airline brands. spot the difference

In airline marketing, as in nearly all travel marketing, automation is now ubiquitous. From dynamic pricing and data-driven segmentation, to programmatic media and machine generated creative, airlines are increasingly automating at scale to keep costs down and drive conversion.

I get it, airlines are stretched in many directions, not least working to meet carbon reduction targets, which brings its own cost pressures but where, as marketeers, should we draw the line?

Whilst battling through a highly irritating online booking procedure with a low-cost carrier just a few days ago, I had plenty of time to reflect on how dispiriting the whole process of flying has become.
How did we arrive here, at a totally soulless experience? One where the customer does all the work, invests all the time and still gets asked to strand on the runway whilst the over-stretched cabin crew rush to clean the plane.

Or, in the case of a certain Australian airline, where it is impossible to speak to someone, only a chatbot that has been trained to extract an exorbitant change fee for amending a detail on a booking. Yes, I’m talking about you Jetstar.

As I clicked for what felt like the hundredth time to confirm that I really didn’t want travel insurance I began to reflect on whether this ‘’efficiency’’ which is just one aspect of automation has gone too far. Perhaps to the point that brands are losing sight of what differentiated them in the first place?

Research conducted in the US from BERA.ai who’s focus is on analysing the impact of a brands investments suggests that the answer is yes: airlines that scored higher in Meaning and Uniqueness (i.e., being relevant and differentiated) saw measurable increases in consumer willingness to pay. A 1 % increase in those metrics translated into a 0.64 % increase in willingness to pay. You can see the report here BERA .

In a space where the low-fare mindset is dominant, this signals that brand still matters, not just as “who has the lowest fare” but as “who I feel understands me / stands for something different.” If everything is automated, everything becomes interchangeable, and the brand-premium evaporates.

As EasyJet, the pioneer of the low cost revolution celebrates its 30th birthday and we reflect on how much the industry has changed, it’s tempting to believe that we no longer care about human connection and are happy to accept a sterile, automated journey. But the backlash to things like faceless chatbots or opaque “self-service only” experiences suggests otherwise. For many of us the joy of travel still lies in the human moments: a check-in agent who remembers you’re celebrating, a cabin crew member who notices a child and offers a little surprise, a lounge attendant who engages in conversation. When automation strips out the opportunity for those “extra” moments, brands risk becoming utterly commoditised. It becomes a race based solely on price with nothing to distinguish one carrier from another.

That is a complete abdication of our role as marketeers and brand builders.

At mr.h we are communication planners and creative thinkers for travel and tourism brands, not business systems managers, but surely automation can be the enabler of more human-centric service, if done with intent, freeing up resources that allow marketers and operations teams to focus on “human” differentiators?  Sometimes a chatbot that can provide an instant response is all that you need, but when that’s not enough and it’s not backed by some proper old-fashioned service, the frustration and disenchantment can be enormous.

In reality, many (especially western) airlines operate very tight margins. At the budget end, the business model is built on scale and cost-control, and service differentiation is often sacrificed. It may simply be unaffordable to provide hands-on, human-first service across the board, while remaining ultra-price-competitive. So, the challenge becomes: where do you invest human attention, and how do you use automation to unlock that investment smartly?

For those airlines willing to think differently, this is a wide-open goal. Smart automation can, and should be, the launch-pad to deliver more human-led experiences and brand affinity.