[grid::brand] Tango with Ted for a Song
December 1st, 2003 by Hal
You gotta be asking what is he doing now? Well, I'm participating in an experiment in concurrent blogging. Bloggers all over are writing today on the subject of the "brand". The idea is to see what new is created when we all blog intentionally rather than just top-of-mind. To find other postings search on the prepend to the title [grid::brand]. It will take a day or so for Google to catch up with all the postings, but it should be interesting. Or visit: the grid brand channel.
I've been curious about the traditional airlines' entry into the discount market. For years Southwest, Frontier, ATA, Air Tran, and now Jet Blue have been cherry-picking profitable routes and flying without the expense of large hubs. They've also been able to attract personnel at below the rates at the major airlines. So why does the public like these upstarts? Price is at the top of the list, but that can't account for all of the market. These carriers have staked out a brand. The combination of great pricing and a strong brand make them unbeatable. Or is that the case?
In the last year we've seen the launch of three new services all in competition with the upstarts. It started with Tango. Air Canada is a monopoly for point-to-point travel within Canada. They had been challenged by some entrepreneurial endeavors mimicking what Southwest was doing in the US. Their response was to create a discount brand using the same systems as Air Canada but branding it differently. It's hard to say what their success is. I have tried flying on Tango but the flights are limited. Even with 14 day advance purchase I couldn't get a flight. I went online just yesterday looking for a flight from Toronto to Vancouver and they were all sold out. Is that success? Maybe. But I was disappointed.
Air Canada is not doing much to identify Tango as its own entity. Once I started my flight reservations I was directed to an Air Canada page. Then I couldn't get back to Tango without typing the URL again. People don't know about Tango, and I predict it will stay that way.
Delta has responded to Jet Blue, et al, with Song. Fast Company profiled the Song start-up over the summer. It's a great story of project leadership. Throughout the start-up they put a premium on new ideas. Of course you can't predict when a new idea will obsolete your plan. So the start-up team was quick to adjust their plans on-the-fly. The new airline will be everything that Delta is not. Fun, full-featured cabins, and competitive with Jet Blue. The web experience is consistent. Unlike Tango, when you book a flight with Song you stay on a Song site. Nice. These folks just might have a chance.
Now I get to Ted, as in Uni-Ted. A banner on the United site shows the Ted website as flyted.com. No go. When I clicked on the banner it took me to the United travel planning site. Looks like this new brand of theirs is just another line extension. They don't take to the air 'til February.
Ted appears to be a reincarnation of Shuttle by United, the money-losing service that operated in California. They will operate a budget oriented service for vacationers. This offshoot airline will operate from DIA serving the southwest market. Looks like a Southwest attack to me. Anyone want to bet who'll be the winner: the profitable Phoenix carrier or the offshoot rising from DIA? Even if United does a great job with the project to launch the new airline, it's going head-to-head with a deep-pocket operator who owns the low-priced market. Further, Southwest is THE brand that others emulate. It may not matter how good Ted is. Southwest has the market.
So does this have anything to do with projects and leadership? You bet! Each one of these airline launches is a complicated project. Usual project practices would have people planning these out to the nth degree at the very start. Only Song seems to get the nature of their project. They have set up a process to improvise as they go. That can only help as they get this new brand off the ground. It seems to me that good brands are all about doing one successful project after the other. Let's see if these airlines have it in them.
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December 2nd, 2003 at 2:49 pm
I’m betting on Song. When their own staff is enthusiastic about what they are doing, then the customers will be too. That’s one of the big things Southwest has going for them.
Air Canada might pull it off. I haven’t given up on them. Their consolidation of four regional carriers (Air BC, etc) into ‘Jazz’ produced a consistent image, but not a distinctive offer. Song just might be the encouragement they need. The one thing that hurts them is the lack of competition. Song has plenty of competition. Who y’a gonna fly from Saskatoon to Lethbridge? There’s only Jazz (if they actually fly that route). Air Canada will have to create an imperative for Jazz to be anything more than a division. Tango looks to be in the same condition.
But wouldn’t you love the oppt’y to help them do those projects? I would.
December 2nd, 2003 at 9:24 pm
David makes a good point. We can see that Delta is taking a market-looking-in approach for creating Song. The others appear to be adding on to what they have already. A new airline is far more than a fresh coat of paint and catchy name. Doesn’t look like either Air Canada or United get it.
December 11th, 2003 at 7:28 pm
Tango is now no longer an airline (or a branded subset), it now just means a cheap fare class.