Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

I feel for marketers in the airline industry. Even if they want to do a good job, they can only do so much with increasingly little. Thus, I give JB’s marketing crew credit for the best possible spin, all things considered. From JetBlue Starts Selling Blankets and Pillows

JetBlue Airways said Monday that it would sell a pillow and blanket set for $7 on flights of two hours or more. The set, which passengers can take home, includes a 10-by-12 inch pillow and a fleece blanket, which fit into a carrying case. The kits also come with a $5 coupon for Bed Bath & Beyond.

“Replacing our old, recycled pillows and blankets with this state-of-the-art, high-quality take-home kit is an eco-conscious, health-conscious and customer-conscious decision,” Brett Muney, JetBlue’s general manager for product development, said in a statement.

“We are constantly seeking ways to enhance the in-flight experience for our customers,” Mr. Muney said, and the travel kit “delivers on that promise.”…

To be sure, $7 seems to be a reasonable price. Bed Bath & Beyond offers travel pillows on its Web site that range from $3.99 for a cotton-polyester version to $79.99 for a Tempur-Pedic foam model.

Carrying case, schmarrying case. How many people are going to want to take the things off the plane? These days, we’re all packing lean and mean - and do we really need a 10-inch pillow and fleece blanket to keep? And, $5 doesn’t buy you much at BB&B, other than a travel pillow, which you’ve already got if you paid $7 to JetBlue. Maybe if they had a $10 certificate to shops that are in airports…Wonder how many of these pillows and blankets are now going to be thrown away? So much for eco-conscious.

JetBlue, I give you points for spin effort, but…then there’s that nasty little thing called reality. Charging for pillows (and coffee and bags and whatever) is - at best - band-aids on the fundamental problem with the airlines business model. People talk about the “secrets” of Southwest’s success - which really aren’t all that deep. They standardized on planes, treat their employees like human beings, and were/are very systematic about what they do, where they fly and when.

Related Post: Airlines Failure: Selling to “Everybody”

Tags: marketing, marketing troubleshooting, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines airline problems