How Virgin Atlantic create unique experience for its long haul passengers

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How Virgin Atlantic creates unique customer experience for its long haul passengers

Virgin Atlantic Airways (or VAA for short) has been renowned for its innovative marketing campaign and eye-catching brand image for almost 30 years since its legendary start story. The famous boss Richard Branson also fails to be an active figure himself, for example the female cabin crew at Air Asia after his loss to the AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes in 2013.

In this mind map however, I want to illustrate how VAA would create unique customer experience for its long haul passengers and what we could learn from it.

innovative branding

The marketing strategy of VAA has always been focused on the quality part. Yet it also took good advantage of it fun and sexy image and face of Richard Branson. Passengers experience this alignment throughout the whole journey from the fun safety video, April fool's joke about glass floor and also another commercial "25years, still red and hot".

25years, still red hot

April fool's joke

interesting safety video

make queue and waiting less painful

As we've discussed in class there're multiple factors that will make waiting more unbearable along the customer journey especially on a 10 hour flight. Being customer-centric, VAA has really made an effort to smooth out the waiting in a its own unique yet funny way.

onboard bar

VAA boasts one of the best inflight bars in the world. It uses this as a perfect tool to engage with passengers:

a drink (seasonal signature cocktail such as summer breeze)

to chat with cabin crew or other fellow passengers

and stretching out of legs,

all of above aim to make passengers feel engaged and less lonely during the long flight.

inflight chatting

Inflight chatting via VAA's own inflight entertainment system is perhaps the funniest and most creative way to kill time if you want to flirt with a boy 2 rows ahead of you or establish a secret talk with friends without even getting out of the seat.

clubhouse time management

Although Clubhouse is designed for those passengers travelling for upper class, VAA endeavour to let them cherish their time in the lounge for shower, spa, haircut or simply concentrating on their business report by calling them for boarding at the last minute without wasting any minute by waiting at the gate.

drive through check-in

Key takeaway

In this CX class, the key takeaways for me are :

1. Being proactive to anticipate customers' needs
2. Attention to details and focus on the pain points through out the customer journey
3. Storytelling uses emotion as a trigger, engage and build empathy with the customers
4. Internal marketing and training employees help to create a strong service culture
5. 5 senses help to achieve a stronger customer experience because those smells and music etc trigger the connection between services and products with other sweet memories.

wow factor

The key ingredients of Wow factor include:

Seamless service

Attentiveness

Resourcefulness

Trustworthy service

Courtesy

Proactiveness

VAA tries to wow its passengers by creatively making 260 of them appreciating the eclipse on a flight from London to Miami or by surprising honey couples with glasses of Champagne. The proactiveness plus seamless service are the most two important elements seized by VAA.

champagne

eclipse flight

storytelling

"Flying in the face of ordinary" is the VAA commercial brought to live in January 2013, aiming for global brand proposition and to demonstrate the message that how VAA goes beyond the norm to deliver the unforgettable experiences for its passengers.

It used emotions as a trigger and built empathy with passengers in a legendary yet ordinary way.