2]
[http://corporate.easyjet.com/about/strategy](http://corporate.easyjet.com/about/strategy)

~~~
pavel_lishin
Virgin seems to have done well. Their safety videos have a similar aesthetic
to the ad in the article, and their service has been good every time I fly
them.

Now, if only they would fly to places I typically go...

