MAGAZINE ARTICLES / PERSPECTIVE
MAGAZINE ARTICLES / PERSPECTIVE
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2018
2018
Having introduced the five new buzzwords that have entered the aviation and airline industry in 2018, we are now ready to discuss the first one: Crowdification. Suitable synonyms for Crowdification would be over-tourism or densification.
Unlike most industries, Aviation embraces two different dimensions: ground operations and flight operations. In this article, we are therefore concerned with both what happens on the ground and what happens in the air, since they are closely linked. Let’s start with a story from the ground at first.
If Iceland can do it, so can every other country, provided each one takes a coordinated approach. Estimates indicated that Iceland would host around 2.3 million tourists in 2017. That represented a 30% increase over 2016, which was an increase of 40% compared to 2015 figures. Those predictions suggested that nearly half of Iceland’s foreign earnings would come from tourism. What a good business for a small country with a population of just 334,252 inhabitants!
To quote from the Financial Times article:
The “tourism bomb”, as it was christened locally, seemed a miraculous shot in the arm for the nation’s shattered economy and wounded pride. Marooned in the north Atlantic, Icelanders have always nurtured a fixation with how the world sees them. Interactions with any visitor would begin with the query: “So how do you like Iceland?” But with Reykjavík’s harbour full of whale-watching tour boats and cruise ships, and its streets alive with the rustle of Berghaus and North Face, the question soon seemed redundant. Everyone liked Iceland.”
On a more recent note, we have seen the havoc that a “weather-bomb” can have on aviation! The impact of a “tourism bomb” is subtler than a “weather-bomb”!
And that is the challenge – I would like to call that tourist boom Crowdification. That is when a destination becomes too popular. When it attracts all fashionistas and global wanderers as the favorite place to be seen at. As a consequence, sustainable tourism gets trampled on, with hordes of selfie-taking tourists, who spend a few days and dollars while causing damage that, in many instances, is non-repairable. This trend is severer in most visited places like Bangkok. The city is now wrestling with creaking infrastructure, traffic jams and commercialization of culture as downsides of its popularity. Entire cities and population become dependent on the income that short-staying tourists bring and forget about preserving culture, the way of life and their surroundings.
Even man-made, modern, concrete, skyscraper destinations such as Dubai could fall prey to their success. In which case, it is more technology that is driving the experience rather than authenticity, leaving the cities very vulnerable to shifts in fashion, fads and travel patterns.
Sustainability is fascinating notion. However, it has always been a challenge to be truly sustainable - so much so that in 2018, pundits are moving away from the concept of Sustainable Travel to that of Conscious Travel, whatever that means. The issue is that there are perhaps no clear-cut, simple solutions.
A focus on premium high-value tourism could perhaps help with sustainability efforts and funding but could mean that a large segment of potential mid and lower budget travelers get left behind. But again premium, Jetiquette tourism destinations such as the Maldives highlight the challenges that this segment also faces.
Let me be cheeky here and suggest that a concept of VR Vacations to be sold by Amazon could be the solution.
To quote from a recent TIME magazine article:
“Futurist Dr. James Canton, a former Apple executive and chairman of the Institute for Global Futures has this to say about Amazon - One, they’re going to move into services, and two, build a world that you can enter into with VR to not just buy things but also enjoy experiences. The retail experience in VR will be both tactile and sensory-rich. You’re going to pay for a 20-min ride on top of Everest or surf a 50-foot wave.”
For my part, I will prefer sticking to the buzzword “Crowdification” and actual travel experiences rather than virtual ones. I prefer a crowd of real people to virtual ones.
Apart from the planes they love to flaunt, airlines are obsessed with seats. Even Boeing has jumped onto the seat bandwagon with its tie-up with Adeint.
How to make a better, slimmer and more utilitarian economy seat on one side – and how to create a better, roomy more exclusive first or business class seat!
The mantra is “Seats Designed for Everyone!” But what makes seat design so vexing is that the product must work for all passengers and that is no easy feat. Airlines call it seat efficiency, I call it “Plane” Crowdification.
Walking through the aisle to sit down on a recent flight, I remembered Simplifying’s Shashank Nigam's new video on the middle seat. And I thanked my lucky stars that I was able to secure a prize window seat. A view outside always helps to distract you from the fact that your legs have no space.
Now you know where airlines came up with the term leg-room. The airline marketing experts just put a positive spin on it. So rather than calling it no-room they substituted the “no” with “leg” - called it leg-room and measured it in inches. After all, it’s not the airline fault, if your legs are too long!
A Bloomberg article captured the issue very aptly:
“The Incredible Shrinking Airline Seat - The industry has been squeezing you for years. But competition and the courts may soon provide relief (maybe)!
When Boeing Co. introduced the twin-aisle 777 in the mid-1990s, a nine-seat breadth was standard. Now, the aircraft—flown by carriers worldwide—often seats 10 across in economy, making life even more miserable for passengers. Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner has become notorious for its economy-class pinch with nine across-seating—and on some 787s, these seats are only 17 inches wide. (Airbus’s new A350 is also typically configured with nine seats across, but its cabin is about four feet wider, so it could fit 10.)”
This is how airlines now market seats - “Stretch out in comfort in Economy Class” - great to visualize it! But hold on! Before you get ahead of yourself, read the fine print. “Our Extra Legroom Seats offer a generous space for you to stretch your legs. Upgrade to greater comfort for a SMALL additional charge.” Note the emphasis on the word “small”!
We all love the creative names that airlines have come up with for their premium economy cabins. A few of them are as follows:
Club Economy; Aeromexico Plus; Classe Comfort; Premium Economy; Club Class; Hot Seat; World Traveller Plus; Delta Comfort+; Elite Class; Stretch; Extra Comfort.
Apart from the catchy names, the traveling public gets hooked on glamorous first and business class videos thanks to nifty and slick advertising. Emirates new first class, Qatar’s Quite, Singapore Airlines Suite are a reflection of the traditional approach to marketing airlines seats. That is selling a dream to the 99% of us common folks out there.
“SPACE - The path to customer loyalty” definitely reflects the way forward when it comes to the premium market segment. But is the focus of diverting passenger’s attention from Crowdification with marketing and branding enough to keep economy passengers satisfied in a world that is globally connected and aware.
For all generations of passengers, millennials and the rest, the trend seems not to be about more space, rather about less.
How's this for an airline-industry slogan for 2018: “More rules, less room” – courtesy of the Wall Street Journal
Airbus and Boeing are busy tweaking the range and capacity of narrow-body aircraft, which generate the bulk of their aircraft orders in most parts of the world, to give airlines more range, better efficiency, more seats, all ensuring much better cost per available seat kilometer (CASK).
While the focus is back on very large airplanes, thanks to the A380, its future is in the hands of one airline, namely Emirates. But what is now crystal clear is that the airliner of the future will not be the Airbus A380, or even the Boeing 787 or the Airbus A350. Instead, it would be the humble, single-aisle types such as the A321neo Airbus Cabin Flex (ACF) or the Boeing 737MAX. Single aircraft on traditional double aisle routes will only turn the spotlight back on the customer experience and intensify Crowdification.
In summary, the question of space and that of a personal seat will continue to feed both air carrier and travelers on strong emotions. However, it will be difficult for either side to win such an argument. Therefore, finding a compromise, at least temporarily, is the right way to go. From a passenger’s perspective, when faced with a choice between discomfort and higher fares, most economy travelers favor discomfort for the privilege of having cheaper flights.
Ultimately the biggest winners will be low-cost airlines – both short haul and long haul – who understand that Crowdification positioned the right way could benefit both the industry and passengers.
But is it sustainable economically and environmentally for destinations and airlines in the long run? Remember Iceland at the beginning of this article!
Having introduced the five new buzzwords that have entered the aviation and airline industry in 2018, we are now ready to discuss the first one: Crowdification. Suitable synonyms for Crowdification would be over-tourism or densification.
Unlike most industries, Aviation embraces two different dimensions: ground operations and flight operations. In this article, we are therefore concerned with both what happens on the ground and what happens in the air, since they are closely linked. Let’s start with a story from the ground at first.
If Iceland can do it, so can every other country, provided each one takes a coordinated approach. Estimates indicated that Iceland would host around 2.3 million tourists in 2017. That represented a 30% increase over 2016, which was an increase of 40% compared to 2015 figures. Those predictions suggested that nearly half of Iceland’s foreign earnings would come from tourism. What a good business for a small country with a population of just 334,252 inhabitants!
To quote from the Financial Times article:
The “tourism bomb”, as it was christened locally, seemed a miraculous shot in the arm for the nation’s shattered economy and wounded pride. Marooned in the north Atlantic, Icelanders have always nurtured a fixation with how the world sees them. Interactions with any visitor would begin with the query: “So how do you like Iceland?” But with Reykjavík’s harbour full of whale-watching tour boats and cruise ships, and its streets alive with the rustle of Berghaus and North Face, the question soon seemed redundant. Everyone liked Iceland.”
On a more recent note, we have seen the havoc that a “weather-bomb” can have on aviation! The impact of a “tourism bomb” is subtler than a “weather-bomb”!
And that is the challenge – I would like to call that tourist boom Crowdification. That is when a destination becomes too popular. When it attracts all fashionistas and global wanderers as the favorite place to be seen at. As a consequence, sustainable tourism gets trampled on, with hordes of selfie-taking tourists, who spend a few days and dollars while causing damage that, in many instances, is non-repairable. This trend is severer in most visited places like Bangkok. The city is now wrestling with creaking infrastructure, traffic jams and commercialization of culture as downsides of its popularity. Entire cities and population become dependent on the income that short-staying tourists bring and forget about preserving culture, the way of life and their surroundings.
Even man-made, modern, concrete, skyscraper destinations such as Dubai could fall prey to their success. In which case, it is more technology that is driving the experience rather than authenticity, leaving the cities very vulnerable to shifts in fashion, fads and travel patterns.
Sustainability is fascinating notion. However, it has always been a challenge to be truly sustainable - so much so that in 2018, pundits are moving away from the concept of Sustainable Travel to that of Conscious Travel, whatever that means. The issue is that there are perhaps no clear-cut, simple solutions.
A focus on premium high-value tourism could perhaps help with sustainability efforts and funding but could mean that a large segment of potential mid and lower budget travelers get left behind. But again premium, Jetiquette tourism destinations such as the Maldives highlight the challenges that this segment also faces.
Let me be cheeky here and suggest that a concept of VR Vacations to be sold by Amazon could be the solution.
To quote from a recent TIME magazine article:
“Futurist Dr. James Canton, a former Apple executive and chairman of the Institute for Global Futures has this to say about Amazon - One, they’re going to move into services, and two, build a world that you can enter into with VR to not just buy things but also enjoy experiences. The retail experience in VR will be both tactile and sensory-rich. You’re going to pay for a 20-min ride on top of Everest or surf a 50-foot wave.”
For my part, I will prefer sticking to the buzzword “Crowdification” and actual travel experiences rather than virtual ones. I prefer a crowd of real people to virtual ones.
Apart from the planes they love to flaunt, airlines are obsessed with seats. Even Boeing has jumped onto the seat bandwagon with its tie-up with Adeint.
How to make a better, slimmer and more utilitarian economy seat on one side – and how to create a better, roomy more exclusive first or business class seat!
The mantra is “Seats Designed for Everyone!” But what makes seat design so vexing is that the product must work for all passengers and that is no easy feat. Airlines call it seat efficiency, I call it “Plane” Crowdification.
Walking through the aisle to sit down on a recent flight, I remembered Simplifying’s Shashank Nigam's new video on the middle seat. And I thanked my lucky stars that I was able to secure a prize window seat. A view outside always helps to distract you from the fact that your legs have no space.
Now you know where airlines came up with the term leg-room. The airline marketing experts just put a positive spin on it. So rather than calling it no-room they substituted the “no” with “leg” - called it leg-room and measured it in inches. After all, it’s not the airline fault, if your legs are too long!
A Bloomberg article captured the issue very aptly:
“The Incredible Shrinking Airline Seat - The industry has been squeezing you for years. But competition and the courts may soon provide relief (maybe)!
When Boeing Co. introduced the twin-aisle 777 in the mid-1990s, a nine-seat breadth was standard. Now, the aircraft—flown by carriers worldwide—often seats 10 across in economy, making life even more miserable for passengers. Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner has become notorious for its economy-class pinch with nine across-seating—and on some 787s, these seats are only 17 inches wide. (Airbus’s new A350 is also typically configured with nine seats across, but its cabin is about four feet wider, so it could fit 10.)”
This is how airlines now market seats - “Stretch out in comfort in Economy Class” - great to visualize it! But hold on! Before you get ahead of yourself, read the fine print. “Our Extra Legroom Seats offer a generous space for you to stretch your legs. Upgrade to greater comfort for a SMALL additional charge.” Note the emphasis on the word “small”!
We all love the creative names that airlines have come up with for their premium economy cabins. A few of them are as follows:
Club Economy; Aeromexico Plus; Classe Comfort; Premium Economy; Club Class; Hot Seat; World Traveller Plus; Delta Comfort+; Elite Class; Stretch; Extra Comfort.
Apart from the catchy names, the traveling public gets hooked on glamorous first and business class videos thanks to nifty and slick advertising. Emirates new first class, Qatar’s Quite, Singapore Airlines Suite are a reflection of the traditional approach to marketing airlines seats. That is selling a dream to the 99% of us common folks out there.
“SPACE - The path to customer loyalty” definitely reflects the way forward when it comes to the premium market segment. But is the focus of diverting passenger’s attention from Crowdification with marketing and branding enough to keep economy passengers satisfied in a world that is globally connected and aware.
For all generations of passengers, millennials and the rest, the trend seems not to be about more space, rather about less.
How's this for an airline-industry slogan for 2018: “More rules, less room” – courtesy of the Wall Street Journal
Airbus and Boeing are busy tweaking the range and capacity of narrow-body aircraft, which generate the bulk of their aircraft orders in most parts of the world, to give airlines more range, better efficiency, more seats, all ensuring much better cost per available seat kilometer (CASK).
While the focus is back on very large airplanes, thanks to the A380, its future is in the hands of one airline, namely Emirates. But what is now crystal clear is that the airliner of the future will not be the Airbus A380, or even the Boeing 787 or the Airbus A350. Instead, it would be the humble, single-aisle types such as the A321neo Airbus Cabin Flex (ACF) or the Boeing 737MAX. Single aircraft on traditional double aisle routes will only turn the spotlight back on the customer experience and intensify Crowdification.
In summary, the question of space and that of a personal seat will continue to feed both air carrier and travelers on strong emotions. However, it will be difficult for either side to win such an argument. Therefore, finding a compromise, at least temporarily, is the right way to go. From a passenger’s perspective, when faced with a choice between discomfort and higher fares, most economy travelers favor discomfort for the privilege of having cheaper flights.
Ultimately the biggest winners will be low-cost airlines – both short haul and long haul – who understand that Crowdification positioned the right way could benefit both the industry and passengers.
But is it sustainable economically and environmentally for destinations and airlines in the long run? Remember Iceland at the beginning of this article!
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Crowded Aircraft Cabin. Photo Credit: Suhyeon Choi
Crowded Aircraft Cabin. Photo Credit: Suhyeon Choi
Copyright © 2015-2018 Airline Profits, All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2015-2018 Airline Profits, All Rights Reserved.
Destined for Aviation Leaders and Influencers, Airline Profits is the first aviation magazine devoted to improving airline effectiveness and profitability.
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Destined for Aviation Leaders and Influencers, Airline Profits is the first aviation magazine devoted to improving airline effectiveness and profitability.
ISSN 2368-7800 (Print)
ISSN 2368-7819 (Online)
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ABOUT KOFI SONOKPON
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Managing Editor of Airline Profits, the first aviation magazine devoted to airline effectiveness and profitability, Kofi Sonokpon has nearly 25 years of experience in aviation. Kofi holds an IATA sponsored Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Air Transport Management from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University in Montreal. An aviation expert and thought-leader, Kofi Sonokpon is also a speaker, trainer and the author of an innovative book series intended for the 21st century airline, namely Airlines for Business and Airlines for Technology. An accredited media delegate to the 39th Triennial Assembly of ICAO, Kofi Sonokpon is the host of Airline Profits Executive Interviews where he discusses various issues and solutions with aviation industry leaders and experts.
Managing Editor of Airline Profits, the first aviation magazine devoted to airline effectiveness and profitability, Kofi Sonokpon has nearly 25 years of experience in aviation. Kofi holds an IATA sponsored Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Air Transport Management from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University in Montreal. An aviation expert and thought-leader, Kofi Sonokpon is also a speaker, trainer and the author of an innovative book series intended for the 21st century airline, namely Airlines for Business and Airlines for Technology. An accredited media delegate to the 39th Triennial Assembly of ICAO, Kofi Sonokpon is the host of Airline Profits Executive Interviews where he discusses various issues and solutions with aviation industry leaders and experts.
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