Made-to-order Companions
Airline companies are the most sensitive to the need for loyalizing their customers, and they are also the companies that have invested the most in this objective. However, an American entrepreneur, completely outside the sector, just literally robbed them of the loyalty of 10,000 passengers, and it looks like it’s only the beginning of a great business adventure.
His name is Peter Shankman, and until last year he had no ties to the airline sector, except that he was sometimes a passenger himself. One day on a plane he had the great fortune of sitting next to Miss Texas herself, and he was so happy during the trip that he had an idea: Why not offer airplane passengers the possibility of choosing the person sitting next to them?
Said and done. Last autumn in New York a web site was born, AirTroductions, where passengers can register for free and fill out a questionnaire. Afterwards, for the modest price of five dollars, they can contact a “flight companion”, an option that allows them to send their flight itineraries and offer that information to other people on the same flights.
The business idea is simple, but Shankman hit the nail on the head. It turns out that the majority of passengers, above airplane conveniences, food quality, the friendliness of the cabin crew, or the service both in the air and on the ground, consider it a psychological hell to randomly sit next to someone they don’t know for eight hours. The service has begun to make waves, and in a little over two months it already has 10,000 people registered who make plans to meet their chosen travel companions at the airport.
There are those that simply look for the help of good conversation to calm their fear of flying and the nerves it causes. There are those that elaborate their profiles by adding a photo or promising to “always smell good” so that their companions don’t suffer, or those that even demand that their companion use deodorant. A large part of the consumers already loyal to AirTroduction’s service confess to having been inspired by its founder’s wonderful experience with Miss Texas, and looking for dates, more than avoiding an unpleasant experience next to an undesirable person.
Peter Shankman has unwittingly opened Pandora’s Box. How many frequent fliers would want to take advantage of the long time they spend on flights? What is the limit to the things they could do in that time? Apart from the obvious dates that many have already found, why not contact possible collaborators, customers, providers, or why not use the information obtained from periodically consulting who demands companions for what flights? The possibilities are endless, and meanwhile customer loyalty has passed directly into the hands of AirTroductions and Peter Shankman because, with the goal of finding a desired companion, consumers don’t mind what company they fly with.
Different ideas have thrown many airline companies’ investments down the drain in the effort to try and give their customers what they want. VIP lounges, check-in conveniences, choice of on-board service, better seats and more space, better food, free drinks, movies, music…and despite all this, no one had thought that what customers wanted most was to know they would have a pleasant, or like-minded, or interesting travel companion. Most likely, no customer satisfaction survey even mentions this possibility, and passengers had most likely not expected it. Nevertheless, once AirTroductions is on the market, wouldn’t any traveler happily pay 5 euros to know that they’ll have a good travel companion? Would you pay?
The reaction of the most affected companies, and whether or not those not as affected will take initiative, remains to be seen. A simple glance at the AirTroductions page indicates that the future potential of the initiative is immense. Peter Shankman had a great idea: a service that offers hope and expectations more than anything else, which makes the consumer the one who chooses and takes the initiative; cheap and simple. Perfect. Company directors…it’s something to think about!!!