“I had to wonder if men were so blinded by beauty that they would feel
privileged to live their lives with an actual demon, so long as it was a
beautiful demon.” Memoirs
of a Geisha.
“Some coffee, Sir?” The gorgeous cabin crew attendant breaks into
such a gorgeous smile, you feel as if you are flying first class.
As you watch her gracefully walk
away, you recall why you chose this airline in the first place; taking a sip of
your coffee, you realize that the advertisement you watched of the airline did
little justice to the attendants. Absolutely gorgeous; like flying “Air Miss
Universe.” Only that they get to serve you coffee and call you Sir. A stupid
smile pasted on your face, as you lean back and dream of your next interaction
with her.
Since the very beginning,
beautiful women have been able to, in one way or another, aid in the building
or the destruction of kingdoms. From Eve, Delilah, Monica Lewinsky and even
Esther in the Bible. Women have been known to change the world with nothing but
a beautiful face and sensual seduction to match.
THE PRIDE OF THE JUNGLE |
Men are visual creatures and any
company worth its salt would use this genetic predisposition as an entry point for
one of its main marketing strategies.
Thus explains my beef with Kenya
Airways.
The airline is registering losses
like it’s the new black and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why. Gone are
the days when being an air hostess (as they were famously known) was every
little girl’s dream. Seeing those tall women moving magically in their uniforms
was like watching the runway of some beauty competition. Watching them made us
dream of the world beyond the skies. A world of fantasy and glamour that only
the plane could take you to.
What Kenya Airways fails to understand
is that these women not only work for the airline, but are also a means of marketing
our country.
I shook my head in despair as I
watched Kenyan cabin crew attendants during recent the strike and it was rather
obvious why KQ was/is struggling. The company’s management needs to bring in
replacements and fast.
Though KQ problems may be bigger
than just pretty faces in airplane isles, one thing remains sure; KQ needs to
embrace the power of visual allure if they are to move forward into the
competitive world of aviation. If they
fail to do something about this issue, they will have hurdles to jump, years to
come. Watch Emirates, Virgin Atlantic or Korean Air ads and realize that these
international airlines are not stupid in using the visual appeal to market even
the most boring of services like transport. It’s an age old secret that Kenya
Airways can only ignore at its own peril. Time to rediscover ‘the pride of Africa.’
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