Getting Passengers to want to buy airlines food
Found in Seattle Post Intelligencer on April 14, 2010
The article that I chose to read was about the lack of food sales for airlines. It mentions that airlines are trying to make a stronger effort to make more desired meal choices for individuals on airplanes. With the lack of purchasing of airline foods, many companies are losing an entire market. Individuals know the reputation of airline food and have been purchasing food from chains before getting on board. The article described the consumption of airline food as cause and effect. Once airlines started to charge for in flight meals, passengers then resorted to purchasing meals from chain companies within airports. In addition, airports are able to raise prices for their food because people are given limited options. The commonality of such a purchasing habit has reached the airline companies. Some companies have been attempting to make drastic efforts. The article mentioned that Virgin Airline's has even added an Absinthe and Sprite cocktail to their drink cart. People appreciate the most minor of things when it comes to air travel, like if they can receive a seat assignment in advance, and if there are an array of drinks offered. People with children would most likely choose an airline that offers quality food at an affordable price opposed to running around the airport before the flight in a hurry. American Airlines recently has been collaborating with Boston Market in attempts to provide airline passengers with a more desirable in flight meal.
The future of food on airplanes seems to be brighter than its dark past. In the future, it appears that more options will be offered to passengers. The airline companies have begun to realize that they are missing out on a large market. Their revenues would greatly increase with the evolution of edible and desirable foods on planes. If it means collaborating with bigger American food companies such as Boston Market to obtain a share in the airplane food market, then it should be done. Passengers will feel more comfortable eating the foods on airplanes from known American companies opposed to a boxed good, with no food label, and some airline company logo.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/archives/201833.asp?from=blog_last3
Within the past year, I have become a huge fan of Southwest Airlines for business travel. Their new boarding process has overcome my previous major objections. Add to that their free baggage policy (for the first two bags), on-time arrival and departure, regular pilot communication, and the use of full size planes has turned me into a raving fan! And given the frequency of my business travel, that has turned into real money for Southwest.
Jody Hoffer Gittell, author of The Southwest Airlines Way: Using the Power of Relationships to Achieve High Performance, argues "that Southwest's most powerful organizational competency- the 'secret ingredient' that makes it so distinctive- is its ability to build and sustain high performance relationships among managers, employees, unions, and suppliers." p.xii
If you have always wondered how to turn business relationships into a competivetive advantage, check Gittell's book out. You will soon see how the deceptively "soft stuff" turns business relationships into gold.
(Southwest Airlines Way is available on Amazon.com)
Joe Sperry posted a great blog entry on small talk.
He wrote about Southwest Airlines and how they hire new customer service representatives based on their conversation skills and personalities.
Representatives from the customer service team meet with the potential new hire and they see if the potential hire fits in with the team. It's brilliant.
Southwest has had some great ideas lately-- one that sticks out the most to me is their new approach to in-flight announcements.
They noticed that most people ignore the in-flight announcements and have created a way to grab attention and revamp their brand.
Here's a great example from CBS News. I would definitely pay attention to the in-flight announcement if this guy was rapping it!
If there were a contest for the best small talker, the organizers wouldn’t even let me near the building where the contest was being held. Time and again I’ve proven that casual conversation is mostly beyond me.
I’ve watched as others discuss the weather endlessly, seemingly fascinated by temperatures, wind direction, and humidity, while I fought the narcoleptic state that such discussions cause me to slip into.
I tend to be more of a reactive conversationalist. I’ll let the discussion create itself and then, when I think I have something to add, I’ll add it. People tend to like my additions, thankfully, though I have to be careful with sarcasm and irony.
But in places like conferences or seminars or even my wife’s high school reunion, when I have to interact with people I do not know, I can attempt a response and find my mouth open, ready to speak. At that instant it is as if a trap door has opened in my mind and all the words have dropped out.
While I show few skills in the direction of small talk, my family abounds with excellent small talkers. My wife Rose has the ability to exchange three or four statements with a person whom she has not met before and then suddenly they both are discussing their hopes, dreams, and fears. I’ve seen her do it many times yet I remain amazed. My son Michael is a gifted salesperson who can easily engage with people—creating relationships with the sounds that issue from his mouth. It’s a valuable skill.
I know that Southwest Airlines and Whole Foods hires customer contact people by having the existing customer team sit down and talk with a potential hire. They are interested in seeing how effectively the potential hire is at initiating or engaging a conversation. This seems to me an excellent way to determine how a person will do in social situations with customers.
I’ve never heard a cross word from a Southwest employee; nor have I ever felt ambushed when a Whole Foods employee asked if I needed any help. There is a genuineness there that goes far beyond seller-buyer relationships. Such ability, because it is very hard to teach, offers possibilities for that rarest of the rare in this economy, a sustainable competitive advantage. Niceness as economic driver. JSperry