Everyone is back in the game and we’re getting great engagement from all of our airline customers, both old and new. It’s an exciting time.
There’s a big call out for more luxury in particular.
We see a lot airlines talking about partnering with large, ultra-luxury European brands to bring brands that people have in their homes into the inflight experience or within the journey via the lounge experience.
Armani has partnered with Etihad Airways, for example. That’s the first truly global European luxury brand that has partnered with a mainstream, high-end airline for an inflight product programme. You can see it in their Business Class serviceware and textiles. It’s a true luxury innovation.
Airlines are coming to us saying: “We need to contribute more to the customer experience.” That plays right into our wheelhouse of innovation so we really welcome these kinds of conversations.
Sustainability as standard
We spend a lot of time talking to our customers about their sustainability goals. There are a lot of key callouts from airlines about working to carbon-neutral positions or reducing carbon emissions, and many of those come with specific timelines which adds some urgency and drive.
At Buzz, we now take sustainability, as standard. We all know we have got to reduce single-use plastics and use sustainable materials, wherever the budget allows for it.
What we talk about more within our team is: ‘design for keeps’. If someone takes a product off a flight, keeps and reuses it, that’s sustainable.
If it’s a rotable product, the product has to deliver improved rotations for the airline. It has become a very competitive landscape, but we love that because it means we have to stay one step ahead and keep innovating. We’re in a good place.
