November 13, 2018
First class dining on the Qantas A380. Image credit: Qantas
HONG KONG – Personalizing customer experiences instead of focusing simply on product and service offerings is crucial for luxury aviation companies to differentiate themselves.
During a conversation with Elizabeth Paton at The New York Times International Luxury Conference on Nov. 12, the CEO of Qantas discussed the importance of brands reinventing themselves in a constantly-changing marketplace. Customer trust and safety loom large, especially in the aviation industry.
“We spend a lot of time trying to identify exactly what motivates [our customers] and what works,” said Alan Joyce, CEO of Qantas.
Qantas growth
One of the oldest airlines in the world, Qantas is Australia's flag carrier and the largest airline in terms of fleet size and international flights and destinations.
The airline's first class offerings include exclusive lounges, private suites, gourmet meals and other luxurious amenities.
The Qantas Club at Sydney Airport. Image credit: Qantas
Some of Qantas' planes are exclusively first class. However, on the airliner’s new Boeing 787s, there are no first class cabins, leaving only business, premium economy and economy (see story).
Mr. Joyce has been in the CEO role at Qantas for a decade. Among his goals for the airline is launching the world's longest flight, a 22 hour trip from Sydney to London.
Qantas CEO, Alan Joyce. Image credit: C.K. Man for The New York Times
The Australian market is seeing a growing appetite for luxury travel.
Hospitality brand St. Regis Hotels & Resorts is opening its first property in Australia, located in Melbourne, in 2022 (see story). Australia was also named one of the top destinations among Chinese travelers (see story).
Luxury air travel
Luxury and private aviation have undergone several changes the last couple of years.
With technology continuing to disrupt the travel industry, business aviation professionals expect private jet travel to become more accessible and appealing to younger affluents.
New research by aviation event Revolution.Aero predicts using technology to streamline the booking process is poised to have a significant impact on customer growth. As booking private jet travel becomes easier it will likely coincide with a dramatic drop in the age of a typical private jet customer within the next five years (see story).
Mr. Joyce explained that millennials in particular want convenience when booking travel.
In September, flight solution provider Vista Global Holdings acquired private aviation firm XOJet, increasing is offerings to 115 business jets.
Also the owner of VistaJet, Vista Global will now have control of XOJet’s 43 aircrafts, strengthening the company’s presence in North America. The XOJet brand will remain in tact, operating under the Vista Global company.
The XOJet acquisition brings Vista Global’s employee numbers to 1,500 over 20 offices around the world.
Vista Global has reported that XOJet saw an increase of 12 percent in revenue and 22 percent in off-fleet business growth revenue (see story).
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