Airline branding and promotion of safety has long been a delicate subject. An unwritten industry rule of sorts is for airlines not to overtly promote their safety track records. For starters, some feel that it is bad luck to boast of safety and perhaps distasteful as you are in some ways highlighting the misfortune of other airlines and perhaps inviting calamity to befall on your own doorstep. Yet, some airlines have impeccable safety records, so why not highlight this? After all, the luxury auto maker Volvo has historically crafted almost all of its brand positioning around safety. Airlines do, in fact, address safety in their advertising in very indirect ways using terms such as experience, dependability, and quality. However, safety is very rarely, if ever, addressed directly. Upon further scrutiny, some may say safety is a non-issue as it is simply expected in all airline activities, is beyond compromise, and therefore should not be seen as a differentiating factor for any airline. After all, passengers expect to make it safely from point A to point B without fail every time, dont they? Others may indicate concern about marketing safety because how much control do airlines really have over all aspects of safety in an age of terrorism? Marketers, after all, are there to highlight peoples dreams and not remind them of their fears, right? Yet, even knowing statistically that flying is much safer than driving, there remains a large segment of the population that has an irrational fear of flying. After decades of achieving new quality standards of safety, the likes of which the industry has never seen before, the recent high-profile accidents involving the 737 MAX have resurfaced fear and controversy that is not likely to abate any time soon.

1. Should airlines market their safety records more directly?

2. Should industry trade groups such as IATA do more to highlight industry safety?

3. What are the pros/cons of including messages of safety in airline promotion?

4. Many airlines are, in fact, promoting safety these days not in the traditional sense but related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Do you think this will become a core area of airline marketing moving forward or will marketers seek to deemphasize it once the virus has abated and people are more comfortable flying again? Explain.