KLM - Bright Ideas with Kids

KLM - Bright Ideas with Kids

KLM in 2011 launched its ‘Bright Ideas’ Facebook initiative as a way to crowdsource ideas that would improve the passenger experience.

The latest iteration of the concept is focused on children, with the airline turning to its Facebook and Twitter communities for input on how it could improve the experience of traveling with kids. Until February 4, fans could submit their ideas on the Bright Ideas with Kids website, with all ideas being listed in a box that together formed a matrix. Each box had its own comment and sharing functionality. Submitted ideas ranged from having a “flight simulator on the onboard system” to “Lego mindstorms” and “inflight tours for kids.” To evaluate and select the best ideas, KLM assembled a “critical jury” of ten children between the ages of four and eleven, whose photos and profles were published on the Bright Ideas matrix as “experts”.

KLM is not the only airline that is looking at ways to improve the travel experience for its youngest passengers. Virgin Atlantic last year invited ten year-old Billy Yeomans for a full day to “test and approve” the airline's then-recently refurbished 747-400s. Billy then had to submit a report on his experience with the airline to the airline’s founder Richard Branson.