In recent years, the hospitality and travel industries, including airlines, have been under pressure. They have taken a major blow from COVID-related mandates and travel restrictions. By contrast, small, private airlines have seen Covid as a boon, with more first class travelers booking private flights.
To compete and recover business, other airlines need to provide a much better experience than the competition.
Airlines must take a holistic approach to the market, including social media, partnering with online travel agencies, review sites, and offering travelers special benefits. This can make a big difference between losing travelers to other airlines.
The aviation marketing experts at Digital Authority Partners have the following advice for airlines to attract more travelers. This includes generating buzz, enticing travelers with special offers and providing a safe, comfortable and respectful travel experience.
Loyalty Points and Rewards Programs
Loyalty programs are a standby tactic for airlines and airlines. These encourage travelers to become frequent flyers and regularly book their flights with you.
Most airlines charge similar fares to destinations, so the way to gain an edge over the competition is to let travelers earn points. The points can be used for seat upgrades, free flights, VIP lounge passes and much more.
Partnering with local businesses, such as boutique hotels, restaurants, and adventure travel, is a creative way to reward loyalty program members. If your rewards are enticing, flyers can book exclusively with your airline to earn more points.
Think outside the box with your advertising strategy
You may need to meet prospective travelers on their own property. Finding ways to create awareness in people’s daily lives can create awareness and goodwill.
Exceptional airline advertising campaigns combine traditional and non-traditional methods. For example, in 2011 Air France sent a gourmet food truck through New York City’s tonier neighborhoods, handing out samples of its exceptional aviation food. Delta opened Sky360 Lounges in sports stadiums. Alaska Airlines became the official airline sponsor of the San Diego Zooâ€
†cause marketingcan be a very effective strategy for airlines. Wealthy travelers in particular are drawn to supporting global environmental initiatives. Sponsoring an environmental organization or a disadvantaged overseas community is not only an effective marketing strategy, it is good karma for business.
Social Media Campaigns Are Essential
Meet your customers wherever they use social media. When combined with cause marketing, social media can humanize your brand and form a more meaningful relationship. Make sure to showcase the community initiatives your airline is involved in and post stories about your top employees, as well as customer testimonials.
Create business pages on all major social media platforms and use them to offer special promotions, provide customer service, and give potential travelers a glimpse of unique destinations. Sites like Instagram and Pinterest are especially good places to post photos of exotic destinations and fun things to do.
To a large extent, social media, especially sites like Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest, are an escape. People often visit these sites to dream about doing fun things and traveling to faraway places. Make the most of this by creating content that helps fulfill those dreams. And while you do, make sure to include special promotions to entice dreamers into booking a flight to an exotic destination.
Influencer Marketing
Celebrities and influencers on social media are valuable assets for airlines large and small. While major airlines can afford to hire Hollywood A-listers, smaller charter airlines can leverage social media influencers. Travel influencers post beautiful photos and intriguing videos of their travels to their army of social media followers. This could be a great opportunity for your airline.
Social media is full of attractive, adventurous globetrotters with thousands or even hundreds of thousands of followers. By simply sponsoring their trips, you can get a travel influencer on your team. Partnering with hotels, restaurants, adventure travel and nightclubs can reduce the cost of sponsored travel.
Make sure to choose influencers that match your company image and destinations. For example, if you’re planning regular flights to New York City or Los Angeles, a luxury travel influencer could be a good fit. On the other hand, if you’re flying to places like Aspen or Sun Valley, both luxury and adventure travel influencers may be appropriate.
In this digital age, social media influencers are often more powerful in their niche than Hollywood A-listers or major league sports stars.
Creating a pleasant flight experience with perks
In part, the federal mask mandate on travel and aggressive enforcement by some airlines drove some first-class travelers to charter private flights. And travelers in coaches often opted for a road trip if their destination was within a radius of a few hundred kilometers. While these mandates have just been lifted, at least temporarily, airlines are still in a difficult position and not always able to provide a relaxing, stress-free experience.
However, they can relieve stress by creating a captivating flight experience with free in-seat entertainment systems that play music, TV shows, movies or games. This can give you an advantage when it comes to attracting travelers. Unfortunately, until the mask mandates are lifted, the provision of drinks and meals will be problematic.
Small charter airlines can offer their passengers tablets with movies and other entertainment options on private flights. This is a good alternative to installing in-seat entertainment systems. Small charter airlines may also have more leeway when it comes to offering food and drink.
By highlighting the in-flight benefits in your marketing campaigns, you can entice more travelers to fly with you the next time they need to book a flight.
Getting creative with your airline marketing campaigns gives you a chance to survive and thrive in today’s travel atmosphere. Remember that people are not only looking for value, but also escape when they travel. By offering good value for money and comfort alongside the travel dreams of your potential customers, you put your airline above the competition.
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