Generic Service in the Airline Industry


Bland, undistinguished service and airplanes that all look alike is how the airline business, by and large, has turned itself into a commodity. Very few airlines are successful in distinguishing the brand of their service. It has not always been this way. Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA), starting in California in 1949 and operating until 1986 when it was purchased by US Airways, had a unique look and feel to it. It was the fun airline. [27] PSA passengers had fun flying; employees had fun working.

Other airlines had a formal look, decked out with blue uniforms, expressing the business of serious flying. PSA stewardesses, as they were called at that time, donned shocking pink, fuchsia, and orange uniforms cut high on the leg (noted for their attractiveness, they wore hot pants under their miniskirts in case their skirts hiked up while they were putting items in the overhead bins, which many passengers waited to happen!), with jauntily perched tams on their heads, and shod in orange go-go boots. They were once referred to as "Cupcakes in the Sky." Employees got married in the air on PSA. [28] They were always called by their first names. The sense of a PSA family was carefully nurtured. They did not see themselves as employed by PSA; rather they saw themselves as PSA. To this day, almost twenty years later, they gather annually in San Diego to swap stories.

Their philosophy placed emphasis on innovation. Service was pushed by senior management and implemented by employees. Passengers were pampered with themed flights. Lost baggage claims were vigorously and promptly handled! This is the antithesis of generic airline service.

Former passengers were so enamored of PSA that today they still buy T-shirts commemorating the airline. The smile painted on the front of the aircraft said it all. PSA's slogan was "The world's friendliest airline," and the staff delivered. People had a good time flying on the California airline.

After the purchase by US Airways and the merger was sealed, US Airways did a major housecleaning, throwing away those outrageous PSA uniforms and getting rid of most of the senior staff. Former PSA employees still mourn the loss of their airline. The deal was closed the day after American Airlines bought a chief PSA competitor, another unique airline, Air California. Air California became homogenized into American Airlines, and California lost both its smiling, distinctive, and fun-filled airlines.

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Here is what a former Air Cal flight attendant says about that time period. "I was a stewardess with Air Cal from 1967 to 1973, and it was one of the best times of my life! I think what made it unique was the fact they hired married women, some with children. I had a four-year-old daughter when I was hired and Air Cal made sure you were taking care of your child and were able to work too. It was like family, very small and everyone cared about you and your family. I believe I was the no. 8 stew hired, so you can see how small it was! Our training, other than the safety training, was to make the passengers our no. 1 priority, and we did. I don't think there will ever be another Air Cal; it was the best and most people-oriented airline I have ever seen." [29]

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Most airlines today have not distinguished themselves with their physical products, and, with rare exception, they certainly have not done it with their service. Listen to the flying public and they will tell you most airlines are remarkably alike. The big differentiators for most airlines are routes, advertising, and fares.

It is possible to offer a commodity product, such as coffee, and then create such a unique brand position that the average consumer visits a location eighteen times a month—as Starbucks has done. [30] But you cannot wrap that coffee service in generic packaging or experiences and expect to stand out from the local diner. And you miss a real opportunity to distinguish your brand if your staff offers generic service, albeit good generic service. From a business perspective, you miss the opportunity to elicit the feeling in consumers that they absolutely must return to Starbucks despite long lines and coffee twice as expensive as that of its competitors.

[27]If you want to reminisce, you can hear the old "catch our smile" ad at http://www.catchoursmile.com/.

[28]As reported at http://www.cactuswings.com/psa/.

[29]E-mail communication from Linda Bloeth Bugbee with the authors reprinted with permission.

[30]Statistic cited in Elizabeth Goodgold, "Talking Shop," Entrepreneur (September 2003): 65.




Branded Customer Service(c) The New Competitive Edge
Branded Customer Service: The New Competitive Edge
ISBN: 1576752984
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 134

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