MAS brand faces tough challenge: expert
Malaysia Airlines must act swiftly to minimise damage to its brand following the MH370 tragedy, an expert has warned, as a number of operators revealed sales of Malaysia product are already showing signs of a downturn.
Alan King, managing director of brand strategy firm Clear, told Travel Today that the longer uncertainty persists over what caused the flight to crash in the southern Indian Ocean, the more damaging it will be for the MAS brand.
“It’s so high profile. This has made front and centre headlines for two to three weeks now,” he said. “It’s really taken a brand that was unblemished to having a really big blemish which is a huge problem for them.”
While the 2009 Air France tragedy was attributed to a technical issue – when the aircraft went down in the Atlantic – the possibility that a “deliberate” human act lies at the heart of the MH370 disaster is far more problematic.
“Coupled with all of these question marks around the safety and integrity of the pilots, you’ve got the families of passengers themselves getting very upset in press conferences and feeling like they’re not being heard,” King said.
“All businesses, particularly airlines, are people businesses and you want to feel like you’re being taken care of.”
The evident distress of the families and the airline’s “lack of transparency” give the impression that the airline is not handling the situation as well as it could, according to King, who stressed MAS must act swiftly to stop this further damaging its brand.
“I’d be taking steps right now to be frequent and transparent in communication. Sometimes big airlines, big companies hope the less they say, the less they’ll bring attention to something – but you couldn’t possibly bring more attention to this.
“What Malaysia Airlines has got to do now is take the lead on the airline side of things. It has to reassure people that whatever led to this situation happening, steps have been taken to ensure it never happens again.”
The impact on sales will be determined by how long the uncertainty drags on, King predicted.
“That cloud is going to hang over Malaysia Airlines for as long as people don’t know what happened. If you don’t know what happened what’s to say it won’t happen again?
“There are always going to be people that are going to chase price, but there’s a huge chunk of people who are quite nervous flyers, probably about half of the population, and those are the people who are going to say 'I’m not going to fly Malaysia Airlines'.”
His comments come as the Independent Travel Group confirmed it has already seen the impact on sales.
“We have seen a softening in bookings, as would be expected with any carrier unfortunate enough to be faced with such a unique incident,” executive general manager Ari Magoutis told Travel Today.
Hotel metasearch site Trivago last week reported an 18% decline in interest in travel to Malaysia since news of MH370’s disappearance broke on March 8.
The site also reported a decline of 9% in bookings to Vietnam which it connected with the MH370 incident.
“These results are indicating that travellers seem hesitant to head to areas close to where they have been told the flight went missing,” a Trivago spokesperson said.
However, Malaysia Airlines itself insisted that sales are tracking solidly.
“It has had minimal impact on sales. In general the confidence are positive about MAS's reputation,” it said.
“Sales have picked up again to normal trend. Traditionally it's a lean season now. We do not foresee a significant decline in sales moving forward.”
Tourism Malaysia echoed the sentiment.
“Our industry partners are reporting that Australians are continuing to book their travel to Malaysia as normal and that there has been no change in booking behaviour at this point,” it said in a statement.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
airlines alan king brand clear malaysia malaysia airlines mas mh370Latest News
Collette goes off the beaten track with Canyon Country tour
To be clear TW is not advocating actually walking off the beaten track. Avoid the coyotes. Stay on the beaten track.
Intrepid & Korean Tourism Organisation team up to give agents a cooking masterclass
These guys learnt that Korean cooking is more than just putting kimchi on 2-minute noodles (as we once thought).
Winner, winner! Intrepid reveals the 9 lucky agents that won $2k
Who won the incentive? Which Intrepid trip will they spend it on? What day of the week is it again? Where am I? Huh?
Corporate Traveller reports 42% increase in Easter traffic this year
Business travellers just love Easter! Expect plenty of chocolate stained documents returning to the office on Tuesday.
Turbulent year wiped $384m off Qantas brand value: Report
Meanwhile, eating tuna at your desk can damage your own personal office brand value by several thousand dollars.
FAMIL: Room-Res & Singapore Tourism Board shows agents the Lion City’s roar
Click this article to see a man very impressed by a 20-layer chocolate cake. We're not kidding, he loved it!
Oceania Cruises offers sailors free pre-cruise hotel stay
Looking for ways to make your holidays as long as possible? Look no further.
Bonza launches new website to compliment app, agent portal
Does news about an airline's website fill you with ecstasy, glee and joy? Get your hit of the good stuff here.
MTA agents attends ‘Lunch ‘n’ Learn’ with AMA Waterways
When organising the event, Lunch 'n' Learn beat out Dinner 'n' Divulge and Breakfast 'n' Banter. Understandably so.
Travelmarvel reveals 2025 South America tours
If you spot any typos in the newsletter today it is because TW became distracted Googling images of Machu Picchu.
Tourists from 5 countries could be BANNED from visiting Australia
Anthony Albanese's immigration laws could impact tourism from certain countries.
Just how many passengers will Qantas & Jetstar hop around this Easter?
Airline workers are ready for gleeful Easter travellers! Also prepared for sticky children with chocolate on their face.
Air New Zealand gets ready for bumper Easter weekend
Air NZ gears up for travelling passengers this Easter, while TW looks to beat our egg eating record. 117 here we come!
Four Seasons Yachts reveals first itineraries to the Caribbean & Mediterranean
These trips look so good we wish there were five seasons! Alright, we'll see ourselves out...
FAMIL: Travellers Choice treats top agents to the wonders of Rotorua
This one's got plenty of famil pics and no one looks shockingly hungover in them! Clearly no TW staffers were there.
European Waterways celebrates 50th anniversary with week-long founders cruise
Plan on celebrating your 50th anniversary with a bottle of Moët and fairy bread? European Waterways has better ideas.
100th route! Jetstar celebrates the launch of Brisbane-Avalon with 12 hour sale
Jetstar knocks a ton and celebrates with a sale while TW once scored a ton and celebrated with about 17 beers.
Record-breaking year for NSW as visitor expenditure soars past $50 billion
Enjoy running round the Opera House? Be prepared to elbow even more tourists out the way.
Norwegian Cruise Line makes play for solo travellers
NCL ensuring you don't have to go trawling Tinder to find a cruise partner. Thank goodness, we were sick of catfishing.
Entire Travel Group’s Canada and Europe 2024/25 brochures are out now
Entire's new brochure is bittersweet; it both informs your clients and makes you envious of the holiday they'll take.
Malaysia Airlines adds 3 new destinations & A330neo seats
More seats means cheaper airfares and more money to spend on overpriced airport sandwiches. Woohoo!
Two divine days onboard Crystal Serenity
It's only pure serenity onboard this ship. Anxiety, agitation and anguish have been rejected by the bouncer.
How the Globus Family of Brands elevates coach touring: Travel Weekly TV with Chris Fundell
Chris' here so you don't think coaches mean peeling your thighs off a sticky leather seat every time you stand up!
The Flight Centre Foundation gears up for massive 2024 with 3 new board members
The foundation looks to invest $200k this year, spurring the TW journos to figure out how to qualify as a charity.
Barking Owl Communications to head up Anantara & Avani in ANZ
Fellow PR competitors had been barking up the wrong tree even thinking of bidding for this job!
Amex GBT to purchase CWT for $871m
It's big deals like this that get a firm handshake - hence the sore hands over at the CWT and Amex GBT offices.
1000MTG’s second global conference reminds agents to ‘strive and thrive’
Alongside messages to 'strive' and 'thrive' were those to 'survive', 'drive', 'arrive' and 'jive' (when appropriate).
Qantas A330 makes “loud bang”, pilots forced to shut down one engine
Qantas refusing to let Boeing have all the headlines in aviation world today!
GX Community Tourism Summit 2024 location revealed!
The new location has arrived and it'll blow your socks off! Time for another trip to Target for more socks then.
Visiting the destination my Mum didn’t want me to
Yet again, this journo has been a stress to his mother. Discover how this trip spurred his mother's anxiety here.
Agents come out of their shells at P&O’s turtle hatchery event
For some, it's a few glasses of bubbles to lure them out of their shell. For these agents, it was a bit more literal.
Boeing cleanout: CEO, chair to go as safety crisis plagues the manufacturer
CEOs are falling thick and fast these days. We should have started up a bingo game with their headshots in the office.
Virgin looks to swap MAX 10 order for MAX 8s amid Boeing delays: Reports
Virgin has changed its order for something smaller. Much like we have to at Maccas following a worrying doctor's visit.
Club Med unveils newest luxury yacht for 2024/25 early bird sale
This yacht is preserved for the early birds! Night Owls may also get onboard depending how late they stay up.
Abercrombie & Kent 2024 Asia Portfolio is here
Round up the family and get planning an Asia jaunt. Or, if they're hard to handle, brush them all and go it alone!
Elevate your earnings: Final days to secure double commission with Inspiring Vacations’ March offer
What could inspire you to sell more Inspiring Vacations? Double commission of course! That's all the inspiration needed.