For the aviation community, it was a much-awaited event. Namely, the rebranding or brand refresh for Air India. Revealed on Thursday last week to significant media fanfare, the new brand incorporates elements from erstwhile Air India, from the soon to be merged Vistara and a few newer elements. As the airline indicated, the brand exudes a feeling of possibility and limitless horizons. “Window of possibilities” was the official tagline.
Notably, the brand has also continued with the Maharaja mascot. Additional features like a completely revamped frequent flyer program are to be introduced later this year. The brand refresh is yet another foundational element that goes towards reviving Air India. But the question how effectively the brand will be delivered remains. And the only true measure of this will be the ability to capture a premium.
The brand refresh was a delicate balancing act
The rebrand clearly highlights how the Tata group has combined the old with the new. A complete new brand was just not an option because all things said and done, the mindshare and recall value of Air India remains very high. But ideally a high mindshare should emanate from a consistent product experience and build on that with the ability to capture a premium. That has not been the case.
This paradox is explained by the narrative on Air India. Every conversation on Air India including conversations to the present day, often refer to its past glory. A past dating back to 1932, with high service levels, legendary advertisements and the golden age of flying. This was repeated to a point where it started to form expectations. But the airline changed and the industry changed. Neither are the same today. The airline suffered years of financial losses and consequent underinvestment and the airline product industry wide is now extremely commoditised. So the rebrand is just the beginning.
Network, service standards, schedules and frequencies all have to be aligned. Ideally towards a single purpose. The culture has to align towards delivering an experience that brings Air India to the consideration set. That too by choice and not by default or due to market dynamics. And this will require a deliberate and decisive force of will to not copy models from the West which have essentially penalised the passenger in search of profits.
Key with in any re-brand is to take both the passengers and the employees on a journey. The brand values communicated via logo and identity, have to be lived through the organisation. Changing the outside, if, the inside is going to remain the same is futile. So with the brand launch the management now has to execute.
The airline turnaround remains challenging
The airline has certainly taken several steps towards effecting a turnaround. Operational performance has improved, fleet utilisation is higher both on a per aircraft basis and on the number of flying, fleet renewal and expansion is well underway including the historic 470 aircraft order, pricing policies show a better reading of the market and the weakness of several competitors has also helped. Even so, the loss in excess of $700 million for the last year throws up several questions. Most notably, the actions that are being taken to get the cost base correct.
The brand refresh, if successful, will help with the pricing and the ability to capture a premium.
However, that is an exercise that takes time. For more immediate measures, the cost base has to be addressed no matter how hard the exercise may be. And words of the TataSons Chairman were quite telling when he said, “There is a lot of hard work needed but the path is clear for the airline” and that “…the airline is not just another business for the group but a passion and a national mission.”
But before the brand can be good, and iconic and futuristic, first it has to be consistent. Consistent on product, consistent on performance, consistent in pricing, consistent on CX (customer experience) and consistent on purpose. And currently with a mix of 4 airlines, 2 separate business models and several different cultures, this is an uphill climb. And every inconsistency no matter how miniscule impacts perception and thereby brand. Ironically, the airline leadership has taken a long view supported by patient capital. But the consumers may not match that patience.
The strength of the brand has to reflect in pricing
Branding in airlines, and, particularly country flag-carriers is a very delicate act. Famously, British Airways was re-branding back in the 1990’s, when, they developed a new vision, only to have the former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, calling the project, ‘treason’; how dare you take the Britishness out of BA — was how it was framed. Thus, it is no surprise that Air India has balanced the expectations of many stakeholders.
Yet, in the final analysis, the strength of the brand will have to reflect in pricing. Not only in premium classes of travel but in the economy cabin as well. That is the paying passenger must willingly accept a premium to fly on Air India. And willingly pay that premium without thinking twice. A premium that then is justified via a consistent product that aligns with expectations. A premium that for the most part is unheard of in the increasingly commoditised world of air travel. And in India’s case, a premium to fly in an ecosystem where rail and road links are improving exponentially to a point where some sectors will start to see a reverse flow of traffic.
So, does this new brand represent the best of India? As Air India takes the Indian population to the world, will such an image be the face, and showcase the new India to the world. That is the power of a national carrier airline brand. Air India could not have asked for better outcomes. Whether it is the buyout by the Tata group, or the ability to bypass hubs in the Middle East, Europe and SE Asia to connect folks directly, or the timing or the macro-economic situation where India is well on its path to a 5 trillion dollar economy with a set of consumers eager to explore, eager to engage and eager to fly.
But by the same token, Air India also finds itself in an ecosystem and in an industry where one anecdotal incident has the potential to impact revenues, where competitors both weak and strong are looking for any and all avenues to grab a piece of the market and where consumers are increasingly demanding more for less. The Air India brand has to deliver on all of this and then some. It is only then one can say that the new Air India has arrived.
—The authors, Gavin Eccles, is a management consultant and professor of aviation at the University of Lusófona, Portugal, and Satyendra Pandey, is the Managing Partner for the aviation advisory firm AT-TV.
(Edited by : C H Unnikrishnan)
First Published: Aug 15, 2023 6:50 AM IST
