Business | Aviation
Will Air France brand survive?
For most companies, a terrible accident or malfunction with their product, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of their customers, would be apocalyptic for their brand's credibility.
- By Jane Ferguson, Business Features Writer
- Published: 23:16 June 10, 2009
- Image Credit: Reuters
- An Air France worker at Tom Jobim International Airport in Rio de Janeiro on the day of the crash.
Dubai: For most companies, a terrible accident or malfunction with their product, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of their customers, would be apocalyptic for their brand's credibility.
With airlines however, disastrous crashes do happen and yet their brands often maintain customers.
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After 228 lives were lost last Monday on Air France's flight AF 477 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, many would presume the situation for the company's PR and marketing team is entirely hopeless.
A Gulf News poll this week revealed that 66 per cent of 6,707 respondents said they would not fly with Air France this summer.
Fundamentals of the industry, a fast moving media world, and heightened responses by airlines however leave many unscathed in the long run by such rare events, experts say.
The industry of air travel has become so price-driven that the actual airline travellers fly with has become secondary to cost considerations, said Nick Rowley, managing director of Sky Aeronautical, an international airline management and leasing company. Sky Aeronautical specialises in countries facing political tension and a risk of war, such as Iraq.
"I don't really think there is a lot of brand loyalty in the aviation industry," added Rowley.
He believes Air France's crash will have little impact in the long run on the company's revenues.
"I don't think it makes any difference to the brand," he said.
Troubles faced by airlines globally as a result of the economic crisis have not left Air France untouched. The carrier recorded an 8.1 per cent decline in traffic last month, compared to the same month last year.
Rowley doesn't believe the recent disaster will worsen such figures for long.
"If I was them I would be thinking they would be taking a drop in sales no longer than a month."
Potential customers are more likely to be put off flying as a result of the global economic crisis, said Tony Harrington, managing director of Asia Pacific Public Relations.
"The economic climate is probably more of an off put at the moment," he said.
His company has provided PR expertise to a number of major international airlines such as Etihad, SriLankan Airlines and Air New Zealand.
With customers becoming ever more aware of their need to spend less on air travel, this preference for price over brand is evident in internet booking sites.
"Internet booking is built in a way that is price drive," said Rowley.
"Some of those search engines don't even describe the carrier."
Indeed, as a result of partnerships between various airlines, a passenger can end up travelling with any one of a number of carriers, Harrington said.
He stressed that the fast-paced nature of today's media means that potential customers are kept extremely up to date with the details of such crises. But equally, as the news moves on to new territory people thereafter tend to forget.
"The news cycle tends to dilute the impact because it's such a fast cycle," said Harrington. "There is so much out there that people become acclimatised more quickly."
"Sometimes people have a very short memory," he added.
Rowley agreed, saying, "Once it's off the media it's no longer in their minds."
This, however, means that airlines must move even more quickly and openly when responding to such a disaster, as the public becomes used to faster information feeds.
"The golden rule in any crisis management is move quickly and tell the truth," said Harrington. "It's a very difficult and very delicate task."
Since the crash, Air France has responded with the mobilisation of a 4,000-strong voluntary programme of staff members, established in 1998, counselling services and a toll free information number for friends and relatives.
Harrington, however, sees more of a role in the company's brand than Rowley, saying that a strong brand, such as that of Air France, will help to recover quickly from such devastating coverage.
"The strong brands survive," he said.
A practical consideration drawn on by Rowley is that of summer charter work already contracted to the airline by tour operators.
With the summer holiday period already under way, such holiday companies would struggle to find a replacement carrier at such short notice for large groups.
"Nobody's going to be able to walk away from it and even if they did, where would they go?" he said.
Ultimately, history has shown that airlines generally do survive the catastrophic coverage inflicted by a major crash, and their brands often remain intact.
"If you look back over the years there has been any number of accidents with major operators," said Harrington. "People will still travel with them."
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