Target 1 – Media perceptions

Jamie Knights, Editor of Arabian Travel News & HotelierMiddleEast.com• Emirates has a strong brand with a clear message and is highly respected• Very responsive to the media, especially compared to other airlines• In this region, “being green” isn’t that important; it is recognised as being a

tough industry to be green in; other airlines (eg Virgin) do make more effort but it doesn’t really give them a major competitive advantage

• Major competitors – Etihad in the region, but Emirates is now competing on a global basis (eg with sponsorship of sporting events such as World Cup)

• Short term changes in the travel industry – impact of swine flu; people want more value for money due to financial crisis; business travellers are cutting back (not travelling and finding alternatives eg online/video conferencing); emergence of Chinese and Indian travellers

Target 1 – Media perceptionsJamie Knights, Editor of Arabian Travel News & HotelierMiddleEast.com

(CONT.)• Long term changes in the travel industry – new destinations will emerge and the

world will become a smaller place; people will be travelling further and more frequently; more tourists are likely to visit India and China

• Safety - people are concerned about safety in terms of quality of planes; in this region some people associate low-cost airlines with poor safety

• Hotels & resorts – people are travelling more and therefore expect more from hotels (ie new technology, facilties etc); hotels want to attract all potential customers by trying to find out what attracts each target group (eg dietary requirements, religious/cultural requirements etc); in the long term, new hotels will be built in emerging holiday destinations; another major change in the long term will be to speed up the check-in process in hotels

• He has loyalty to low-cost airlines eg Jazeera Airways

Target 2 – Media perceptions

Rebecca Bundhun, Hospitality & Tourism Reporter at The National • Emirates is a well-respected brand• Emirates had a reputation for high prices but now they are more

reasonable and offer high quality of service, so people feel they are good value for money

• Emirates is regarded as a major player by other global airlines• Emirates is not seen as a “green” airline but if they are, they should be

publicising it more and differentiating themselves• Emirates is very good at interacting with the media and provides all

relevant information on request• Airlines are becoming very competitive on pricing, special offers,

attracting customers etc

Target 2 – Media perceptions

Rebecca Bundhun, Hospitality & Tourism Reporter at The National (CONT.)

• Safety will always be an issue but people have short memories and they need to travel

• More people are travelling economy due to financial crisis, especially on business trips

• Once the financial crisis is over, more people will be travelling on holiday • She travels with whichever airline has best offers/prices• Since airlines/hotels are now so competitive, it opens the market for

customers to new travel destinations • Luggage limit and long haul travelling are downsides of flying

Target 2 – Media perceptions

Shweta Jain, Hospitality & Aviation Editor at Emirates Business 24/7

• Emirates has a great reputation, extremely high quality; higher prices but better service

• Emirates is trying to be more sustainable• In general, the number of low-cost carriers will increase and the gap

in quality/service between low-cost and normal airlines will lessen• In the future, people will be travelling more; the world is getting

smaller; travel give the opportunity to meet people and learn about other countries and cultures

• She is a Skywards member

Target 3 – Media perceptions

Sarah Cowell, Editor at Aviation Business• Doesn’t like Emirates; expensive, bad service• Emirates is not media friendly and needs a PR company; doesn’t seem

to have a dedicated Communications person• Emirates should be more “green”, especially considering the size of

fleet• There are not many efforts towards sustainability in this region• People don’t choose an airline for safety; they choose according to their

individual priorities (choice of destinations, price etc)• She prefers British Airways• Difficult to differentiate journalist view from personal consumer view