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INTERNATIONAL. We bring you a recent highlight from our regular series in The Moodie Davitt e-Zine, in association with The Design Solution, dedicated to the important, but often misunderstood, concept of Sense of Place.
It is not just in the airport that Sense of Place can be achieved. Airlines are also battling to present their travel experience – including Sense of Place – as the best in the world, says The Design Solution Managing Director Robbie Gill.
Much as we emphasise the need for Sense of Place at the airport and seek to shift from ‘a journey’ to ‘an experience’, the fact remains that, especially for frequent flyers, ‘getting from A to B’ is the priority. But travellers want to do that with the minimum of hassle and the maximum of service and comfort. Consequently the leading airlines are in an intensely competitive battle to present their travel experience – including their Sense of Place – as the best in the world.
On the passenger journey, assessing the demarcation of ‘the airport experience’ and ‘the airline experience’ is difficult, especially in determining their influence on Sense of Place. For example, the airline with its own dedicated terminal is in a very different position to the airline in a multi-carrier terminal. Most major airlines, especially flagship/legacy carriers, drive Sense of Place at the airport by creating lounges that are designed to deeply express their brand culture, and the strongest expressions are created when the airline creates a ‘home’ terminal, such as British Airways’ Terminal 5 at London Heathrow.
Source: LoungeBuddy
Step into the BA Lounge and there is no doubt it is very British indeed: slightly understated, slightly traditional, very professional. There are nods to tradition – beef is always on the menu in Business – but invariably with a slight twist. After all, who else would have horses with lampshades on their heads at the entrance to the Gold Lounge in T5? It’s very Danny Boyle.
For me, after a tough week on the other side of the world, it is home from home; familiar newspapers and television channels, a bias towards films I know and food that is from home. It is a familiar and comforting contrast to elsewhere.
At heart, every single airline terminal operates with the same core dynamics; but the airlines have a powerful imperative to differentiate themselves from rivals, so they strive to drive customer loyalty through the quality of the travel experience, including Sense of Place.
Consequently each airline is meticulously seeking its own strategic route to express its (hopefully) unique qualities in everything from customer service and punctuality to menus and staff uniforms. The distinctiveness of airline personalities – ranging from Ryanair to Etihad – highlights the breadth of character types across the world’s leading airlines, and each of them utilises a wide range of tactical weapons to help reflect and enhance that personality and Sense of Place.
For the largest carriers the ultimate expression is of course to influence the design of the terminal itself, such as at new-build single terminals. These terminals represent ‘home’ and transmit the fullest expression of the airline’s personality in an environment where they have significant, if not full, control. They almost invariably operate in very close and aligned partnership with the airport operator, sharing a common vision of what a great passenger experience should look like.
Whatever the strengths or weaknesses of the airport setting, the airlines have an array of tools to help them drive the passenger experience and convey a distinct personality. Singapore Airlines, for example, is exquisitely expressed through its cabin crew: immaculate but human in expressing their culture through every detail of presentation, interaction and service. The menus they serve also leave you in no doubt that you are in Asia. Unfortunately, I’ve found Singapore Airlines’ lounges to be a bit of a disappointment compared to some of the wonderful Asian hotels that fully exude the spirit of the region.
Among the Middle East airlines the fight for power is especially energetic. Qatar Airways, Etihad and Emirates are clearly among the best airlines in the world but, in many ways, they have it easy. They are not privately owned, they are not legacy carriers with 50 years of ‘baggage’ in terms of pensions or union restrictions (as faced by BA) and their fight is for traffic, with profitability coming second to dominance and expansion [with improved recent profit figures, the carriers might disagree –Ed?]. This gives them extra scope for innovation, space design and extraordinary service. There are some lovely service touches from each, but they do not really push their country or region; I guess their key aim is to make international travellers feel comfortable. But this multinational expression, luxurious as it is, doesn’t really convey a unique Sense of Place.
A much smaller airline, Aer Lingus, shows how Sense of Place can be expressed on a relative shoestring budget. Its planes are nondescript but the lounges make a special effort. In both Dublin T2 and now in Heathrow T2 the slate wall with stainless steel vertical recognition of Irish cultural history really puts a unique visual twist on the lounge. The warmth of the Irish welcome is everywhere, and it is the humanity of the staff that authentically expresses the spirit of such a welcoming nation.
In talking about airlines creating personalities for themselves we undoubtedly have to hear from Virgin. Always quirky, interesting, smile-provoking and stimulating, the brand reflects the energy of Richard Branson himself.
Virgin is the master of self-publicity, especially the way it turns a problem into a PR opportunity. Virgin is inevitably among the leading airlines that also appreciate the power of design in the expression of the airline brand. This is evident not only in its lounges but also in the aircraft, in everything from airline livery and cabin designs to inflight kits and staff uniforms.
The airlines are seeking ever-smarter ways to engage, excite and satisfy their passengers and I’d like to end with two fabulous examples of airlines creating brilliant new interpretations of what are usually two of the most mundane elements of the flight: the amenity kit and the inflight safety video.
Emirates has created the world’s first interactive amenity kit, using wash bags printed with a range of six different patterns that trigger an interactive experience using augmented reality – including playlists, doodles, travel and wellbeing advice as well as access to the Emirates app.
I love the fact that this airline is using technology and design to transform the ordinary into something extraordinary, injecting a stimulating new angle into the inflight experience – and it’s in Economy.
Lastly there’s no doubt that a successful airline is one that makes the passenger smile. Achieving that while ensuring that every passenger watches the inflight safety video is a simply stunning achievement.
Air New Zealand has done exactly that with a safety video that stars the mighty All Blacks in a ‘Men in Black’ music and dance video which is both funny and engaging without diluting the serious nature of the safety message. It’s also a superb expression of the home nation’s friendly, welcoming national character.
The message from these two inventive initiatives is in their ability to drive a Sense of Place that makes the passenger smile and, wherever they are in the world, feel right at home.
