29 March 2012 – “Technology can be offered as a perk, for example providing passengers in Business with free tablets,” Raymond Kollau says. 
22 March 2012 – “Passengers can look forward to a far more personalized experience in the future,” says airlinetrends.com’s Raymond Kollau. 
3 Feb. 2012 – “The concept makes perfect sense as people like to surround themselves with like-minded persons,” said Raymond Kollau. 
24 July 2011 – No major U.S. carrier offers free food on domestic flights anymore, says Raymond Kollau. 
4 May 2011 – “This is an example of experiential marketing,” Raymond Kollau said. 
10 March 2011 – “This is a novel way to pass some of the risk in fuel cost to customers,” Raymond Kollau said. 
Finnair launches public search for mystery flyers
6 September 2010 | Finnair’s goal under its new Vision 2020 plan, announced in May 2010, is to be recognized as the number-one airline in the Nordic countries and to be among the three largest carriers in terms of transit traffic between Asia and Europe. In terms of the travel experience, Finnair says it wants to be the airline of choice of the quality- and environmentally-conscious passenger, and that it is looking to answer customer needs and expectations with “open-minded and innovative solutions”.
In this spirit, Finnair has just launched a public search for four ‘Quality Hunters’, whose task will be to travel to cities in Europe, Asia and the US throughout October and November, assessing flights, airports and destinations. As independent advisors to Finnair, they are expected to communicate their impartial views and recommendations to the company on a regular basis throughout the two-month period.
In addition, the Quality Hunters will share their ‘mystery flyer’ experiences with the public through frequent updates on their personal blog on the Rethink Quality website. At the end of the two months, followers can vote for the Top Quality Hunter. In return, those who vote or comment on the blogs have the chance to win intercontinental flights for two between Europe and Asia with Finnair. Aspiring Quality Hunters can submit their applications online until 26 September 2010 and must be available for travel from 4 October on.
According to Antti Nieminen, Global Marketing Communications Manager at Finnair, a 10-member panel of judges from Finnair and its PR agency will select the ‘hunters’ based on “creativity, excellent writing skills, ability to use modern technology, no-fear attitude and open mind to explore quality and provoke conversation.” The hunters will even be compensated with an average monthly salary, but no frequent flyer miles are granted as the quality hunters are flying on duty. Nieminen also said that “They will be flying in both business class and economy class, since we want them to blog in a versatile manner from all angles related to flying. Finnair staff will not be warned about them in advance, so they shouldn’t receive special treatment.”
Related articles:
Monocle creates the perfect airline: Nippon Nordic Air
Finnair opens new lounge and spa at its ‘Via Helsinki’ hub and goes full-flat in business
About Raymond KollauFounder of airlinetrends.com. Spends his day monitoring the global aviation industry for commercial innovations in response to changing consumer behaviour. Besides working with clients in the airline industry, Raymond also has a part-time position as consumer trends analyst at leading consumer trends agency trendwatching.com.
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