A
Perhaps the OTTI should have followed the logic of Flight Global Editor Michael Targett, who this week proclaimed that "sex sells and you just can't get away from it
" and had the indecency to name this very blog as number nine in his list of "Ten Most Blatant Uses of Sex for an Aviation-related Marketing Purpose". The absolute bloody nerve of some people!
At any rate, while I might not be able to bring sexy back to the OTTI's press release, I can tell you that it missed a key point. Airlines and online travel agents will be paid $1 every time a passenger completes the survey online.
Here's how it works. The survey will appear as a screen popup when passengers make their online reservations. Promotions, such as $25 gift card drawings, will be used to entice people to complete the survey.
"An airline could easily generate 10,000 surveys per month and that would be $10,000," says Addison Schonland, president of Innovative Analysis Group, a consulting firm that is subcontracting to the OTTI's contractor, CIC Research.
This could prove a lucrative little endeavour if carriers adopt it quickly and with gusto. Additionally, the programme holds a ton of promise for airlines, travel planners and tourism boards that mine this sort of data to determine origin-destination travel patterns, traveller demographics, consumer choice resources, trip characteristics and spending patterns.
"Having good consistent numbers to drill down and look at segments - all of that requires a greater sample size to do a better job at analysis," says Tiffany Urness, research director for the
She says a greater respondent rate "opens up wonderful new possibilities of analysis not only for us but to share with members of the
At present, a total 60 airlines participate in the paper survey programme. Schonland says one US major and another low-cost operator have already shown strong interest in the online method.
I suppose a picture of me would not have helped!
Depends on the picture :)
dare i ask if that's a pic of you then Mary?
I'll have you know that's a highly sort after top ten to be on (and obviously in no way a cunning ploy to get pictures of bikini-clad girls onto Flightglobal).
however is the "bloody cheek" because i only put you in at number 9 and not higher?
I cannot disclose the source of my saucy pics, but you might be surprised to learn that there are a few curves hiding under my usual conservative garb :)
Mary, I am as outraged as you are about Michael Targett ranking you so low. Your 'gams' are worth at least Number 2 on the list, if not Number 1!
That is very, very kind of you, John. Now if I could only find pants to fit!