3 minute read
Flyadeal Cargo Passenger Class
If you are an LCC, how far will you go to demonstrate that you offer rock bottom fares?
If you are Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary, you start talking about charging people to use the WC, or having standing room only (“vertical seating”) places.
Advertisement
Or you could come up with a different, but similarly eye-catching idea. For example, how about putting passengers in the cargo hold?
In December, Saudi LCC flyadeal suggested exactly that when it started posting graphics and short videos on social media announcing a new innovation, coinciding with the end of its first year of flying - “cargo passenger class.”
In the introductory video, the airline’s head of marketing & digital, Piotr Lysak, is shown earnestly explaining that as almost half the cargo capacity is not utilised, they came up with this new idea, complete with graphics showing how airline seats can fit in between the cargo containers.
The video then has vox-pops with Saudi passengers saying what a great idea the concept is, before some of the practicalities are explained - for example, the need for special fans to provide ventilation, and the fact that only passengers of only a certain size can claim these seats.
A micro-site gave further details on the new offer, with explanations such as, “if you’re willing to give up window seats, reading lights and the carpet, you deserve to save on your fare.”
The whole idea was of course a joke, and the airline announced that this was indeed the case.
As the micro-site now explains, “Cargo Passenger Class was just a prank and you don’t have to go this length for a good deal!”
The reveal that the whole thing was a prank was then followed up with a number of other humorous videos.
In one, a man is loaded onto the baggage conveyor belt, in another a passenger looks down from his cargo passenger class seat and notices a man making tea on the floor, while in another a passenger has to get a fellow passenger to hold a flashlight, so he can read in the dark.
The final message in these short films is that you don’t need to go to these ridiculous lengths to get a great fare when you fly with flyadeal.
In addition, the first 100 people who subsequently registered via the microsite were given a surprise thank you of a Voucher worth SAR 300 to use on their next flight with flyadeal.
The stunt got Flyadeal a lot of exposure in the region. This included coverage in the National, Gulf News and Step Feed (“Saudi budget airline brilliantly pranks people.”)
Needless to say, engagements and comments on flyadeal’s social channels were high, with plenty of debate between people who loved and hated it.
We very much fall into the former camp - this was an inspired idea. It’s the kind of concept where you are 95% sure it is a joke, but a small part of you wonders if there might be something behind it.
After all, the concept of using cargo space for passengers is not so outlandish, last year Qantas CEO Alan Joyce suggested exactly that (albeit his thought was to use the area to improve passenger comfort on ultra long haul flights, not to sell cheap seats).
Also, while the idea was good, so was the follow-up, with the funny short videos making fun of the whole concept. One of the benchmarks for us on whether a stunt is successful is this - is it a “one hit wonder”?
Does the stunt happen, and then it’s gone and people have forgotten about it, or does it have some kind of longer shelf life?
flyadeal managed to keep campaign momentum going, even after it came clean that the whole idea was just a prank.
