Emirates Quickly (And Smartly) Responds To Laptop Ban, With Consumer-centric Answer

For those who’ve been living under a rock over the last week, you may not know about the electronics ban that is effecting certain airlines from certain countries flying to the US and the UK. While this is for ‘security reasons’, it’s certainly going to effect passengers, especially those travelling in business, who can use these long flights to catch up on emails and prepare in relative peace in quiet for their working week ahead.

But Emirates has responded in lightening speed to the ban, with a ‘Let Us Entertain You’ campaign, based on the mantra of ‘who needs tablets and laptops anyway?’ promoting the wealth of entertainment on the aircraft being enough of a distraction to while away the hours on the long-haul flights to the states.

Found on twitter and Facebook, the campaign re-hashes a portion of the original Jennifer Aniston advertising from last year’s TV advertising spots. But today, the airline also announced a customised service to ensure passengers feel their electronics are not only going to be looked after, but allows passengers to use them until the very last moment.

The airline is launching a customised service, allowing passengers flying to the US to hand over their electronics at the gate, whereby they will be safely and securely stored in special boxes, and placed in the hold, before being returned to the passengers on arrival in the states. This complimentary service is designed to stop passengers avoiding the carrier (one of the ones on the electronic ban list) during the security threat. Turkish Airlines has recently followed suit, offering a similar passenger experience.

Meanwhile many airline forums have been debating the risk of placing laptops and inaccessible lithium-ion batteries that have been shown to be a little more volatile than other batter packs. Much like the liquid ban, sadly real-world events are interfering with a passenger experience, but at least carriers, like Emirates, are fighting hard with innovative solutions to minimise the inconveniences. Good job Emirates.