9.7 - Even Airlines can Surprise You…Pleasantly at Times
Background: There are a few Indian brands that do get it right and while screw-ups are known to happen, airlines like Jet Airways do create an experience that is reasonably better than the European and American airlines. I wrote this in March, 2009, deciding not to name the airline in an attempt to see whether the readers would easily spot the brand or not.
Yesterday, in a brand development meeting, the executives pitching to us used one of the popular airlines in India as an example of great customer service. I differed in my opinion and thought that the competitive airline was much better. We all came up with our favorite examples. Mine are listed below; let’s see if you can find the clues that identify this airline.
About 2 years ago, I had to go to Nagpur on a Sunday morning to lecture to a crowd of 300 people. I went to sleep only at 2.00AM, after a late-night show of Parineeta (Ms. Vidya Balan’s to blame for this). The alarm went off at 4.30AM, but I put it off, thinking I would wake up in another 10 minutes. The next thing I knew, it was 6.30AM and the flight was at 7.00AM. I threw some clothes into my laptop bag, put on my previous night's clothes, got my wife into the car, and then drove like a mad man to the airport. My wife managed to get through to a supervisor at 6.37AM and explained the whole predicament. At 6.45AM I was at the airport and was pleasantly surprised to find a supervisor waiting at the counter with my boarding pass. He then also took the trouble to accompany me right through security and though disheveled and unshaven, I made it to Nagpur.
A few months ago, at around 2.00PM, on my way from Mysore to the new Bangalore airport, my SUV taxi hit a woman and fractured her ankle. When I got off to see what was happening, the driver gave me my precious blue and yellow laptop bag and ran away. It took another hour for a new taxi to come from Mysore. I was in touch with the airline supervisor all the way; she rescheduled the 5.30PM to 6.30PM and then to the 8.30PM flight. At 8.00PM, we were still half an hour away, but the taxi driver put everything he had into the car and got me there at 8.25PM. Like Aamir from Dil, I vaulted over the fence, cut through the line at the entrance and reached the counters to find the supervisor waiting with the boarding pass; she accompanied me right upto the boarding gates and I went through just in time. I made it, and I didn’t have to go red in the face to do so.
Last week, I had to go to Trivandrum for a lecture. Another airline’s flight that took off in the pre-sunrise, orange-tinged sky at 5.30AM landed only at 11.45AM, delayed by 2 ½ hours. My return was by the 1.30PM flight of my regular airline. I had to go to the venue, which was a good 20 minutes away, deliver a 45 minutes lecture and then get back in time. Before I got out of the airport, I contacted the supervisor, who assured me that if I got back till 1.25PM, she would make sure that I would get on. I was in constant touch with her and luckily made it back by 1.15PM. I made it back to Mumbai.
I believe that there is only one airline in India today that can make this possible and supervisors and managers like Aakruti in Mumbai and Vrinda in Trivandrum make all the difference. Of course, the brand executives did not agree, but then that was a meeting where we had all agreed to disagree anyway.
If you’ve guessed the airline, feel free to email me.
Addendum: Obviously, the answer is Jet Airways. “My precious blue and yellow bag” refers to the Jet Airways colors, “I didn’t have to go red in the face…” is about this not being about Kingfisher or Spicejet and “…pre-sunrise, orange-tinged sky…” obviously refers to Air India / Indian Airlines. While being a Jet Platinum member does make for a different experience than if you fly less frequently, I don’t think the difference is that significant.
The late-night issue at the Parineeta viewing has also been described in another piece
Bhavin Jankharia
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