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Road Life

Glamor in the air? We're not buying it

By STEVE HUETTEL
Published January 11, 2006

Perhaps the most telling commentary about the airline business last year came from a television ad. A television ad from an airline, no less.

In JetBlue Airways' 60-second "mockumentary," an astonished reporter interviews employees about the airline's secrets to success. (Floridians unfortunately missed the ads, which ran in New York, Boston and Los Angeles.)

BAG HANDLER: When people fly somewhere, they expect their bags to go with them.

REPORTER: Powerful message.

FLIGHT ATTENDANT: We had just taken off and a woman asked for a soda. I gave it to her ... with ice.

REPORTER: So, the ice acts as a "chilling agent."

With a sly wink, the sassy startup carrier acknowledges how little travelers expect from flying these days. And how often we're disappointed, at least at those other airlines.

I wrote recently about extra fees and disappearing frills - pillows, free soft drinks and the like - on certain carriers .

That attracted a lot of e-mail from irate readers. Their point boiled down to this: What do people expect for a $59 ticket to New York? Fair enough question.

But why then do many traditional airlines promote a flying experience out of the '60s?

Delta Air Lines ads portray happy people in a happy airport with happy employees and the message "Good Goes Around." American Airlines tells customers "We Know Why You Fly."

United Airlines tells stories in animated ads accompanied by George Gershwin music called "It's Time to Fly."

There's the traveler who puts a rose in his briefcase for a trip that ends with him presenting the bloom to his mother. And the nervous guy who interviews with a new company wearing one black and one brown shoe but lands the job in the end.

Truly lovely stuff. But it's hard to imagine those feel-good messages resonate with road warriors scarred by the inconvenience and indignities of air travel - at least back in the coach cabin - today.

"With what's happened in the last five years, for them to boast all this glamor of travel doesn't meet the reality," says Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, which represents corporations that buy large volumes of airline tickets.

Of course, advertising is about putting your best foot forward. American's campaign underscores what makes the airline different from discounters: decades of experience, worldwide routes and perks like the AAdvantage frequent flier program and airport Admirals Clubs.

"Low prices are king these days," spokesman Tim Smith says. "But there are things that differentiate us."

Traditional carriers primarily target television ads at high-paying business travelers to get the biggest bang for their bucks, said Tom Fauls, an associate professor of advertising at Boston University.

But he thinks big airlines are struggling to come up with a credible advertising pitch at a time when so many are in or near bankruptcy and cutting corners on service simply to survive.

"They're deflecting attention from all the bad news in the media, and desperately trying to establish brand identity when people no longer believe it matters who you fly," Fauls said.

Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or 813 226-3384.

[Last modified January 11, 2006, 00:40:10]