SWISS. Fly Greener.
Status Quo.
The airline industry produces a significant amount of greenhouse gases but still everyone wants to travel. «Swiss» has one of the most modern fleets on the market and produces up to 25% less greenhouse gases than other airlines.
The Swiss population is a world champion in recycling, and in this country, it is practically good manners to separate reusable waste. Who, if not the airline from Switzerland with its efficient fleet and its Swiss mentality, could represent the concept of «fly greener» more credibly? In 2018 – before Greta Thunberg even stepped on stage – I presented this concept to the management board.
Understanding Humans.
Everyone wants to reduce their carbon footprint but people do not want to buy CO2 Certificates for their flights. Why? Because the CO2 Certificate is not part of the brand! People pay more for the same all the time because there is a brand and many times a certain quality or lifestyle behind it.
Same applies to sustainable products where brands are behind. H&M launches a sustainable line = works. A new brand like Veja produces vegan shoes = works. The Airline of Switzerland Flys Greener» = works.
Make Things People Want
Initiatives
There are two kinds of people today. The ones who embrace such a concept and the ones who accept it. Today it is absolutely fashionable to bring your own cup to the coffee shop or eat less meat. And most importantly this concept is a perfect fit for the brand. I created two main initiatives to accompany the already more environmentally friendly engines to create a holistic contemporary strategy.
Airline cabin waste Is aviation’s other environmental crisis.
1 Go Plastic Free.
Airline cabin waste Is aviation’s other environmental crisis. So it stands to reason that this problem should be addressed. With a passenger capacity of more than 18 million people each year, «Swiss» is currently producing a huge amount of waste. Not very Swiss and not very contemporary. So I started an initiative to cut these amounts significantly by using environmentally friendly materials.
This is not meat. It’s eggplant. The Hiltl Tartar safes water, Co2 and money.
2 Change perception of food.
Factory farming is a global problem and produces inconceivable amounts of greenhouse gases. Not to mention the animal suffering. We wanted to use a very simple tool to drastically reduce meat consumption on «Swiss» flights – without any loss of quality. The idea was that meat eaters, not vegetarians, would have to order a special menu. Vegetarianism will become the new standard, and with «Hiltl» – one of the best and oldest vegetarian restaurants in the world – we already have the right partner on board. By the way, vegetarian menus save about 20% of costs, which is a considerable cost factor for an airline with >18 million passengers a year.
A high percentage of people don’t even notice if they eat meat or meat replacements if you don’t tell them.
With these initiatives, «Swiss» could have cut its emissions significantly providing the possibility to «fly greener» and positioning itself as one of the most progressive airlines in the world. As a brand SWISS would have grown with this product position itself ahead of the competition who still battles everything with the price. And all this ahead of time before Greta, before Fridays for Future, and way before «Quantas» launched his first zero-waste flight with huge media coverage and positive impact on the airline’s image in 2019.
Let’s talk
Already Steve Jobs knew: «It’s not the customer’s job to know what they want.» He is right, because it is my job.