Should Aegean switch brands?
#16
Join Date: May 2008
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Aegean is definitely a better airline than Olympic was. On the other hand, I've met people in recent years who still think that Olympic is the largest Greek airline, while Aegean is the second largest. People that aren't students of geography may have a hard time realizing where Aegean hails from, while virtually nobody can pronounce the name. Olympic, on the other hand, is a name that is immediately associated with Athens. Olympic sounds more global, while Aegean sounds more regional. OA is easier to use and remember than A3. So, for the current frequent flyer clientel, Aegean is a better name. But if they want to grow into new markets, Olympic would probably make more sense.
#17
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,845
All you guys are missing the point ! Aegean bought the OA name and logo purely for one reason. Because if they did not then another owner would be in competition and obviously that is not in Aegeans interests. Pure and simple.
Personally I had lots of great flights in the 80's and 90s on Olympic Airways/Airlines. Yes there were problems but they had decent hot meals and free bar service. I mostly flew on the A300's and B747. The problems came in the later days of the airline where they failed to keep up with the competition in terms of onboard product and they became quite dated. Greeks were divided and many liked it and many hated it. I guess it depends on how much they gained from it. Plenty of Greeks not just the elite had their fair share of the honey pot whether it be free tickets to vote in elections or free excess baggage allowance etc.. It was a different era in Greek society. The one thing I will say is that OA had a very highly educated and professional staff from engineers to office staff many of which should have been more active in the company rather then politically appointed managers and CEO's who knew little about the industry and changed with every government. That is where the problems were. Sadly a lot of people only think about the negative sides but there were lots of positives about the airline over the 80's/90's. I had over 200 flights with them and 80% were great.
So I think they should keep it as it is. The current Olympic Air is a professional and decent product and keeps the OA name alive albeit on Domestic which is fine for the Greek market as it has brand awareness and the majority of Greeks think its a good brand based on market research in recent years. It has no real brand awareness outside of Greece where as Aegean increases brand awareness with every year that passes and does very well in the International market. But it still all comes down to the first point I made. They only did what they did to stop someone else getting the brand.
Personally I had lots of great flights in the 80's and 90s on Olympic Airways/Airlines. Yes there were problems but they had decent hot meals and free bar service. I mostly flew on the A300's and B747. The problems came in the later days of the airline where they failed to keep up with the competition in terms of onboard product and they became quite dated. Greeks were divided and many liked it and many hated it. I guess it depends on how much they gained from it. Plenty of Greeks not just the elite had their fair share of the honey pot whether it be free tickets to vote in elections or free excess baggage allowance etc.. It was a different era in Greek society. The one thing I will say is that OA had a very highly educated and professional staff from engineers to office staff many of which should have been more active in the company rather then politically appointed managers and CEO's who knew little about the industry and changed with every government. That is where the problems were. Sadly a lot of people only think about the negative sides but there were lots of positives about the airline over the 80's/90's. I had over 200 flights with them and 80% were great.
So I think they should keep it as it is. The current Olympic Air is a professional and decent product and keeps the OA name alive albeit on Domestic which is fine for the Greek market as it has brand awareness and the majority of Greeks think its a good brand based on market research in recent years. It has no real brand awareness outside of Greece where as Aegean increases brand awareness with every year that passes and does very well in the International market. But it still all comes down to the first point I made. They only did what they did to stop someone else getting the brand.
#18
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Aegean is definitely a better airline than Olympic was. On the other hand, I've met people in recent years who still think that Olympic is the largest Greek airline, while Aegean is the second largest. People that aren't students of geography may have a hard time realizing where Aegean hails from, while virtually nobody can pronounce the name. Olympic, on the other hand, is a name that is immediately associated with Athens. Olympic sounds more global, while Aegean sounds more regional. OA is easier to use and remember than A3. So, for the current frequent flyer clientel, Aegean is a better name. But if they want to grow into new markets, Olympic would probably make more sense.
#19
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Any European airline could set up a competing airline at ATH, SKG, etc....or just base aircraft there, as Ryanair once tried!
#20
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#21
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If Aegean has any aspirations of becoming a more international airline, I don't think 'Aegean' has the potential to become such a well known brand. There is a large number of the population that remembers the brand and will immediately associate Olympic with Greece.
I really don't think a change at this point in the company's development would set them back. I think most people who travel through Athens are aware that Aegean and Olympic are owned by the same company. I don't believe that simply switching brands at this stage will create too much of a problem. I'm not talking about changing anything as far as the actual onboard product goes. The Olympic name combined with Aegean's great onboard service would soon prove that the OA brand has greatly improved. Aegean, could still be used as the regional brand, which in my eyes makes much more sense anyway.
You could argue it's the perfect time for a now or never change, and with clever marketing and advertising it is very doable.
Looks a bit bumpy
#22
Join Date: Jun 2006
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they did not want to risk it otherwise they would have just let the brand die or go to someone else. They could have set up a stand alone Domestic brand as Aegean Regional but they chose to keep the OA brand alive . They could have even just put OA brand on the PSO routes to make it even smaller.
So they recognised the advantages of both controlling and keeping the brand in their portfolio.
#23
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People who don't know the old Olympic brand and don't know history are likely to assume that Olympic is a charter carrier for athletes.
#24
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Agreed with above. I am confident that if you ask the travelling segment of people up to mid-50, in Europe and North America, nobody would associate Olympic Airways with a former airline of Greece. And people who do not know where is the Aegean sea would not put Greece as the mythical birthplace of the Olympics.
#25
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I can imagine the departures board at JFK...Olympic Air flight 50 to Athens...sounds better than Aegean, which sounds it could be more like Spirit or Southwest Airlines.
#26
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I would say the Aegean brand is fresh, relevant and untainted. It's associated with high levels of service and punctuality.
Olympic was toxic towards the end and it was a good thing, after the reinvention of Airways to Airlines to Air that it was diminished. Fine around the islands and I see why A3 bought it and use it but it has no place now in the bigger scheme of things.
I also agree, anyone who doesn't know where the Aegean is won't associate Olympic with Greece either. Olympic is now only about the latest games.
Olympic was toxic towards the end and it was a good thing, after the reinvention of Airways to Airlines to Air that it was diminished. Fine around the islands and I see why A3 bought it and use it but it has no place now in the bigger scheme of things.
I also agree, anyone who doesn't know where the Aegean is won't associate Olympic with Greece either. Olympic is now only about the latest games.
#28
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Well, I'd say this whole thread is amazing. Arguments of the kind "nobody knows where the Aegean sea is", "nobody can pronounce it", "I thought it was a LCC", anouncement at JFK (shall we start this discussion again?) "Departure of OA50"sounds better than "Departure of Aegean...", "When Aegean becomes more international" (120 international destinations!) and so on. And all of this about an airline that is an example of how a newcomer company can be successful at a time when nobody at A3's HQ or anywhere else (e.g. business press) ever thought of that. Truly amazing!
By the way, can anybody guess how many different pronuciations there are of Eurowings? To beginn, a German would pronounce it Oheerohvings. I guess I'll start a new thread in the LH forum and propose to chane the name to Luftag, LH's predecessor...
By the way, can anybody guess how many different pronuciations there are of Eurowings? To beginn, a German would pronounce it Oheerohvings. I guess I'll start a new thread in the LH forum and propose to chane the name to Luftag, LH's predecessor...
#29
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I don't understand why you immediately thought of low-cost airline, but "Aegean" brings to my mind images of turquoise seas and indigo skies.
The typical American (other than those who majored in geography, those with Greek heritage or Greek travel under their belt, or full-on George Michael fans) is unlikely to know what "Aegean" refers to, but would find it a strange and exotic word.
I begin to think you make outrageous statements and make frivolous suggestions, just to provoke a debate! ;-)
#30
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This is a very good, and detailed, effort by you irishguy. I do find the colours to be a bit too 'light', giving it a bit too much of a holiday airlines (charter) feel. Also, go for the headscarf in the uniform? It looks more like something that one would see on a middle eastern carrier (and rather uncomfortable for staff).