No plain Jane travel

With Hello Tomorrow, Emirates Airlines attempts to go a step beyond its last Keep Discovering anthem

The European man in the first scene of the current Emirates television campaign who dreamily looks out of the window of his car, is seen in the last scene of the commercial too — on a bus going down a dusty road in India.
The theme of connectivity is all-pervasive as one scene leads to another

The ‘Hello Tomorrow’ campaign, which is across mass media and digital, attempts to project the Emirates as not just a carrier of people, but also as a lifestyle brand as it increasingly faces competition from operators located in the Gulf region, where it is based, as well as from global carriers.

Ratan Shrivastava, director (aerospace and defence practice) at Frost & Sullivan, says “Emirates wants to position its service as an experience. This campaign tries to target a growing customer base that is travelling with a perspective of “experiencing and exploring with a bit of extravaganza.” It is not just plain Jane travel anymore,” he says.

For Emirates this is crucial. It was ranked fifth amongst international airlines for passengers flown in 2010 and aspires to be the largest airline by 2015.

The new brand theme is an attempt to connect with the modern-day traveller and promote Dubai, where it is headquartered, as a global aviation hub. Currently, Emirates operates the largest fleet of wide-body Boeing 777s and Airbus A380s in the world and is adding new routes each month.

“Our new corporate image underlines the confidence we have in our existing products and services,” says Maurice Flanagan, vice-chairman of Emirates Airline & Group. “Emirates is not just offering a way to connect people from point A to point B, but is the catalyst to connect people’s hopes, dreams and aspirations,” he says.

The new campaign, aviation analysts and brand experts say, is in sync with the airline’s expansion strategy too.

“Emirates is reinventing itself for a more global audience and with a common theme to unite all the markets and destinations it serves. The airline is clearly looking to build on its brand recognition particularly as it expands into new areas like the United States and also in Latin America,” says London based aviation analyst Saj Ahmad.

Earlier this year Emirates launched flights to Dallas and Seattle from Dubai and is launching a service to Washington DC as it competes with European carriers which dominate trans-Atlantic routes. From an Indian point of view, it is the largest foreign airline operator with 185 flight a week.

Yet, for all this, the Americas contribute just about 10 per cent to Emirates at the moment, which is less than even Africa. East Asia & Australia and Europe, on the other hand, contribute the bulk at 29.2 per cent and 27.2 per cent respectively.

“Challenges (to Emirates) come from Etihad and Qatar Airways, who are also pursuing a hub model with new aircraft and services. But Emirates benefits from a wider network of destinations in addition to the popularity of Dubai as a transit point,” said Raghu Mandagolathur, senior vice president (research) in Markaz, a Kuwait-based investment bank and asset management company.

As far as India is concerned, Emirates has expanded rapidly. In the last decade, flight operations have gone up almost five times. If that is not enough, Emirates is now focusing on exclusive services - such as a dedicated lounge, the second such, at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi for its business and first class passengers.

This comes in addition to its chauffeur-drive service in Chennai last year exclusively again for first and business class passengers. The chauffeur-drive service is already available for passengers in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Orhan Abbas, vice-president, India & Nepal, Emirates Airlines says, “The Indian market has always assumed significance for Emirates’ international operations and we are always on the lookout for opportunities to strengthen our relations with India.” He adds that the passenger revenue from India was up 18 per cent in first half of 2011 and average load factors were over 80 per cent.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/no-plain-jane-travel/475707/