The Discovery of the Unexpected

Celina is a business consultant and loves novelties and facing challenges that change her day to day. “The unknown attracts me and there is no way not to be seduced by this.” For her the most important thing is to know she has health, peace of mind and friends. She loves teamwork and her greatest fear is not being able to share her victories. “Nothing should exist in isolation. That goes for both people and facts. Everything should blend – when things work in a disconnected way, it’s a problem.”

We asked Celina how she feels in regards to the economic crisis and she replied that seeing the United States and Europe having to re-think its trajectories while nations like Brazil, China and Russia are developing is very interesting. “Because we have faced various crises in Brazil, it is good to know that the next generations will have more hope and peace. The destabilizing of the great powers forces the other nations to march towards an understanding… This is excellent, as long as we don’t end up arrogant.”

" The future scared us because it was unknown. Twenty years ago, we thought that the world would end in the year 2000. That did not happen. Look at us now . It’s better than it was. I believe wars will continue to exist, but they’ll be small and concentrated…. We’re not talking about world wars or catastrophes".

Talking about the future, Celine also told us her opinion about how her trips and traveling habits may change. She believes that traveling has evolved significantly. Mainly after 9/11, security around the world has become stricter.

Yet, this does not stop Celina from going to places with different cultures where there are no espresso coffees or McDonald’s. She believes that the most interesting thing is to discover the differences of each country. “Why go to Rio de Janeiro the day you find a samba school in Holland?” For her, globalization only mixes flavors but culture of a country is never truly lost. “The essence is not lost, it’s only on the surface.”

She feels that the resorts and hotels in the future will continue as they are today, keeping some local details whilst maintaining the international standards.

As for airlines, her perception is that all the large airlines praise themselves for being excellent. “You have 10 that are very good, but you can’t really tell them apart. I travel by plane a lot and I find it all very boring. There is traffic, there is stress, there is waiting for the plane to take off. But I love airports. I think that airports look more and more like cities: many simultaneous runways, many terminals.”

Be the airline that brings cities and people together.

Airplanes: Just Another Means of Transportation

Travel still seems to be one of people’s favorite hobbies. Getting to know a new culture is always a unique and exciting experience, and being part of that in a few hours is what makes it amazing. People like to travel by airplane because it is the fastest and main transportation capable of taking them to a completely new world.

“I love to travel. The airplane provides you to know a new civilization to be part of a new world in a few hours. Still, traveling concerns me. I think airports are the problem, there are lot of people there.” - José Paulo, 70 years old. Lawyer

“It is really nice to travel when you are comfortable, but only to a few destinations. The airplane can get you there, it is the fastest way isn’t it?” - Maria Florencia, 59 years old, mother.

“The best thing is to enjoy the possibility of getting to know a new place. The airplane is just a tool to get there.” - José Henrique, 51 years old, entrepreneur.

Simplicity

Travelers desire airlines to incorporate more services, technologies and habits of daily life in order to make the flying experience more enjoyable and even more efficient. Furthermore it is expected that services become more personalized.

Some ideas Emirates could adopt:

“I think on-board internet service is great. They could also offer a range of movies to watch on the laptop, better multimedia services, and charging stations.”

Luca, 27 years old, financial manager

“Since we spend so much time inside the aircraft, it would be great if we could choose what we want to eat or watch. A tailor-made service.”

José Henrique, 51 years old, entrepreneur

“It would be awesome to have a living area where we can have a drink or stretch our legs. They could also separate toilets by gender and create facilities for people traveling with children.”

Claudia, 37 years, COO

“I’ll really like to see an airline company providing real literature, books or guides with cool stuff about the place we’re about to discover. Something with more content.”

José Paulo, 70 years old, lawyer

How they feel about Emirates:

Emirates is seen as a different airline. Its services, treatment and quality are seen as better than others.

People see the brand as something new that wants to drive attention to itself and understand the need to be careful with consumers and have a differentiated service. People also feel Emirates is an innovative company, and have high consideration for the brand. The brand is closely associated with Dubai and the Arab world, and so ends up being labeled as luxurious, expensive and chic.

"They seem to be more caring, human and joyful. The impression is that they want to be innovative, different than it has been until today, and I think that gap is in attendance.

José Henrique, 51 years old, entrepreneur

“Something prestigious. Associated with Dubai. Luxurious and expensive.”

Maria Florencia, 59 years old, mother

Jose Paulo's flight list

An Exciting Future

Dynamism. This will be the word that will define the future of travel for our respondents. It is expected that all procedures will be simplified, which will make travel less tiring. In the future, people will have more autonomy to access travel processes via the Internet, all steps will be seamlessly integrated to the web. Journey time will decrease, especially in loading, unloading and removal of bags.

It is expected that an improvement in airport infrastructure, especially on mechanisms of order and removal of bags in order to avoid inconveniences. The aircraft should also be more comfortable in all classes and services should increasingly provide experiences and be customized. At the same time, more low-cost airlines will emerge, democratizing travel. Comfort will be assigned to price.

"In addition to using the Internet to facilitate, I believe check in and waiting won’t take a while and you won’t need to arrive at the airport so early... I also believe with time travel agencies will no longer exist. " - Teka, 32 years old, travel agent

"Changes in airport infrastructure. More user friendly people, with greater comfort for travelers. Fewer boundaries between countries and less bureaucracy. " - Priscila, 24 years old, busines consultant

“Major differences between those who want to spend a little and who can spend more. More space for technology, particularly Internet connections in flight. “ - Luca, 27 years old, financial manager

"The federal police of the visited country will be able to check your data, simplifying the custom process while you’ll still inside the plane." - Maria Florencia, 59 years old, mother

“Check-in will be increasingly simplified. There will be fewer bureaucratic inspections from the federal police. Shipping and delivery of luggage will be simplified. " - José Paulo, 70 years old, lawyer

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We Want Real People

Commissioners behavior is also another key point that generates controversy among the people we spoke with in Brazil. The main complaint concerns professionals' attitude and services they perform that falls short of what is expected and paid. People feel stewards’ behavior is protocol, not human, which gives a false sense of well-being.

"I've had a lot of complaints about the service on board and check-in. Stewards ignoring customers, these kind of things.” - Teka, 32 years old, travel agent

“I think in general, they are bad professionals. They are there to serve and yet they don't do it right. The older they get, the more grumpy they become. Not to mention, it is visible how they treat customers differently according to the seat of the plane.” - Claudia, 37 years old, COO

"I feel that everything is standardized; they seem like robots. I want real people." - José Henrique, 51 years old, entrepreneur

"I've seen and experienced some absurdities. Lack of respect with clients, lack of service spirit by the airlines." - Priscila, 24 years old , business consultant

Stretching Your Legs

Inside the plane, people’s major concern is being comfortable. Find a better position to sleep or even stretch your legs is much more important than the movie or the food airplane companies serve. Yet it is expected that these services fall short.

"My only concern is to sleep. What am I going to do? Eat? The food is disgusting." - José Paulo, 70 years old, lawyer

"I prefer big and spacious aircrafts. The only thing I like to do is read and sleep.” - Maria Florencia, 59 years old, mother

“I think the time spent on the plane is unpleasant. It's uncomfortable and boring, even with the services they offer onboard.” - José Henrique, 51 years old, entrepreneur

"I like those menu Express services. You ask what you want and they bring everything you ordered once, but overall I think the in-flight service and entertainment are very bad. " - Claudia, 37 years, COO

The Good Old Days

Marcos is a 54-year-old consultant who loves traveling. He travels with the same disposition, be it for leisure or business .A partner of Oslo Consultancy since 1997, he was an executive for 20 years. At the age of eight, he made his first domestic trip to Rio de Janeiro and in 1969, his first international trip. In those days, traveling by airplane was glamorous. He remembered his mother dressed up impeccably with a hat as she boarded the plane.

His travel record is not only work related. With a 27-year-old daughter who currently lives in Australia and a 23-year-old son who lived in China for a year and a half, it became necessary to include Asia and Australia in his travel itinerary. Marcus uses 100% of his credit card limit buying tickets to accumulate miles. This way, he manages to travel once a year for free.

When imagining the changes in aviation in the future, Marcos has no doubts that the trend is for costs to lower. With this, more people will be able to travel by air and it will become a routine thing. He thinks it will end up being like traveling by bus. “The world will get much smaller. Instead of going to an Indian restaurant, you just go to India," jokes Marcos.

To exemplify the fall of ticket prices, Marcos tells us that in 1974, he went to live in Europe and had to sell a car to buy two one-way tickets. Current value equivalent at that time is R$ 8.000,00. The same itinerary can be made today for one thousand dollars round trip. He believes that in the future, the prices will lower even more and the flow of passengers will increase.

Marcos believes that since the old days the trips were expensive and only the rich traveled, all were treated as wealthy. With the lowering of ticket costs, everything has become more disposable, referring to the meals that were served with metal cutlery and today are served with plastic knives and forks. Now, “those with more income will have more comfort. All they have to do is pay.” Marcus hates waiting in line and arrives at the airports four hours before his flight in order to avoid the lines. He has given preference to the airlines that offer differentiated services, Gol-Smiles or Tam’s lineless terminal.

When asked about Emirates, Marcos said that his admiration for the company changed after his trip to Dubai. Excellent service, marvelous airplanes and mainly the Emirates “spirit” of kindness and courtesy… exceeded my expectations.”

Marcos would like Emirates to expand its routes around the world. He suggested that the Emirates be the ambassador for Islamic culture for the world and only regrets the high prices charged by the company.

He also suggested that Emirates should have a “couch plus” class with more room for the passengers – “for a sophisticated but not so rich target.” For people who prefer to make three trips on coach than one on business a year. For people who travel a lot have an ample intellectual and cultural level and with a purchasing power above the average.

The Holidays Start When I Board My City

Ana Paula Delgado – Events Manager for the pharmaceutical industry for 10 years

We were received in her office in São Paulo and got to know that apart from traveling frequently to Switzerland, where the headquarters of her offices are, Ana Paula has made numerous trips around the world with groups of clients to Medical Seminars.

“Apart from having traveled mostly for work recently, I like traveling on holidays as well; when I can I look for interesting destinations”.

For future trips, Ana Paula would like to have the same tranquility and easiness at the check in as she has at the time of buying her ticket. Her wish is that the airlines start their differentiated service already on land and see her as an individual client - or know if she is traveling on a business trip or as a tourist. Everything today is mass produced. The ideal for Ana Paulo is for passengers to have customized treatment. If they are traveling with children and a lot of luggage: their needs would be more agility, a quicker check-in. According to her, mile programs alone are not enough to make clients loyal.

She also tells us that she would love a little more space onboard the planes, as well as a quicker and more pleasant service that does not stop her from relaxing or working - even when traveling coach. Ana Paula also dreams of a future with more direct flights.

“When the subject is holidays, the ideal would be to have an airline that could remind me that my holidays are coming up and offer me a differentiated package, with tips of places that I could visit at this exotic destination”.

To make the travel process even better, Ana Paula agrees that today the check-in is already done in a much simpler way at the terminal with only a code. “But technology could help you check-in your own luggage or assign your seat. It could also offer a menu with more options.”

She also imagines the day that a film will show the luggage getting put inside the airplane. "It could have a chip that could transmit a message to you mobile phone: 'your bag has just boarded.'"

“What a pleasant trip: a nice flight attendant, a good magazine, a good film and your bag on the same flight you are.”

Ana Paula thinks that one of the main things for an air trip to be pleasant is the service and the friendliness of both the ground crew and the flight crew. “The airlines have the opportunity to be in direct contact with its clients during nine or ten hours and do not take advantage of this contact". Sometimes they ruin an image that has taken a long time to build because of a rude answer or an unfriendly crew member. Its seems that some companies are not worried with the fact that once you lose a client it is very difficult to get him back.”

“When you leave the comfort of your house, be it for work or leisure, you cannot be mistreated. Same goes for the way back. You are happily returning home and many times the flight attendants can turn this into an unpleasant moment. A better service, more educated, should also exist for coach class. More care, mainly with the older passengers, a child, a person with longer legs or someone that has fear of flying. A flight crew can never be unfriendly. Service is normally better in business and first class. I travel in different classes and feel the difference.”

Ana Paula thinks that a differentiated airline should surprise and charm the passenger. “The surprise is what can captivate the client. If you are a frequent flyer, you know what to expect: the same little candy, the same magazine, etc.”

“When I traveled to the Maldiva Islands, I was surprised. When I got into the bungalow that had been reserved to me there were flowers on the table, wonderful music playing and a person welcoming me with a smile. The place was totally new to me but I felt very at ease. You feel like Cinderella, a princess”.

Ana Paula’s opinion is that the number of trips in general tends to increase. What will make a client choose one airline and not another will be the differential. “I think people are traveling more. The internet has incentivized people to know new places. Even though it is bringing these places closer to people, it is also generating curiosity. Also, traveling used to be a privilege of the rich and even companies prioritized directors when investing in executive travel. Today, sales conventions are held throughout the country. I think the trend is for this to increase.”

The companies that are first to discover a differential are the ones that will benefit.

Ana Paula comments on the low cost companies: "I don’t want to pay extra for anything. I like paying a fair price for what is offered to me. This kind of company scares me a bit because how does it manage to get to such a low cost? Apparently the space is small and there is less comfort, there are less flight options and there is less staff. I don’t think of so much on savings for me and my family. If you want to travel at any cost, o.k., but I want to enjoy the trip from the time I am boarding. It is already a part of the holiday. Business-wise it is the same thing. If the company buys a cheaper ticket for an employee, it is not necessarily keeping him motivated. Much less so if it uses this less expensive service for a client."

Ana Paula has never traveled Emirates, but for her, it is a brand associated with luxury and comfort. It is almost a consumption dream. She wished Emirates would fly to some of the more common destinations like Paris, Rome, and London. Or maybe she would choose Dubai as a holiday destination only to fly Emirates.

"My friends who have traveled Emirates spoke about the friendliness of the flight attendants and the comfort. There is glamour. It would be like going back to the days when air travel was an event. People would get dressed, prepared a special suit for the trip.... I think the event should start the moment you buy the tickets from Emirates. The holidays don’t start when I reach my destination. They start when I board in my city. It seems to me that Emirates treat their clients in a different way. I hope they deliver what they promise. A special way of traveling."

Time is short, so let the experience be intense

Thomaz Correia is 32 years old and a copywriter at an ad agency. He is a surfer and during his free time, he usually travels around the world searching for the perfect wave. He has done a lot of traveling, has lived in Portugal for four years and has just returned from a trip to Indonesia.
Thomaz believes that in the future, tourism trips will not be only dedicated to visiting tourist points. The trips of the future will be in search for life experiences. “Something that will add to my life”.

In Thomaz's opinion, be the trip to relax, to surf, to travel with the children or to visit museums, the trip should make a difference in one’s life. It is not enough just to take a picture in front of an important monument. It should be a new experience that adds to the way in which one sees and relates to life. He does not want to be only a passerby, but integrate himself to those moments and turn them into something unforgettable. Even if its only for a week, four days or three days.
Thomaz believes that in the future, the process of traveling will change until the ideal way is found. But technology can bring new things and increase access to information. I had the opportunity to experience this in San Francisco. A virtual guide where “you type in a code with your location and then listen to the description of the places which you are going by through the iphone”.

People are having less leisure time. “Time is short, so let the experience be intense. If your goal is to relax that let it be an intense relaxation”. During his trip to Indonesia he went to a totally deserted island to surf. “It was an adventure because to go to such an inhospitable place like that one.... Even though it had a bit of security and support infrastructure it was a great adventure. To be able to get that special wave and surf practically all alone demands a lot of work. "The adventure started with the trip itself. It is a long trip. 14 hours to Dubai, then 7 more to Jacarta and 12 hours to the island, having to change airplanes and face different time zones. Being faced with a different culture and changing the rhythm of one’s body’s needs like eating, sleeping and going to the bathroom until reaching the destination is what helps it become an unforgettable experience."

We asked him about his opinion on low cost airlines and Thomaz believes that it is a market that has proven to be very good and efficient. It allows one to travel at a very low cost, but in his mind the trend is that it be ideal only for shorter trips. “For intercontinental trips that take a long time and are more tiresome the low cost airlines have to squeeze the seats in order to fit more passengers. It is similar to ground travel, only its air travel. No such flight is pleasant. In truth you are traveling inside a can. For long distances, if this can is too small, the trip ends up being very unpleasant. I don’t know if low cost ends up less expensive for intercontinental flights. The cost benefit is not that great.

Thomaz believes that the future of these trips is more related to leisure than to business since technology increasingly allows one to solve business related issues through video conferences or the internet. It is not so necessary anymore to personally go to a distant place to solve a business issue, also because the use of virtual means one gains professional time. On the other hand, the lack of time for leisure and the metropolitan work and life routine makes people desire to travel to other cultures during the little time they have available. He believes that people prefer to leave, alone or with the entire family, and relax outside their daily environment. For Thomaz, a trip offers more relaxing holidays than relaxing at home. Traveling works as an escape valve. Regarding the Emirates brand, Thomaz says: “The treatment I got from Emirates: Exceptional".

"A 14 hours trip from São Paulo to Dubai. The treatment and the final product, the package. The airplane and the service, all focused on satisfying your comfort needs; at least one flight attendent speaks your language; there is a good entertainment system.... To fly Emirates is to fly relaxed, comfortably. Emirates has these values in its brand."

But when it comes to Emirate’s communication, Thomaz would like it to be a bit less formal. Emirates is also “more” and does not communicate this. It has a very bureaucratic communication. “The sober tone is important to transmit safety, but it could be a bit more daring, relaxed, modern, and emotional. Currently I don’t think that the Emirate’s communication speaks to me. It lacks charisma."

I recognize it as a Premium brand. Traveling with the Emirates is like an ego massage.