Flying the competitive skies of low-fare airlines

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In the environment of low fares and increasing competition in the airline industry, carriers are turning to advertising to help them stand out.

Independence Air’s advertising campaign by GKV Communications emphasizes the airlines’ willingness to change if it means adding value to its customers.

Two Baltimore advertising firms, GKV Communications and Eisner Communications, are emphasizing lower fares and simplicity for their clients Independence Air and US Airways Inc., respectively.But this message is not relegated just to these firms. Advertising gurus say an airline’s message is becoming increasingly important in an industry which is growing more competitive by the day.“In a highly competitive market like the airline business, you have to do things to differentiate your brand beyond its competitors,” said Peter Gladstone, executive vice president for Eisner. For airlines, “advertising is very important to meet the masses.”Trying to help US Airways defend its turf and return to profitability, Eisner launched an advertising campaign: “GoFares. They’re Unbelievably Low.”The arrival of Southwest Airlines at Philadelphia International Airport last month upped the ante for US Airways in terms of competition.“GoFares are lower fares and [provide] a more simplified pricing structure,” Gladstone said. “We introduced the new fare structure because this is where the airline business seems to be headed.”The Washington-based Travel Industry Association of America said its members reported an increase in summer bookings and airline travelers are expected to surge this summer to numbers not seen since prior to Sept. 11. It estimates air travel will increase 5 percent this summer, primarily due to leisure travelers, compared to a 3 percent increase in auto travel.Still, for airlines to claim low prices they actually have to offer lower fares and this requires low costs. In the first quarter of 2004, US Airways reduced its cost per available seat mile 2.6 percent, to 11.68 cents. JetBlue Airways, known for its low fares, reduced that cost 2.9 percent to 6.08 cents.“Airline attributions are supported by advertising, but the best discounters do have some product differentiation that separates them at least a little from the commodity business of selling seats,” said Bradley Johnson, editor at large for Advertising Age, a publication based in New York.“You have to start with an appealing product with some distinction — something that sets it apart other than prices — and then you communicate that in advertising,” he said.For instance, the “name independence is appealing,” Johnson said referring to the newly created Independence Air, which will take off from six U.S. cities, including Washington Dulles International Airport, later this month.Atlantic Coast Airlines, the parent company for Independence, will transition its brand into the new low-fare carrier.By September, Independence is expected to fly 300 non-stop flights a day from Dulles to 35 cities, according to the airline.“Independence Air is trying to make everything simple for its customers,” said John Gander, a senior vice president and account director for GKV. “They have fewer rules and regulations” than many of the other airlines.

Eisner Communications launched the ‘GoFares’ campaign in an effort to defend US Airways’ turf and return its client to profitability.

Independence is “willing to change the status quo of how things are done in the airline industry,” said Roger Gray, president and chief executive of the agency. “If there is something they can change operationally and pricing structure-wise, they will try to do that to bring the most value to their customer.”When it comes down to it, successful discount carriers do not stand out based on advertising alone, they stand out based on their brands, Advertising Age’s Johnson said.“If you look at the successful carriers like Southwest and JetBlue, what makes them stand out is a distinctive and unique product,” Johnson said. “Southwest is known for its quirky homespun personality and JetBlue is known for its casual approach and maybe just as important the TV screen on each seat.”For JetBlue, advertising is about promoting the experience, said Brian Flatow, a senior vice president for The Ad Store, an advertising agency based in New York. Along with offering low fares, JetBlue offers television service, leather seats and new planes.“We don’t really think we are like the other low-cost airlines aside from prices,” he said. With other airlines, “it is the same old planes with new paint jobs and the same crew with new uniforms. You can’t change the way people act toward passengers by giving them a new uniform.”