SAUDIA'S IN-FLIGHT SUSTAINABILITY LAB

SAUDIA, the national flag carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, created the world’s first in-flight sustainability lab, which involved guests on a Jeddah to Madrid flight submitting ideas on how air travel could become greener.

Passengers onboard flight SV 227 were invited to submit ideas on greener air travel, covering the flight itself, time spent at the airport and arriving at the destination.

After the meal service, each passenger was given three post-it notes (printed on recycled paper), where they wrote down their suggestions, before handing the notes back to the cabin crew. The notes were then displayed on the bulkhead for all passengers to interact with. The in-flight lab was mirrored by a similar ‘ideas initiative’ that took place at SAUDIA’s headquarters in Jeddah, involving the airline’s employees. In total, 150 unique ideas were submitted by guests onboard flight SV 227 and SAUDIA team members.

Run in partnership with SimpliFlying, it was the first time an airline is partnering with its customers to make flying greener. An in-flight Lab elevated the conversation and helped re-build trust in travel as passengers had a say in creating a greener future for aviation. For this effort, SAUDIA won the award for best customer engagement award by Skyteam for its Sustainable Flight Challenge. Brand eXpression is about engagement. Saudia demonstrated how an airline can involve passengers and employees in a productive conversation about sustainable travel.

Dealing With Industry Uncertainty

Airlines have to deal with many issues beyond their control, much more than companies in other industries – from pilot unions and government regulations to events like 9/11. Even the sudden appearance of new competition on a premium route, or a competitor going bust can often affect the airline’s performance. Something as mundane as flight delays due to weather is beyond the airlines’ control as well. The fact is that every airline faces the same hurdles; it’s how each one reacts that sets it apart from the competition.

Knee-jerk reactions are all too common in the airline industry. When the oil prices hit $140 per gallon in mid-2008, most U.S.based airlines started charging for checked bags to drive ancillary revenues. They kept these charges for the long term due to the additional revenue brought in, despite oil prices hitting record lows recently.

Interestingly, there was hardly a flutter from Southwest. The original low-cost carrier in the United States ironically is the only one not charging a checked-bag fee today. This is because dealing well with uncertainty requires a clear vision of what the brand stands for and what the airline can and cannot do. The airline calls this “Bags fly free” and often runs brand campaigns around their policies.

A much-overlooked fact is that brand eXternalities are hidden opportunities to impress the customer beyond expectations, often by showing the human side of the company.

When an AirAsia plane crashed in December 2014, Tony Fernandes led from the front, interacting and engaging with the public, media, and employees in a very personal manner. Resilience and flexibility are the keys to surviving industry-wide shocks, and the better airlines are prepared to leverage on these to build their brand further.

By avoiding knee-jerk reactions to eXternalities, airlines also project trustworthiness. Reaction to sudden appearance of new competition or rises in fuel prices shouldn’t change the customer experience drastically. Brand trust takes a long time to build and should not be breached overnight.