Airbus an Airbust?
April 4, 2007 – 10:39 amI had a previous entry about the Airbus snafu (The Airbus $6 Billion Software Mistake), so I thought it was blog worthy to post a follow-up with release of an AdAge article today: Airbust? A380 Hits Marketing Turbulence
I’m hoping their agency has some projects in the works to battle some of the negative PR the plane is receiving, because the A380 sounds impressive, but more like a cruise ship than a plane.
There has been a large amount of bad press around the mishaps in manufacturing that led to 10,000 layoffs and two separate CEO resignations in the past year, and they have a big job in front of them to turn this project around.
The plane has passed all of the safety tests, but whether the consumer safety perception can be turned around or not is yet to be seen.
I find this quote from the article interesting:
Said the Airbus spokeswoman, “Any initial misperceptions of compromised safety … were quickly eradicated by fact. People who follow our industry understand that the delays have absolutely nothing to do with the safety or quality of the aircraft.”
The issue is, how many of the thousands (if not millions) of potential passengers follow the industry and understand this?
And when a consumer is booking a flight, do they really care what plane is used, and is that even taken into consideration in the purchase process of an airline ticket?
I’ve never researched what plane is used until I step aboard it. I’m not even sure this information is consistently published in advance.
In an industry that is very price competitive, are consumers willing to pay for the extra luxuries?
For you frequent fliers out there, I want to hear your thoughts.
Technorati Tags: Airbus, A380, airplane, aerospace, manufacturing, PR, safety
