An Airline Innovation - "Cuddle Class"

by Kevin Roberts

Innovation comes from the edge. For most European travellers the edge of the world is New Zealand. That means a 24 hour flight, and there are plenty who don't want to part with a huge amount of cash for business class - where you can get a real sleep. So congratulations to Air New Zealand for putting on their thinking hats and solving some of the negatives of long haul travel. Skycouches on their new Boeing planes mean that three seats form one bed, with an extra panel raised from the footrest area to give space for two to sleep in what they're calling "cuddle class".

Economy/coach class can be a tough ride, so the opportunity to lie flat with your partner and sleep off the miles will be too good to pass up. There's little mystery on a flight like this, and sensuality takes a back seat unless you're prepared to pay more, so adding a little bit of intimacy to the mix seems like a great solution to me. You arrive at your destination, not prodded by strangers' elbows and plenty of sleep interruptions, but after a sleep, a meal, and lesser chance of DVT. It costs a little more, so let's see how it goes. While Air New Zealand are ahead of the game in solving a long distance issue - there must be plenty of ways other airlines can innovate for shorter flights.

I won't bother challenging the major US airlines, who need a whole culture change before they can come close to getting this far (JetBlue and Virgin America being honourable exceptions), but I'm sure other carriers can continue to innovate, push the boundaries for economy as well as business and first class. Everyone is on the same plane together! Perhaps they can look at the other innovation from my national carrier - Spaceseats. Two abreast and designed to shape in to allow couples to dine together. You choose - the back of a seat, or at best a small TV screen, or the smile of your loved one facing you. And for those who are not couples, who knows? You might even make a new friend.

Image source: Vielflieger-blog

Don't miss an article - Subscribe to our RSS feed and join our Continuous Innovation group!

---

Kevin Roberts is the CEO worldwide of The Lovemarks Company, Saatchi & Saatchi. For more information on Kevin, please go to www.saatchikevin.com. To see this blog at its original source, please go to www.krconnect.blogspot.com.

Challenging from the Edge of the World

by Kevin Roberts

I wrote yesterday about the recent YMCA Raise Up N' Represent in Auckland. In my speech I referenced a startup by three twenty-something guys in Dunedin, a city near the southern tip of New Zealand's south island. If New Zealand is the Edge of the world, Dunedin is at the Edge of the Edge. And as I've written before, the Edge is not a liability. It's premium territory, and co-founders Jason Leong, Francois Bondiguel, and James Wigglesworth demonstrate that.

Together they developed a personal budgeting program called PocketSmith. There are many services that track your expenses and show your performance meeting budgets and the like. However PocketSmith doesn't linger in the rearview mirror, it looks forward to forecast your financial future. They already have 6,500 customers from 70 countries and partnership deals that will give them massive reach into the US consumer base. For New Zealand, the old way of thinking was that you have to leave the country to make any difference in the world. Not any more.

Three young guys recognized an opportunity and had the guts to take on Silicon Valley. Instead of operating in the typical stealth-mode of early stage startups, they were open about their idea and developed a community around it in a matter of weeks.

As I told the youth at the YMCA event:

"Your idea can light up the world. No matter who you are, no matter where you're from, whether you're brainy, sporty, nerdy, crazy, some or all of the above."

The road to success is built on ideas. Just ask these three guys from Dunedin.

PS: My other favorite things about Dunedin are Carisbrook, Otago mountains, The Chills, and Sam Neill's Two Paddock Pinot Noir (ok, that's Central Otago).


Image source: NBR.co.nz

---

Kevin Roberts is the CEO worldwide of The Lovemarks Company, Saatchi & Saatchi. For more information on Kevin, please go to www.saatchikevin.com. To see this blog at its original source, please go to www.krconnect.blogspot.com.