Dennise Williams, Staff Reporter
CHARLES SPENCE
WHEN VIRGIN Atlantic Airlines flies into Montego Bay on July 3, its business plan for Jamaica is simply to offer a first class service that appeals to one's sense of adventure and the desire for luxury.
The Virgin brand owned by British billionaire Richard Branson, is all about replacing the stiff upper lip image of things British with genuine service offerings. The flagship product of the Virgin airline is its Upper Class suite where travellers are seduced by in-flight messages, five course meals, flat beds, 50 movies and 150 music albums selection, complementary lounge wear, socks and down comforters for night time flights, chauffeur service to and from the airport, among other luxury elements.
The prices will range from approximately US$675 to US$3000 round trip and the airline will travel to the island twice per week.
"We are confident that once Jamaican travellers are exposed to Virgin Airlines, they will switch," Mr. Charles Spence, sales and marketing consultant for Virgin Atlantic explained. "We will offer excellent services that clients will pay for because it will be good value."
UPPER CLASS
And this brings into play the business plan. Simply put, Virgin will compete on service. For example, Upper Class suite clients will be chauffeur-driven to Sangster International Airport from anywhere in Jamaica. At selected destination airports including Gatwick in England, Virgin has ultra modern lounges where clients can take showers, have a meal and book messages, manicures, pedicures and the like as part of their ticket price. "Part of our brand value is innovation," Mr. Spence explains. "We have 33 planes that travel to 36 destinations including the Caribbean. So for us, delayed or cancelled flights are the exception."
But why Jamaica, Mr. Spence explained, "The market demand is actually driven from London's end and so opportunities are present in Jamaica. This is the same model we worked with in Barbados seven years ago where we started with two flights per week. We expect Jamaica to grow in the same way our market share in Barbados has grown."
The local tourism authorities welcome this new development. David Shields, deputy director of tourism at the Jamaica Tourist Board said, "The opening up of a new airline to Jamaica is exciting news. There is a direct correlation between airlift and visitor arrivals. The Virgin brand is an exciting one that will support the diversification approach to our marketing of Jamaica. It will appeal to the high end of the market and the economy traveller. It will raise the profile of this destination."
And this will be done, according to Mr. Spence with a large seat capacity. "The planes that will fly to Jamaica have a capacity of 451 seats."
In terms of the market for business travellers, "We focus on the entertainment industry and non-traditional up and coming entrepreneurs." For the leisure market, Virgin has a company Virgin Holidays that will book packages. We focus on travellers looking for good value.
Mr. Spence said the airline will embark on an extensive advertising campaign to build the market, but he did not divulge the amount that would be spent.
That said, Mr. Spence believes that it is not just his company that will benefit from the Montego Bay destination. Whenever Virgin goes to a destination, other carriers are forced to raise the bar. Overall, the consumer will benefit from better service.
