Airline News Round-up

Airline News Round-up

Here are a number of other campaigns and initiatives that caught our eye.

Turkish Airlines - Lego Safety Video

Last month we had a feature on airline safety videos. The latest airline to produce one is Turkish Airlines, which has come up with one starring the characters of the Lego Movie.

It’s hard to come up with something genuinely different, but by having Lego figures (and stars) run passengers through the safety demonstrations (complete with cartoon sequences and song and dance routines), Turkish Airlines has succeeded. Yahoo! News called it “highly amusing, and filled with cameos”, while SYFY Wire says “marvel at how enthralled you could be at something you’ve probably seen countless times.”

Separately, Turkish Airlines is sponsoring CNN travel show “Quest’s World of Wonders” fronted by veteran presenter Richard Quest.

Summer family campaign - British Airways

British Airways released a survey which showed that on average, kids take their first flight when they are four years old.

The survey release coincided with the peak (Northern hemisphere) Summer travel season, where families and kids of course form a large proportion of passengers.

The survey comes as the airline says it has introduced a number of new initiatives at London’s Heathrow Airport; including family boarding passes, a dedicated check-in area and fast-track security exclusively for travellers with children under 12.

As well as finding out when kids fly for the first time, BA also polled parents on their top fears. These include keeping kids entertained (42%), disturbing other passengers (35%) and the pressure in the cabin causing them problems (29%).

easyJet Flybrary

In August of last year, we covered a programme run by British LCC easyJet, where 147 “Flybraries” were placed on board easyJet aircraft over the Summer months with the objective of getting kids to read (as opposed to staring at their iPad etc for the whole trip). easyJet has now extended its Flybrary programme by launching a creative writing competition for travellers aged 6-12 for a chance to win flights for the family.

Hainan Airlines - Mindreader

Hainan Airlines has released an ad called “Mind Reader.” In it, a group of Hainan Airlines cabin crew walk through various Paris and then through a beach that we assume is on Hainan Island itself. Throughout the ad they anticipate various members of the public’s needs.

For example, a woman reading in the evening at an outdoor cafe, has a lamp lowered onto her after one of the cabin crew waves her finger.

The ad can’t have been cheap to produce, yet we could see next to no follow-through on social media or via PR (e.g why not run a campaign around the mind reader theme?)

Other than a few social media posts with little explanation and one or two spots on ad trade sites there seems to be nothing - at least at time of writing.

Jet2 - Hold my Hand

A lot of airlines have music or a certain song they play on their aircraft while passengers are boarding and / or it is waiting to take off.

For Jet2 that song is “Hold my Hand” by Jess Glynne. The song has also featured on airline ads in the past.

Unfortunately, according to the British media, Jet2 passengers have now been hearing the song so often on repeat, especially when delayed, that they are starting to complain and in some cases threaten to stop flying Jet2.

Britain’s biggest tabloid newspaper The Sun ran a story claiming “Brits are SICK of hearing Jess Glynne’s Hold My Hand pop song on Jet2 flights”, the Northern Echo said “People are fed up”, while the story even made the Australian media with News.com.au reporting that “this song is driving people crazy on flights.”

In response, a Jet2 Spokesperson told the Independent newspaper “Our Hold My Hand concept is very popular with customers, and we receive a huge amount of positive feedback about both the advert and the song.”

Hawaiian Airlines - Voyager

A case-study published by Google claims that Hawaiian Airlines managed a 185% increase in flight bookings and a 69% reduction in passenger cost acquisition through an innovative use of search + video advertising.

Earlier this year, agencies Cole & Weber and Mediacom used google search ads for terms such as “Hawaiian Airlines” and “flights to Hawaii”

It then created a set of 15-second and 30-second video ads using the company’s market-specific brand creative and YouTube’s direct-response format, TrueView for action.

Star Alliance - The connection service

Star Alliance is running a campaign to promote its “Connection Service” at key member hubs.

Star Alliance says that the Connection Service “springs into action if an incoming flight is delayed. Connection Service staff monitor the transfer window for passengers with an onward

flight and flag any cases where a customer and any checked bags appear at risk of missing the connection.”

An ad shot by Atomic London brings the service to life by showing a man being taken on a high speed buggy ride through Frankfurt Airport to make his connecting flight.

Air France - Mathieu Lehanneur designed bar

According to Forbes, Air France has just opened the “world’s coolest new airport bar.” The airline received this praise following the unveiling of the new business class lounge at Paris CDG, where the “Le Balcon bar” has been designed by designer Mathieu Lehanneur

As well as Forbes, the design press is swooning over the new space. Design Milk claims it will “want to make you miss your flight”, while Wallpaper talks about “cloistered exclusivity.”

The Mathieu Lehanneur designed space includes a central bar and a succession of outlying theatrical box seats where passengers can relax and enjoy the comfort prior to their flight.

Each box is upholstered in blue velvet and features a large sofa, a pedestal table and connectivity services.

At the centre, the designer has integrated a LED screen into the parquet floor depicting an image of the sky. From daybreak to dusk, this giant window of light imitates the variations of the day in real time.

The cocktail menu for the bar has been developed by the Hotel Lancaster in Paris.