Welcome (back) aboard!

Like many people around the world, I haven’t been able to travel and see my family back in France for quite some time. I hope, as the world gets vaccinated, that reuniting with family and friends doesn’t become the exception but remains a right.

As a strategy to minimise the spread of the virus, Australian borders have been closed for almost 2 years. In some cases, the bluntness of this enforcement particularly impacts citizens wanting to return home, even those who have been fully vaccinated. In a not-so-distant future we will have to learn to travel with the virus and of course this will have a major impact on airlines and their brands.

According to experts, airlines are looking at five major issues in a post COVID-19 world.

1.????Business travel might never recover. A few years ago I worked for a global brand in a global role, based in a transient city (Amsterdam). Looking back at it now after two years of Zoom and Teams calls, most of my meetings, briefings, and general business catchups shouldn’t have required a business trip. This segment is an extremely lucrative one for airlines and revenue streams will have to come from somewhere else.

2.????Leisure trips will fuel the recovery. This sounds good at first, but many countries are considering instituting ‘passenger caps’ to control any future spikes of the virus and put an end to over-tourism. It is also expected that airlines will operate with fewer planes in a post-Covid 19 world, all of these factors together will create more demand than supply, impacting what the airlines can charge. Which leads to my next point…

3.????Airline’s debt levels will lead to price increases. Many airlines don’t own their planes outright and had to pause or continue paying leases throughout the pandemic. They also received billions of dollars in grants and loans from governments to simply survive. In order to repay these grants and loans it is expected that airlines will have to increase their prices by up to 4%.

4.????Passenger experience expectations post virus. Is it even commercially viable to suppress the middle seat or have fewer people on a plane? How will sanitising be handled … food, toilets, seats, touch screens etc.? Will we still interact with cabin crew or will they be entirely removed, replaced by a self-service experience? How can we ‘enjoy’ flying again, and what exactly will this look like.

5.????Less country-hopping. Quarantine hoops to jump through, digital health passports, passenger caps, caps against over-tourism and fewer planes… means we will have to rethink how we experience discovery. For those that love the journey to be as adventurous as the destination, how will this unfold?

Perhaps the most interesting aspect (for me!) will be what this means for communication and positioning for the airlines.

The Communication Challenge for Airlines

Airlines have often used three key features at the core of their consumer value proposition:

• The destination
• The journey
• Overall value equation

The Destination:

Qantas’ famous and very successful ‘feels like home’ and ‘spirit of Australia’ brand lines will have to be given new meaning as the borders re-open. The promise of being the airline that brings all Australians back home from their adventures to a safe haven, has simply not been true for almost two years.

Additionally, the mishandling of ‘bringing people home’ has been one of the federal government’s biggest missteps. So, the idea of everyone being gently cocooned back to safety is a prickly idea that doesn’t ring true for most, even if this has been beyond QANTAS’ control.

What about ‘the spirit of Australia’? We’ve effectively cut ourselves off from the rest of the world and started a Covid-19 war of words between states. We’re in this together has become a snarky joke, rather than a rousing call for national unity. ?Here’s a short selection of headlines:

• NSW should apologise to Victoria
• NSW minister says he has evidence of Queensland premier's 'political agenda' on Covid response
• Scott Morrison dismisses Victoria's claims
• Dictator Dan

Emirate’s advertising was ‘rewarding the curious’ and embracing a ‘tomorrow that never stops exploring’ but with more constraints, increasing concerns over the robustness of each country’s health system, and more demand than supply, will passengers fly to discover and explore, or will the overwhelming focus be on reconnecting with loved ones in familiar places.

The journey:

British Airways told us ‘To fly. To serve’, Virgin Australia talked about ‘bringing back the romance because now you’re flying’ while Etihad and Nicole Kidman were re-imagining comfort. ?Automation investment is expected to significantly increase to drive the next level of financial and health efficiency, but really, what we are talking about is reducing the interaction between passengers and staff. Do people now want more attention, or less? Do they want to be waited on, or left right alone?

Airlines will also look at reconfiguring the layout of their cabins to address health concerns and the need to deliver for leisure audiences… meaning more space for economy and premium economy - but does this mean less space for first and business-class cabins where most of the service proposition is happening?

Value:

With so many indicators predicting price increases, we can imagine a world where ‘the best possible experience, products and services at the most affordable prices’ (says many airlines) might not be possible anymore. Will value now be tied to:

• Time over price – the airline with the most direct routes?
• Design over price – the airline with the best new cabin concept (roomy, automated, sanitised etc)
• Destination over price – the airline with the best selection/access to countries?
• Mainstream luxury – the airline only servicing premium economy and above?

?It feels like airlines from the Middles East and Asia are best placed to start delivering on this new reality.

Regardless of what happens, airlines will have to reinterpret emotions like curiosity, homesickness, excitement, anticipation, and adventure to deliver the optimum proposition, while remaining true to their brand essence and innovating how to best engage, service and deliver to all customers in a post pandemic world.

However, it plays out, personally I can’t wait to be up in the air again.

Sources: The Guardian, The Economist, McKinsey & Company, SMH