The Value of Values Part Two:The Sky’s the Limit

In the first instalment of our travelling tales we emphasised the importance of establishing ‘foundation’ values before setting out on a path towards differentiation. This week we wanted to delve into the travel arena further by looking at the airline sector as a whole and exploring who is ruling the skies when it comes to brand alignment.

Our experience of flying with different airlines over the last couple of weeks has ranged from excellent to downright appalling. More than this was the lack of brand alignment or even a defined brand for many of the airlines. They all seem to offer the same thing. Yes we want excellent customer service, easy check in, good food, convenient schedules and for our flights to arrive on time. The problem is that these are now foundation/hygiene factors in the airline sector, we expect them and they are by no means differentiating. You only have to look at the news to understand the rising expectations in the sector. Look at Ryan Air in 2013. Their share price fell by 13% and have they been increasingly under attack over their treatment of passengers, yet they generally get passengers from a to b safely and on time.

From our experience, we believe that there is only one global airline in the sky that is delivering an aligned and brilliant on brand experience; Virgin Atlantic. Their mission is to ‘embrace the human spirit and let it fly’, and that is exactly what it delivers. From their innovative and award winning upper class suites to their funny and engaging twitter feed, each point in the customer journey is on brand and is delivered. And their results speak for themselves. In 2013 pre-tax profits increased to £68.4 million up from £34.8 million the year before. This was all in the depths of a recession! They are a small airline with a big brand which continues to grow.

But let us not be too hard on airlines. The sector is complex with many elements beyond their control such as extreme weather, disruptions with air traffic and malfunctions with planes to name a few. If it is a safety issue and a flight needs to be cancelled, it needs to be cancelled. The lesson here for airline brands is to understand how they respond to these issues. How would they behave? What would their tone of voice be? This can only be achieved by having a clear positioning, personality and set of values which are delivered day in and day out by their fully engaged staff.

There is a major opportunity for airlines in the future to create clear and visionary brands to deliver exceptional and differentiating brand experiences. It will be interesting to see how the markets play out. If other airlines do not raise the bar our money is on Virgin to rule the skies.