Rebranding an airline

With two major “accidents” hitting Malaysia Airlines (MAS) within a space of three months – starting with the mysterious disappearance of flight MH-370 on March 8 followed by the shooting down of flight MH 17 over the Ukraine-Russia border last July 17 – the state-owned carrier is likely going to rebrand to avert further losses with ticket sales slipping down.

It’s not clear whether MAS has already contacted an international advertising firm (or whether the job will be bidded out) to do the rebranding and a public relations firm to handle the continuing flak being received by the airline company over its handling of the MH 370 tragedy (with the whereabouts of the plane and what really happened still unknown to this day), and now, the MH-17 disaster.

A number of analysts have aired doubts whether the airline will survive since even before the accidents, it has been going through financial trouble with bookings also declining because budget airlines like Air Asia have been seriously eating into the airline’s business. According to sources, MAS is losing $1 to 2-million per day, and it would need immediate infusion from the Malaysian government to keep it afloat, with talks that it would go into restructuring, launch cost cutting measures and institute other “painful changes.” 

As the saying goes, image is everything – which explains why a change in brand name is seriously being considered. After all, branding is vital in the success of any product or service, and once a negative image is attached to a particular brand, it would be very difficult to recover – hence, companies often resort to rebranding or a name change.

This is what happened to Korean Airlines or KAL, now known as Korean Air.  If one can remember, KAL flight 007 on its way to Seoul was shot down by a Soviet Sukhoi Su-15 twin-engine supersonic interceptor plane west of Sakhalin on September 1, 1983. All 269 passengers and crew that included 63 American passengers, among them US Representative Lawrence McDonald from Georgia, perished.

In the 1983 KAL tragedy, Russia initially denied responsibility pointing out that the plane had deviated more than 200 miles from its route, and it was only in 1992 when Russia finally released the transcript of the cockpit voice recorder – revealing that the plane was not immediately destroyed with the missile hitting the back of the plane, resulting in the destruction of the hydraulic systems before it crashed into the sea. To this day however, conspiracy theories continue to abound since none of the bodies were recovered, with some even claiming that McDonald and the other Americans on board may have been rescued by the Russians – and kept as prisoners.

As a consequence of the incident, Korean Airlines changed its name to Korea Air in 1984 with corresponding changes in the logo as well.

Talking about airlines, there’s a lot of speculation on whether Lucio Tan will buy out Ramon Ang (or vice versa). LT owns 51 percent while Ang has a 49 percent stake in PAL. The announcement is expected to come out soon. The business community and the airline industry are all waiting with bated breath.

Owners’ Circle Club

Araneta patriarch Jorge “Nene” Araneta told us they will soon launch the Owners’ Circle Club for the Smart-Araneta Coliseum where members will have access to a special VIP entrance to the Big Dome. Likewise, members will also have the privilege of availing of 12 special VIP seats on any show – whether it is a sports event, a concert, a variety show, etc.

Feedback has been positive with people saying it is a better deal than most VIP special boxes offered in other coliseums since it’s flexible and they get the best designated area where they can watch, especially when one prefers to be seated right next to where the action is – like in a basketball or boxing match.

No specific amount has been mentioned, however, as to how much it will cost for one to be a member of this exclusive club. 

In its 54 years, the Smart-Araneta Coliseum – or Araneta as most people still call it – already has its place in Philippine history especially in the area of sports with many taking pride at the fact that the “Thrilla in Manila” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier was held here in 1975. 

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Our congratulations to The Philippine Star on its 28th anniversary! Star president and CEO Miguel Belmonte has done a fantastic job in keeping this paper consistently at the number one spot. With the MVP Group, we can expect The Philippine Star to soar even higher. We’re all proud to be part of the Star family!

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