AgVoice | Experiencing an Airline brand in India: Ganapathy

It takes a lot to keep a customer happy when it comes to a service brand be it Airlines or Hospitality. With the recent entry of Air Asia in collaboration with the TATA’s the customer will be looking forward for better brand experience when choosing an airline. What is that it will excite a traveller to choose a particular airline over the others? Let us examine what really goes into creating a great brand experience when it comes to an airline brand.  The experience will be a combination of tangible and intangible benefits which will deepen the experience of a traveller. And here’s what the traveller will look at closely. To me this will basically hover around the 5C’s that is Convenience, Cost, Courtesy, Comfort and Cuisine.

Convenience:  Here one would look at the various flight options and the convenient timings which are suitable for one to book a seat. Convenience is also measured by easy navigation and the friendliness it provides while booking the ticket on the airline website and the travel portals. Convenience can be in many ways while punctuality is one factor but the other important aspect is tele checking. In today’s hectic and busy schedule most travellers will also look forward to having good bus services from the terminal to the aircraft with excellent frequency. The good condition and the up keep of the bus will also augment the customer experience.

Cost: Finally it all boils to the cost when it comes to deciding a brand of airline.  Am I getting the best value deals be it for an individual or for the family. What kind of charges is levied when it comes to cancelling? How much in advance I can book to get the best deals? Is it better to use the travel portals or do the booking directly through the airline’s website? If I want a particular seat will they charge me extra? A very sensible and calculative customer will granularly look at all these aspects before he makes his final choice.

Courtesy: You may call it courtesy or hospitality but the courtesy extended at every touch point matters a lot. Right from the check in counter at the airport to inside the aircraft and your final exit from the airport after collecting your baggage. Assisting a Senior citizen with his luggage can really create a good impression with the traveller. Even the speed at which one receives the baggage from the conveyor belt matters a lot to every traveller and finally handling the fragile baggage carefully will really keep the traveller happy.

Comfort: How can you ignore comfort? Comfort starts from the type of seats the airline is offering. Is there enough legroom so that, I can sit with ease? All the seats recline properly for one to relax once you are in mid air. Most importantly the takeoff and landing should be smooth as many travellers have a phobia over this especially the first time traveller.

Cuisine: With many budget airlines you now need to pay for your food but having said that the food that is served also matters a lot. Giving the traveller some choice in the menu will really uplift his experience. Besides that the hygiene and freshness aspect of the food will value a lot for people to enjoy and experience the cuisine served in the flight. While most airlines offer the standard cuisine but a little extra in terms of innovation can linger in the minds of traveller when they leave the aircraft and reach their final destination.

Now with the entry of Air Asia backed by a reliable and trusted brand like TATA’s we will very soon see more brand differentiation in the blue skies. Every brand will have to pilot their brand by offering great flying experience both up in the sky and on the ground to firmly hold to their market share. | By Ganapathy Viswanathan, Vice President, Optima Response

About the writer:

Ganapathy Viswanathan the current Vice President of Optima Response has over 2 decades of industry experience in Communication, Branding and Public Relations. He has worked in diverse disciplines with several Multinational agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather, Lowe and Mudra Group. Some of the major brands he was associated were Titan Watches, Philips, Maharashtra Tourism, Dettol soap, Kelvinator and Bayer Group. His last assignment was in the field of Public Relations where he spearheaded the western region offices of 2020 MSL as General Manager.