I think you've hit the nail on the head again Ben, as you have done many times in the past. Reading that made me think about a few things that I'd had on my mind lately.
What I find very interesting is that many of the HVCs I know personally, and clearly many of the people on here, share a totally different view of the airline and the direction it's taking than Air NZ themselves do. It really does make we wonder some times how random and in-depth their customer research is. Who are Air NZ really asking?
It's very clear that different customers have different requirements and meeting those for everybody is clearly challenging. In a competitive marketplace however it's about standing out and not only building a brand, but building love for that brand. 12 months ago I'd say Air NZ were doing a good job of that, right now I'd say they're slipping a lot.
A good brand has people who are passionate about an industry talking in positive ways. Look here on FT and there are probably more negative comments on here in recent times than what there are positive.
Compared to many on here I'd fly a lot less, probably 10 or so return domestic flights a year, 4-5 weekend return trips to Aussie a year and in the past year I've been to Hawaii, Japan and the US with another trip to the US next week. What's probably different to many is that with the exception of some domestic work trips, I'm spending my own money. Travel is something I love and it's all discretionary spending.
As Gold I don't expect to get the same level of service as a GE, but sometimes do feel that the recognition for the spend isn't there. While it might come across as a slightly elitist view, maybe it' just because it's my money I'm spending and I'm expecting something a little above and beyond what the 80 off percent of people flying on the plane who have no status get. Technology could make such things so much better.
Air NZ did a fantastic job building an online presence and actively engaged in social media. I had their social media team help me out a number of times last year and thought they did a brilliant job particularly on Twitter. Fast forward to now and all the twitter account does most of the time is retweet Instagram photos and the Air NZ fairy occasionally gives away a recipe book. Clearly the same bean counters who culled standby fares, night rider and status points don't see any measurable from social media to continue investing in it which is sad.
We're in an era now where an online presence is essential and it's not just about having a website, it's engaging with people who can help you build your brand and business. I decided to start writing flight reviews on my blog last year and have some such as my NZ8 PE review that get a couple of thousand views every month. I get numerous emails from people who simply find the page (it is the 2nd link in Google) because they're planning on flying Air NZ who often ask some very specific questions, presumably because they want an impartial view of the service or want to know specific things that they're unable to find elsewhere. I answer these because I'm passionate about Air NZ, and I'm sure there are plenty of other people in the exactly the same situation. Nobody pays me and I bet Air NZ are totally oblivious to such things happening, but such things are the reality of the online world we now live in.
It's things like this that then make we wonder about flights such as the Dreamliner delivery flight and the decisions they make regarding people who are on this. Why just pick mainstream media? Because you (correctly) assume they're only going to write glowing things about your products and services? What about all the travel bloggers out there who can potentially expose your brand to a far bigger audience than 30 seconds on TV news will?