ABSTRACT
With the evolution of the airline marketplace and the variety of business models and technological influences within society, the role of airline marketing has rapidly expanded beyond a traditional focus of travel promotions that lead to a booking, to in-flight services offered, and then to a post-flight questionnaire that completed the marketing process. The role of airline marketing has now expanded to include a more expansive view of the travel planning process. From inspiration and research on possible travel locations and activities, through the travel experience to the post travel sharing, airlines are becoming involved in various roles, e-commerce sites and digital communications in order to influence the buying process (Hanke, 2016a). As this expansion has occurred over the past few years, airlines continue to examine the process utilised in the past, along with external influences, especially digital technological developments, that may provide airlines the means to influence the process and market the service options developed through the business strategy the airline pursues. While the focus has no doubt increased the span of marketing-related tasks that airlines must engage in, still the airline involved must maintain a focus on its underlying product and service offerings. This chapter will utilise a classic four P’s approach – product, place, promotion and price – while reviewing some of the possible legal and regulatory concerns that impact on how airline marketing is addressed today. The focus of this chapter is on airlines – refer to Chapter 14 for a discussion on airport marketing.
