benchmark report
airline marketing
British Airways ‘It’s A Jumbo Job’ A 747 has loaded before each flight a total of 1,263 items of metal cutlery, 1,291 items of china crockery, 538 meal trays, 735 glasses, 650 paper cups, 34 metal teapots, 220 drinks stirrers, 500 coasters, 233 toothpicks, 2,000 ice cubes, 99 full bottles and 326 quarter bottles of wine, 700 small cans of fizzy drinks, 164 bags of nuts in Club World, 337 cushions and pillows, 337 sets of headphones, 337 headrest covers, 435 air sickness bags, 58 toilet rolls, 40 extension seatbelts for children, 340 safety cards, 337 copies of High Life magazine, 40 skyflyer packs for children, and five first aid kits. British Airways created an oversized piece of artwork on one of their hanger floors, created purely by items found onboard one of their 747s. The ar twork was created to highlight the amount of items that are loaded onto each 747 flight.
VS Little Red ‘3D street artists’ Rod Green, British Airways’ head global supply chain said: “It’s a huge job getting a jumbo in to the air, let alone a fleet of 52 every day. There are teams across the airline working together 365 days a year to ensure that all 27,260 items are delivered on time and to the right place to ensure our customers enjoy the very best travel experience. When we receive our new aircraft, the challenge will be even greater.” The ar twork was pieced together over 7 hours by a team of 50 British Airways workers, and British Airways released a time lapse video of the ar twork being created.
‘Painting the town red’, Virgin Atlantic also took to the floor to make their own ar tworks. This time, the ar twork was drawn on the streets of Manchester in the UK. This was to celebrate the launch of their Little Red domestic services.
The image was hosted by cabin crew from the airline, who posed with passers by to “give the general public a chance to emulate a famous Branson-style wing walk in the company of our glamorous cabin crew”
The ar twork, created by 3D Joe and Max, is an ‘anamorphic’ image, distor ting the perspective of it’s surroundings to create an illusion of being par t of the scene it’s painted into.
Virgin Atlantic have a long history of Sir Richard Branson personally appearing at the launch of routes, including a wing walk with crew or performances. This time, Sir Richard Branson appeared at the launch of sister routes to Glasgow and Edinburgh wearing a kilt, jokingly lifting it to reveal his underwear with the message ‘Stiff Competition’ - a friendly jibe at their British rival.
The image was of the Virgin Atlantic’s Little Red fleet, flying (perhaps a little bizarrely) over Sydney harbour in Australia, but this was to showcase the connections that the airline can now provide from Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh. The first time, since airline par tner bmi was sold to rival British Airways.
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