We’re currently in an era of rebounded passenger volumes, overwhelming profit margins, and seemingly sustained growth in virtually all aspects of the aviation industry. While much of that profit has been realised by heavily streamlined operations post-COVID, it’s also been due to pared back passenger experiences over the past 12 months, with many airlines only now bringing the pre-pandemic customer product back to the skies. Austrian has just returned its flying chefs, many airlines have brought back the much-loved A380s, appreciated by all except accountants, and airlines are reinvesting in lounges once again.
But, what are the trends to look out for over the coming 12 months? Don’t expect much in terms of hard products, after all, most airlines are already rolling out the latest seats available on the market. This leaves the other, less quantifiable elements of the passenger experience open for grabs.
The rush to retrofit
Product consistency is going to be the biggest challenge for airlines. If you haven’t noticed, there’s now a phrase dubbed ‘being Qatar’d’ on social media. Qatar Airways has become a victim of the success of its QSuite. Sadly, the airline has had to change aircraft types on what seems like (based on social media forums) quite a frequent basis, meaning the QSuite which people had originally booked wasn’t available. Now, to be fair, Qatar’s other seat products are still very decent in comparison to the rest of the airline industry, but that doesn’t mean much to those who feel they have been shortchanged.
The sooner the airline can offer consistency, the quicker the airline will be able to mitigate these disappointments and deliver on its brand image promise. They aren’t the only airline, mind you. If you look at British Airways, who still have their yin-yang product as they complete their retrofit, or Emirates who has been sued for mis-selling its product on flights to New Zealand. The rush to retrofit is truly the biggest hurdle for airlines with large fleets who are trying to upgrade their passenger experiences.
Food food food
Inflight chefs, Do&Co, seasonal farm-to-table menus, celebrity chefs, a la carte dining… the inflight meal is well beyond the chicken or fish meals of yesteryear. People are increasingly becoming more interested in the dining options available onboard, especially as consumer diets are becoming increasingly varied and as a whole we are more picky about what we consume.
The biggest changes we should see in trends is the introduction to locally inspired cuisine, and an increase in healthy and wellbeing options available onboard. As the hard products are becoming comparable across the globe, food is one of the bigger deciding factors, with passengers picking airlines over a menu. Interestingly, Singapore Airlines, the world’s leading airline by some rankings has been receiving criticism that the food isn’t what it once was, and that’s because it’s one of the most visible elements of the passenger experience.
Serious Cellars
While food is going to become one of the biggest battlegrounds in passenger experience over the coming months, the drink element is just as important. Airlines are increasingly creating signature cocktails and boarding drinks. More and more airlines are offering a range of local microbrews for beer drinkers, and even low cost carriers are doubling down on more unusual top shelf spirits to increase spends.
Taste is an important and powerful memory trigger and it’s one of the most memorable elements of the passenger experience when you look at reviews online. While airlines such as Virgin Atlantic are celebrating British sparkling wines, and TAP Portugal and Condor offer wines only from their home countries, there’s a need to provide greater variety beyond just spirits. JetBlue and Etihad have created signature mocktails, and because of the Nespresso machines onboard, iced coffees and complex coffee serves are just as important. After all Austrian offers more than a dozen coffee options onboard due to the café culture in Austria.
Branded, custom content
Standing out is what is most important. In a sea of similar seats and dining, entertainment is a key differentiator onboard. Yet the movies and TV shows that we get to watch are bought through the same handful of suppliers across the entire industry, meaning its harder and harder to create a playlist of content that really represents the airline. That’s why airlines are investing in content that reflects the carrier’s brand image. Etihad has a sea of content on Abu Dhabi front and centre. Delta and British Airways are trying to stand out with partnerships with Paramount Plus and Virgin Atlantic celebrates the best of British onboard.
But there’s a missed opportunity for bespoke branded content onboard, like the Three Perfect Days destination guides that United used to paly on its IFE, or the Vera podcast which delivers compelling bespoke content to those who are visually impaired. The more an airline can craft a bespoke mix of content, the more chance it has to engage with its passengers and build its brand positioning.
Mirror mirror
Airlines are notoriously siloed. Departments rarely spoke to each other, but those historic walls are starting to crumble while passenger experience departments are being forged, but sadly they aren’t everywhere just yet. This means that there can be frustrations from passengers where ground and air product simply don’t match up.
In lounges, food and drink can vary wildly with ground suppliers having a wildly different offering not just between air and ground product, but even by geography. While its fine to have local influences (and this is something we encourage) having a core range of products across the network is important. Same champagnes on the ground and in the skies, or the same signature dish in every lounge, like the salt and pepper squid for Qantas, or Dan Dan noodles for Cathay.
But it’s beyond food and drink, it’s design language, it’s the content on the TVs (such as BBC News in lounges and Sky News onboard). Surprisingly, United, American and Delta are all leading the way with unified experiences, even the naming architectures seem to align, such as the Polaris product both on the ground and in the skies.
Brand partnerships a plenty
Let’s face it, while airlines are trying to win back market share, they’re trying not to break the bank either. That’s where brand partnerships come in to play, such as Paramount Plus and Delta, or Porsche and Air Canada. Even Whispering Angel has come out to play with British Airways, United and Virgin Atlantic. After all, the airline audience is a captive market, and the prime place for a third party brand to advertise.
We expect brand partners to get involved with entertainment, food and drink, amenities and ground products, but there are key factors to consider; firstly the brand has to offer a surprise and delight moment, enhancing the passenger experience and secondly, that there has to be a logical fit for the two brands, just like Armani Casa and Etihad.
Sensory overload
This is one area that we think is heavily under-developed. The use of senses throughout the passenger experience, especially those of smell and sound. These senses are incredibly powerful and often under-represented. Boarding music, sonic branding, scents and fragrances are often seen as after thoughts, rather than an integral part of the branded universe.
There are some good examples, such as Turkish Airlines’ diffusers from Molton Brown in its onboard toilets, Etihad’s custom-made boarding music, or Virgin Atlantic’s ever-rotating mix of contemporary artists on boarding too. Even China Airlines and Air New Zealand pump music into their onboard toilets. But often we’ll see hot towels without scent or different brands used on the ground and in-flight. It’s time for these passenger experience departments to ‘infuse’ the brand they are creating across all the senses, not just the elements we can see, touch, or taste.
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