ACUMEN D ESIGN
BRAND BY DESIGN
From the first flat-bed seat created for British Airways, to all-new cabins intended
to enhance ANA’s image and the journey to Japan, Acumen Design Associates
always strives to create a vital element: a differentiated brand experience
he competition to be different
at 35,000ft is fiercer than ever
before. Transparent fare pricing
T
and the growth of budget airlines have
commoditised onboard product and
effected a ‘race to the bottom’, with even
traditional flag carriers taking on many of
the characteristics of budget airlines in
order to maintain market share. Nobody
wins when competing on price alone, but
those airlines that maintain a clear and
differentiated brand and customer
experience will survive.
The best experiences in our lives are
the ones in which we are actively engaged,
and they are also the most memorable.
The most successful airlines deliver brand
experiences that passengers love and
are prepared to pay more for. If price and
schedule are no longer a differentiating
factor when choosing an airline, then
passenger decisions become driven by
an emotional connection with the brand.
Building that emotional connection
requires more than just applying design
and innovation. As the lie-flat bed
revolution plateaus and such seats
become the expected proposition for
long-haul business classes, differentiation
through brand has never been more
important if airlines want to build longlasting
connections with their passengers.
CREATING A MEMORY
All aircraft interior design programmes
need to embrace the entire flying
aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
048 ANNUAL SHOWCASE 2020
moments, these are the signatures that
define brands today.
When Acumen invented the ‘bed in
the sky’ for British Airways (BA) in 1995,
it not only transformed the customer
offer but also started a paradigm shift
in the industry. Over the next few years
the first-class market was flooded with
many ‘me too’ products, resulting in
little hard product differentiation across
the market. Yet BA recognised that
the first-class experience overhaul
stretched beyond just the seating
layout and flat bed.
experience and look holistically at the
customer journey. This approach goes
far beyond seating – the traditional
battleground for airlines – and considers
other important touchpoints such as
lounges, the boarding experience, galleys,
lavatories and service design. What
customers want is a seamless and
connected brand experience.
Acumen believes that in order to create
a differentiated experience, airlines have to
identify and design unique touchpoints in
the customer journey. Whether you call
them memorable or ‘Instagrammable’
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