It's well known that I not only write about the airlines, I also happen to be a big airline geek.  As such, I have quite a few aviation blogs on my Google Reader that I read religiously as a student and fan of the industry.

A few months ago, I began reading the Simpliflying blog, written by Shashank Nigam. Nigam, a self-professed airline and branding geek (he's written 2 books on the topic), calls his blog the world's largest airline branding resource, with more than 200 case studies available, averaging 3 a week.

I became friendly with Nigam after "meeting" him via the microblogging site Twitter (@bizavweekly), where he tweets as @simpliflying.  One thing led to another, which led to my story (subscribers only) in the April 16 issue of Aviation Daily.

The gist of the Simpliflying blog is deceptively simple: an airline’s brand is not what it says it does but what it actually does for passengers. You can read more in depth what Nigam does in his airline branding white paper here.

When flying on an airline, Nigam reviews it in terms of six key “levers” that are part of his evaluation model: expectation, experience, expression, externalities, extensibility and what he calls the X-factor. “The first three levers focus on customer engagement, which is very much in the airline’s control,” he said. “This is the process from brand awareness, to preference and purchase, to the post-purchase brand interactions.”

The latter three levers deal with aspects unique to the airline industry, which often have a deep impact on the brand, said Nigam. “The 6X model specifically avoids a purely quantitative derivation of an airline’s brand value, since the brand is an intangible asset and qualitative factors play a major role in building this asset,” he said. “If an airline delivers what it promises, interacts with its customers consistently and in a responsible fashion over time, and continues to innovate, people will continue to vote for it with their wallets, their respect and their affection.”

Simpliflying recently did a post comparing service on Virgin America with Delta Air Lines based on a passenger’s own story comparing the two carriers, said Nigam. “I decided to comment on that account. I contacted the passenger for permission and did my post,” he said. “Virgin America is proving to be very good at delivering their brand promises — that of presenting the customer a new way to fly.”

The secret of brand loyalty is the brand itself, not just the logo, said Nigam.  "What if Apple ran an airline?" he asked.  "You know it would be great, offering nice delivery and you know it would be a different and good experience."

When asked to name names among the airlines, Nigam didn't hesitate. "You see that same experience with Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, India's Indigo, Virgin America, Southwest and JetBlue," he said.  "If you don’t compromise on the brand, people keep coming back."

There are 3 types of companies in the world, said Nigam.  "The are companies that make things happen, those that watch things happen and those that wonder why things happen," he stated.  "As an airline executive, you don’t want to be in the last category.  In a recession, you have the opportunity to make things happen and emerge as brand leader."

Nigam’s advice for airlines with reputations for poor service? “You can run but you can’t hide. These days, in the age of social media, transference is key,” he warned. “If you lie, you will get caught. Gone are days where you can project one thing and deliver something else. Now you have to deliver.”

Passengers now have the tools to offer reviews and frank discussion of airline brands, and airlines need to pay attention,” he asserted. “Social media is airlines’ biggest opportunity to interact with customers on a level playing field. If you make customers feel loved, airlines can recover.”