IndiGo confusing passengers on 'Seat Plus Premium Seat'

by Devesh Agarwal

What are the best seats for tall or wide passengers on IndiGo flights? Read on to learn.

Two weeks ago, as I was making a booking on IndiGo for a flight to Delhi, I was offered a chance to buy 'Premium Seats' under the airline's Seat Plus value add-on plan for Rs. 500 per seat per flight. Premium seats include all seats in row 1 (which is against the bulkhead), and rows 12 and 13 (the emergency exit rows), and the windows and aisle seats in rows 2 and 3.

On its website IndiGo advertises these "premium seats" as offering "extra leg room", reinforced with a graphic. As a frequent traveller, I was fairly certain that this information was inaccurate.

IndiGo's description of Seat Plus Premium Seating on November 19, 2013.

To the best of my knowledge IndiGo does not offer any additional leg room on rows 2 and 3, since it keeps the same seat pitch of 30 inches for all its rows, with the exception of the two emergency exit rows 12 and 13. But, may be the airline had made some recent changes?

To dispel my doubts I contacted the call centre, and after many holds of "a few minutes" the agent was unable to say one way or the other. Even the airline's spokespersons were unable to clarify the doubts when I contacted them.

On November 22, when I flew the airline's newest A320 VT-IFV from Bangalore to Mumbai, I confirmed there is no additional or extra legroom in rows 2 and 3.

Seat plus description page on December 3, 2013

So one must ask why is IndiGo indulging in such practices? Someone at the airline over-zealous to get more value added revenue? One could take it as misleading advertising, and over-selling a feature that does not exist.

On December 3rd, As I web-checked-in for my flight, I decided to look-up the 'Seat Plus' information page, again.

Lo and behold, there is no change in the page even though I had pointed out to IndiGo the misleading information on their site two weeks ago.

So this clarification and warning to all the tall people looking for extra leg-room. Stick with rows 12 and 13. Even row 1 may not offer you the leg-room you desire. For the extra wide bodies (XWBs) like me, do not choose rows 12 and 13. IndiGo uses non-standard shorter seat-belts, and cabin crew are prohibited by regulations from giving you an extension seat-belt if you are seated in an emergency exit row.

I invited IndiGo to comment on this story, but there is no response from the airline till the publishing time. 

Do you think IndiGo is misleading its customers? Share your thoughts on this via a comment.

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Interesting trivia: It takes 96 people to fly an airline passenger

by Devesh Agarwal

A montage of photos to create a globe. Image courtesy BA.

British Airways has calculated the number of essential people involved in the customer journey in order to fly.

It is 96 different roles, across 18 different departments, using over 11 external suppliers in the process. This figures rises to 107 for premium customers, which normally includes the additional benefits of additional personalised service, fast track boarding, lounge access, and transportation, meet and greets, etc.

Before flying there are 23 crucial roles behind the scenes working to ensure everything is in place for your flight. On the day you fly, there are 38 people that contribute directly to getting you in the air. On board there is an average flight team of 16 people, including cabin crew, flight crew, may be engineers, and upon landing a further 19 people ensure your safe arrival and exit.

If one looks at just one strand in the chain; as an example a fish dish served to customers on board;

• it starts at Severn and Wye smokery in Gloucestershire, in the United Kingdom, where the fish is farmed and pre-prepared. 
• At Gate Gourmet, the flight kitchen, in London, meal trays are assembled and dishes freshly prepared ahead of flying. 
• Global logistics major Kuehne and Nagel deliver the cutlery, crockery, and tableware for the meal trays. 
• The menu has been considered for quality, taste and seasonality in advance by Mark Tazzioli, the menu manager at British Airways. 
• The meal is loaded in to food carts which are sealed by a security inspector, transported on special meal trucks that undergo more elaborate security checks, before being loaded in to the aircraft's galley. 
• On board a member of cabin crew prepares and another delivers the meal. 
• Once enjoyed, the process is reversed. The meal tray is stacked in to food carts, and returned to the galley. For premium passengers the tray is cleared and loaded into the food carts in the galley. When the aircraft lands, the containers are offloaded and returned to Gate Gourmet for cleaning, and the whole process starts again.

The equipment carried is equally challenging. On board a typical long-haul British Airways Boeing 747 flight, there will be 1,263 items of metal cutlery, 735 glasses, 233 toothpicks, 337 copies of the in-flight magazine, 2,000 ice cubes, 99 full bottles and 326 quarter bottles of wine, 58 toilet rolls, 337 donation envelopes to ‘Flying Start’ charity, and 40 skyflyer packs for children.

Abigail Comber, British Airways head of marketing, said:

“Our new TV advert shows the work that goes on behind the scenes, in order to get 100,000 people in the air every day. The research gave us a real appreciation for every single person that makes flying a seamless process. From the tug driver to the ramp agent, from NATS air traffic control to our chefs – there’s more people than you realise, that get you from A to Z.”

See the TV advert here.

Share your interesting aviation trivia via a comment.

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Video: British Airways' latest TV advertisement showcases its Boeing 787 Dreamliner

by BA Staff

British Airways' latest TV advertisement is focussed on the carrier's new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The video showcases the airline’s heritage and decades of flying know-how and innovation. The video follows a customer’s journey using a ‘micro to macro’ style of filming. The footage shows close up shots of the intimate details of flying, panning to wide shots of the aircraft in motion. The end frame poignantly shows the British Airways’ logo being stitched into fabric, with the voice-over commenting ‘To Fly. To Serve. Today. Tomorrow.’

The music featured in the ad is 'Experience (Starkey Remix)' by Ludovico Einaudi



Transcript:
To pioneer.
To engineer.
To innovate.
To imagine.
To Fly.
To Serve.
Today.
Tomorrow.

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Videos: Singapore Airlines launches its new ad campaign "The lengths we go to"

by Devesh Agarwal

Iconic national carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) has launched a new global brand campaign named “The Lengths We Go To”, showcasing the airline’s commitment to putting the customer at the heart of everything it does.

Explaining the thinking behind Singapore Airlines service experience, and the brand campaign, Singapore Airlines’ Executive Vice President Commercial, Mr Mak Swee Wah, said

“Making every customer feel at home when they fly with us has always been the cornerstone of our service philosophy. Our customers’ preferences have always been the foremost consideration in the curation process for our new products which are sourced from all over the world. This new campaign sets out to reaffirm this commitment.”

Tan Pee Teck, Senior Vice President of Product and Services at Singapore Airlines, along with three of his colleagues explain the customer centric focus of Singapore Airlines in this video which also shows insights on the rigorous training regime that goes to make the iconic Singapore Girl cabin crew.



Mak further explains

“The scenarios in the advertisements are examples of our commitment to delivering a special experience to our customers, with the Singapore Girl symbolising the lengths we go to. Despite the progression of time, the essence of the Singapore Girl and her gentle, caring ways remain especially relevant today, in an increasingly competitive environment where service excellence is the key differentiator,”

And the Singapore Girl, plays the protagonist in all three commercials which were filmed on location – Fujian in China, Glasgow in Scotland, and Venice in Italy – and involved local production crews of hundreds of people.

The first commercial depicts how SIA tailors quality products to suit the needs of its customers. A tea plantation and teahouse in Fujian were selected as the setting as this is the region from which SIA sources Jasmine tea.



The second commercial illustrates how SIA delivers the comforts of home through innovative products and services. Renowned Glasgow-based Andrew Muirhead and Son, Europe’s oldest tannery, was used as the filming location as it is where the leather used in SIA’s Business Class seats is produced.



The third commercial demonstrates SIA’s focus on curation to offer customers the best entertainment from around the world. It is set in Venice and features the Venice Film Festival, for which SIA is the Official Airline this year.



The commercials will be released progressively over three weeks, with the first being broadcast from today. A combination film, incorporating all three advertisements, will be released later this month.

The airline has also made a video showing the making of the advertisements.

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Video: American Airlines unveils new livery and branding. Go behind the scenes.

Dallas Fort Worth based American Airlines has unveiled a new livery and branding. In these two videos you can see a CGI simulation of the new livery on the airline's flagship Boeing 777-300ER.

Also go behind the scenes in a video on how the new branding and logos were created.




Share your thoughts via a comment.

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Video: Leo Messi joins Kobe Bryant as global brand ambassador for Turkish Airlines

By Devesh Agarwal and Vinay Bhaskara

Flag carrier Turkish Airlines has signed international soccer superstar Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi, of La Liga club, FC Barcelona FC Barcelona as a Global Brand Ambassador. Messi joins NBA superstar Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team, and professional tennis player Caroline Wozniacki, who have been brand ambassadors for the airline since 2011 and 2010 respectively.

In September, Messi shot a "Fly With The Best" TV commercial for the airline with Kobe Bryant in which the duo competes to win the attention of a young boy.


Recently Turkish Airlines added the 200th aircraft to its fleet, and now flies to 92 countries, more than any other airline in the world.

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Qantas release new video advertisement, changes slogan

Australian national carrier Qantas has released a new video advertisement and with it a very subtle change in its slogan. We are used to seeing "Spirit of Australia" emblazoned on the side of every Qantas aircraft.

Qantas A330-300 at Mumbai. Photo copyright Devesh Agarwal. All rights reserved.

In an effort to reach out to its passenger base, the new slogan is changed to the "Spirit of Australians".



A small, but telling change.

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Video: British Airways' new innovative London 2012 Olympic games advertisement

British national carrier is supporting the 2012 London Olympic games encouraging the citizens of the island nation not to fly during the games.

Enjoy the advertisement, and then see the video where the creators explain the idea behind the ad.

We think its an innovative ad, but would like to ask British Airways if they paid the congestion charge for central London, and if they took the secret "folding wings" option on their Boeing 777's.

What is your view? Share your thoughts via a comment.

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Video: AirAsia's "awesome" 10th anniversary ad

Malaysian low cost carrier AirAsia has released an ad titled "Awesome AirAsia" to commemorate its 10th anniversary.



It sort of reminds me of Virgin Atlantic's 25th anniversary "Still Red Hot" ad.

A hat tip to Shashank Nigam at Simpliflying for the lead.

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Video: Lufthansa's new "nonstop you" campaign's TV ad

Image courtesy Lufthansa

At the ITB show in Berlin, German carrier Lufthansa announced a new media campaign titled "nonstop you".

The new campaign attempts to build on the carrier's strong reputation amongst business travellers and also targets leisure travellers more directly than before.

Signifying a change in focus by airlines across the globe this year, the campaign focuses on the passengers and their wishes, experiences and dreams that are linked with flying Lufthansa.

The new brand positioning was explained by Dr. Reinhold Huber, Senior Vice President Product and Marketing, Lufthansa German Airlines,

“It signals a change in perspective. Now we are no longer talking so much about what Lufthansa does or what we do for our passengers. Rather the focus is on the people we are doing it for.”

This focus on "passengers as people" is also found at Dubai based Emirates airline which revealed its new "Hello World" campaign and TV spot recently.

In this, the first English ad, Lufthansa uses owls for the warm cuddly feeling, and moving on to its metal birds and a low fare offering. The one aspect of this ad that escapes me, is the Airbus A380 superjumbo. The ad appears to be targeted at the European market, and the A380 is only used on intercontinental routes by Lufthansa. So why feature it at all?



Share your thoughts. Comments are welcome.

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Video nostalgia: The TV ads of British Airways - The world's favourite airline

British Airways is one of the world's most recognisable airlines and at 93 years, one of the oldest. The radio call sign for British Airways is Speedbird, based on the stylised icon of the airline's predecessors, Imperial Airways and BOAC, and probably best symbolised by Concorde.

The airline has naturally relied upon and continues to rely on history and nostalgia for the "feel good" factor in its advertisements. The musical theme predominantly used is The Flower Duet by Léo Delibes. Yanni's Aria is a variant.

One of the most famous series of advertisements by the airline were with the tagline "The World's Favourite Airline" which debuted in 1989 with the famous "Face" advertisement, considered one the best TV ads of all time, and also one of the most expensive.



The above ad is the one revised in 1994 to show the new uniforms. The original 1989 ad can be viewed here. British Airways finally dropped the tag-line 12 years later in 2001 when it was superseded by German flag carrier Lufthansa in terms of passenger numbers.

Other ads of this era include the Island ad, and the Cry When Happy ad. One of my favourites from this genre is the "Rebecca" ad which touches upon human characteristics. One can only wonder where those wonderful human touches have disappeared to, in today's rushed world of air travel.



In 2007 the airline adopted a new tag line "Upgrade to British Airways" but still retained the musical theme.

British Airways also "Indianised" their musical theme in their 'Namaste India' ad which targeted the emerging upscale Indian tourist market.



In September 2011, to maximise its 90 years of operations, British Airways rolled out its "To Fly. To Serve." ad, the airline's largest TV campaign in almost a decade.



This year, to celebrate the London Olympic games, British Airways have released an ad titled 'The Race'.

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Video: Emirates new "Hello World" branding TVC

Dubai based Emirates airline is trying to evolve its brand from a travel / airline brand to a global lifestyle brand. The carrier set to launch a new global brand platform and direction, themed "Hello Tomorrow,” which positions the global airline as the enabler of global connectivity and meaningful experiences.

Emirates has partnered with Strawberry Frog and will launch promotions it feels will represent the spirit of Tomorrow – Tomorrow Brings Us Closer to; New People, New Experiences, New Styles, New Friends

The airline is targeting a younger audience, launching the campaign on its Facebook page.



As per Sir Maurice Flanagan, Vice Chairman of Emirates Airline & Group.

"Our new corporate image and global marketing campaign both underline the confidence we have in our existing products and services, and the vision we have for the future growth of the airline," “Emirates is not just offering a way to connect people from point A to point B but is the catalyst to connect people’shopes, dreams and aspirations.” “Emirates is connecting people and cultures creating relevant and meaningful experiences that are shaping the world,”

Is the ad conveying the message?

Please do share your thoughts on this advertisement. Do you think the ad conveys the new theme of the airline?

From this ad I am unable to see the efforts of Emirates to synonimise its brand with luxury and innovation. It is an airline of great contrasts offering ultra-luxury on-board showers in its A380 first class, but also cramming passengers into a bone crunching 10 abreast, 17 inch wide seats in the economy class.

"Globalistas"

Emirates, claims represents a group of global individuals they call ‘globalistas’. Globalistas represent individuals who are looking and living for new experiences. They are well travelled, or have aspirations to join the ranks of the well-travelled. The ‘globalista’ is not defined by typical demographic statistics but by the places they have visited and the experiences they have shared. They embrace the unlimited possibility of the future and are open to an invitation to try the unfamilia. The airline also claims these ‘globalistas’ from their 45,000 work force from over 165 different nations.

Are there persons like Globalistas as defined by the airline? And if yes, do you think they exist in significant numbers?

Sure we would all like to just travel the blue skies, but don't we have to work long hard hours to earn the money to pay Emirates to fly us there? That is, assuming, we are travelling Emirates. I would have to work extra long hours to pay for the business class seat, because I sure can't fit in the economy class seat. Or then, maybe, just maybe, a kind reader will donate me the money.

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Video: The new edgy IndiGo TV advertisement directed by Steven Antin

India's leading low fare carrier and second largest domestic carrier IndiGo has launched a new TV commercial patterned after a Broadway muscial.

Called the world’s first Runway Musical the fast-paced theatrical uses extreme choreography to represent the operational excellence required to make flights run on time.

The ad was produced in Los Angeles, California, under the direction of Steven Antin, director of the Christina Aguilera musical feature ‘Burlesque’ and choreographed by Denise Faye of ‘Chicago’ fame.



This is the second TV ad from IndiGo's advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy. Their first ad for IndiGo, released in 2010, also had a Broadway theatrical touch to it, but was more focussed on the domestic market, while the new one, has a more international flair to try and promote IndiGo's newly launched international services. The new ad also features the new dark blue IndiGo cabin crew uniform which passengers and crew alike have found to be drab and boring compared to the earlier uniform of light blue and white.



What are your thoughts on the ads? Post a comment and participate in the discussion.

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Video: Indigo's catchy "on time" TV advertisement

Delhi based value carrier IndiGo is known for its catchy advertising. With very little product differentiation between all the value carriers, on-time performance is a major draw for passengers.

Playing to its strengths IndiGo has been advertising its industry leading on-time performance across TV channels in India, with this spiffy advertisement.


What are your views on this ad ?

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SpiceJet's new TV advertisements

Gurgaon based value carrier has introduced some clever advertising on TV screens across the nation promoting features of the airline like web check in which is also offered by other low fare competitors, and complimentary supervision of unaccompanied minors which is a USP for the carrier.

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