Where were your marketeers during the last downturn

The air transport industry has suffered more than many industries over the last 30 years, having been affected at a local level by global issues both economic and political. About 5-7 years between each crisis is about par for the course. If its not an economic downturn , its the fallout form a terrorist event or a country invasion.



Since the last economic downturn, interaction with the customer has improved dramatically with web based applications delivering information and decision making ability to the web savvy customer. The cost of sales for the carrier has declined as a result with benefit to the business bottom line.


Tariffs and inventory can be adjusted almost instantaneously and communicated out to the market and the principals have regained control of their market . But the strategy for delivering success still comes from the mark 1 human brain. It is clear that some carriers are struggling to get to grips with the current situation . Lateral thinking is required . The chances are - some of the industry's marketeers were not even teenagers during the last downturn .



True the distribution of inventory has improved significantly and the ability to interact with the customer has improved beyond recognition. Those carriers who's inventory sales are web orientated should at least have no excuse for crying ''cash flow'' as a crisis. Revenue at least is collected at point of sale before travel,rather than with a delay of up to 6 weeks as in the case of BSP revenue collection and apportionment . So the revenues accrue before many of the costs.


But it is possible that in some carriers there is little experience of handling this type of ''crisis''. The systems are in place but are the brains? So should the response be ''brisk but not hurried''?

Well the statistics for the last quarter are showing 10% passenger reductions to from the UK. Similar for air cargo . Out of the top 20 UK airports only 1 showed a November year on year growth. Some airlines and airports are bleeding revenue heavily. But not all !


Yes the marketing guys around at the last downturn of course made mistakes but hopefully also learned from them and most of the carriers then survived .

Traditional airports occupied in the main by legacy carriers seem to be affected to a greater extent than the adaptors-those airports who have a legacy base but have recognised the better resilience seen in passenger carryings by the major locos. They have adapted their product and resultant pricing to encourage incremental/replacement passenger through-put derived from new loco operations.

And what of the airlines? Observation suggests a wide variation in response to the current economic climate. Some achieving revenue stability through aggressive marketing and some slipping backwards through lack of necessary response to the changing marketplace.

Between Europe and the Middle East, some commercially pro active carriers are still launching new operations with high load factors on early operations. View Turkish Airlines early successes on its new Birmingham operation. Some other carriers have 30 year maturity operations between major hubs with forecast 30% load factors over the next quarter and no realistic strategy to resolve and improve. Be in no doubt all those involved in air transport have the opportunity to respond to improve or at least stabilise revenues . Some carriers however cant because they don't have the skills or vision.

Any chief executive who hears a list of excuses from the marketing guys that nothing can be done instead of plans to exploit opportunities should be seriously concerned that he has the right team in place!

History it appears is repeating itself and selecting the survival of the fittest. The same mistakes are occurring again in some carriers purely because the skills available to to manage the crisis were not used. The resolution of this situation is available to all . Who will have the courage to recognise the need for change and act ?