We’re all aware of how Malaysia Airlines had so much bad rep in the first half of the year covering two (2) unfortunate events tied up to its name. The first being the loss of Flight MH370, which up to now is still unsolved, and the shooting of Flight 17 in Ukrainian airspace – both costing more than 500 lives in total. Now it’s taking its toll.
Recent photos being tweeted shows the lack of heads in its flights, let alone the loss of lines in its check-in counters. People have also been tweeting how the airline has been bumping up their passengers to a free upgrade to business class, simply to keep their remaining passengers and invest more in terms of loyalty to the brand.
Thank you @MAS it is an amazing surprise! pic.twitter.com/ujlI6nCaWW
— Ping (@WanPingCoombes) August 17, 2014
The importance of brand trust & values. Malaysia Airlines queue for check in empty 1.5hrs before the flight to KL pic.twitter.com/9MStJ66YeW — Ruslan Kogan (@ruslankogan) March 10, 2014
Picture sent to me of a Malaysia Airlines flight out of Australia today to Asia | pic.twitter.com/3nrsdKIBmg
— Ricardo Goncalves (@BUSINESSricardo) August 15, 2014
It should be considered that both tragedies concerning the airline wasn’t even a result of technical problems leading the planes to crash and burn. Rather, both cases were caused by an unfortunate choice by hijackers and armed militia.
Of course Malaysia Airlines is doing counter measures such as said free upgrades, and even pushing their travel partners and agents an additional 5% commission above the current 6%.
Goes to show how things that happen to your brand is how your brand is perceived by the public so be sure to make sure and be in control how your brand is marketed, engaged with, and further grown.
In some cases, you’ll even learn from the market itself on how your brand is defined and used, and maybe you can get a clearer direction on how to move from there.