February 20, 2007 @ 9:19AM - posted by Grover Saunders
iPods in the sky with diamonds
A Mexican airline is offering iPods for rental on their flights, according to Reuters. "We just went out and bought a bunch of iPods and started giving them out to passengers," says public relations officer Alfonso Collantes. While currently free, the airline will soon start charging 50 pesos (around $5) to get a 30GB iPod stuffed with Mexican TV shows and music.
While this isn't exactly earth-shattering news, what I find entertaining is how an essentially low-tech solution by a smaller airline has really trumped the big guys. I know that my initial reaction to reports that several major airlines were considering adding iPod specific connections to their seat-back display was "Why?" As an attempt to cash in on the popularity of the iPod, the major airlines' plan, which is essentially just adding a couple inches to the screen, seems like a very expensive and complicated solution, while the Volaris plan is inexpensive and likely more effective as a marketing technique.
It reminds me of that classic fable about NASA, in need of a gravity-defying writing instrument, spending millions to develop a space pen while the Russians just used a pencil. The fable itself may be false, but the lesson is one worth considering.
No comments:
Post a Comment