What do Plane Seats, Power Outlets, Gourmet Cheese and Free Movies Have in Common?

These are all ways in which Alaska goes “Beyond” customer expectations

The Problem
Alaska Airlines has always been committed to great customer service and innovation.  Multiple projects were in the pipeline to improve the customer experience onboard Alaska Airlines jets.  However, Alaska was not getting fair credit in the market for these innovations, as indicated by some slumping numbers showing in research, and in the annual JD Power and Associates research report.

The Objective
Alaska needed to amplify the impact of many improvements and make the sum greater than the parts.

  • Show a demonstrable increase in JD Powers  inflight experience metrics
  • Positively affect brand metrics of consideration and energy

The Solution
After conducting primary research to assess the priority of importance in each area of the in-flight experience, Linksmith first recommended a rational brand hierarchy system, and then led a cross-functional team to brainstorm a common brand name to unify the in-flight experience.  From those exercises, and additional testing, the name “Alaska Beyond” was chosen to represent the Alaska in-flight experience.    The additional elements were named as follows:

  • Beyond Comfort--  leather Recaro seats and power at every seat
  • Beyond Delicious – Locally-sourced foods and beverages and a new relationship (which Linksmith helped negotiate and implement) with Tom Douglas Restaurants
  • Beyond Entertainment – free movies and shows on a new system thatdelivered entertainment to flyers’ own devices
  • Beyond Service – elevating the legendary great Alaska Airlines service into a full training system, created by the Disney Institute.

To coincide with the launch of Alaska Beyond, the in-flight magazine name was also changed to Alaska Beyond.

The communications campaign included radio ads featuring Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, plus billboards, bus wraps, print, airport, and digital and mobile advertising, in-flight collateral, and public relations.  The day of the launch featured a major airport event iwith chef Tom Douglas serving flyers his signature meal.

The Results
The name underscored the ways that Alaska goes above and “beyond” customer expectations, and its simplicity yielded rapid adoption by employees, customers, and the media. 

By unifying the elements of the in-flight experience, and focusing the attention on areas that customers valued most, Alaska Airlines was able to quickly and positively shift customer perceptions with distinct differentiation among airlines.  This was proven in the next release of the 2015 JD Power report, in which measurements of in-flight satisfaction increased by double digits, earning Alaska Airlines its 8th JD Power award for North American Airline Customer Satisfaction.

In the internal brand tracker report, the results were also positive after the launch of Alaska Beyond.   Product recognition jumped quickly to 56% within a few months.  Desirable brand attributes like “Is for people like me” and “Offers a smooth travel experience” increased by 8 points, and “Has a youthful and energetic personality” increased 11 points over a 6 month period – significant shifts for brand metrics in a short period of time.