ICELANDAIR ENROL STAFF IN STAGE SCHOOL IN A UNIQUE CUSTOMER SERVICE INITIATIVE

Performances will take to the skies to entertain a new breed of passenger as part of Icelandair Stopover Pass, a pioneering service launching today.

Prepare for a Flying Ovation - Icelandair enrol staff in stage school in a unique customer service initiative

Performances will take to the skies to entertain a new breed of passenger as part of Icelandair Stopover Pass, a pioneering service launching today.

• Passengers can transform their boarding pass into an Icelandair Stopover Pass for free - this grants them access to a range of incredible performances starring the Icelandair staff and Icelandic talent
• The service is launching in response to a new report* which revealed flyers are ever more demanding and seeking both better customer service and more unique in-flight entertainment
• Travellers are looking for more of a human touch, a staggering 78 per cent admit that cabin crew can make or break their journey
• Passengers are bored stiff when in the air, with nearly four in ten stating it’s wasted time; to battle this boredom Icelandair announce their Stopover Pass
• To find out more and be in with a chance of joining us on the staff’s ‘opening flight’ to New York visit Icelandair.us/stopover-pass

Reykjavik, 20^th June 2017: Icelandair, the transatlantic airline has launched a new free service, Icelandair Stopover Pass which aims to defeat wasted time whilst travelling. The service allows passengers to transform their boarding pass into a Stopover Pass, offering them access to series of entertaining performances. These range from a three-act play on a flight from London to New York via Iceland; to gig tickets, trips to Icelandic football matches, backstage passes to a music festival and more.

The launch of the service in celebration of the airline’s 80^th anniversary, is in response to a new trend report revealing the world is changing the way they fly. As such, there is a requirement for airlines to up their game to meet the demands of this new breed of flier. The shift in passenger expectation means they now demand both better customer service and more unique entertainment – which Icelandair has set about to serve.

The airline’s staff enjoy a variety of creative pursuits outside their everyday role and include professional musicians, dancers, comedians, actors and artists. Icelandair know their talented staff are the stars of the company and at the heart of the passenger journey, so they ran a stage school to nurture their skills and improve customer service. This saw them learn immersive theatre techniques to add to their repertoire of skills, improving anything from boosting the mood to active listening, thinking on their feet, calming restless children and reassuring scared passengers.

A global study* of 9,000 air passengers revealed that one third would be more likely to choose an airline which offered free live entertainment as part of their in-flight programme. In response, Icelandair partnered with an immersive theatre group to lead their stage school and revolutionize in-flight entertainment with a one of a kind, three-act play starring the staff. It will transport passengers from 1937 right through to the future, all on one transatlantic flight from London to New York via Iceland. This kicks off a series of performances throughout the year celebrating 80 years of Icelandair – which you could enjoy!

Research findings also revealed 52 per cent of fliers end up bored whilst on a flight and almost four in ten view the time in the air as wasted time. A staggering 78 per cent of fliers admit the people on their plane with them, such as cabin crew, can make or break a journey. Four in ten even said a cabin crew member has gone out of their way to entertain them on a flight, by doing things such as telling jokes, amusing children and even teaching them some of the local language of their destination and they crave more of this.

Birkir Hólm Guðnason, CEO at Icelandair, comments, “In our 80th anniversary month we’re proud to introduce our free performance series, Icelandair Stopover Pass. The research findings show there is an opportunity for us to transform wasted time into time well travelled. We’ve always put customer service at our heart, and now we’re looking to pioneer a new service to delight and entertain our customers, starring our talented staff.”

When on a Stopover until March 2018, Icelandair passengers will be able to transform their boarding pass to a Stopover Pass. This will give them access to a range of performances featuring Icelandic talent and gifted Icelandair staff. Some lucky passengers will be accompanied to these events by a Stopover Buddy. The Buddies are passionate employees who have excellent local knowledge and will provide an authentic experience for passengers. For the price of your flight ticket, you could enjoy:

• A private gig in the front room of a local
• Exclusive access to a live lounge session in the airport
• A seat at the chef’s table as part of Iceland’s Food & Fun festival
• Backstage passes to meet an Icelandic band before they go on stage

Enter now to win tickets to the ‘opening flight’ to New York and transform your boarding pass or find out more at Icelandair.us/stopover-pass.

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Key report findings

New breed of flier:

• Over one third of people are considering flying transatlantic more now than five years ago, yet are disappointed with the service on offer
• Fliers are seeking new ways to travel, 36 per cent of people are considering flying indirect i.e. via (taking a short stop, less than three hours), on their transatlantic flights
• Millions more passengers are also embracing the spirit of the micro-adventurer seeking more than one destination per holiday to add more to their travel experience

Passengers see time in the air as wasted time:

• Over half of people typically get bored whilst on a flight, with Brits and Norwegians most likely to be left feeling fed-up after take-off
• 31 per cent of people say general boredom is their least favourite part of air travel
• The average air traveller will fly three times a year, with each flight lasting four hours and 24 minutes – meaning a total of 13 hours and 12 minutes is spent in the air annually but an average of 35 per cent of that time – one hour and 28 minutes – is spent feeling completely bored

Demand for improved human interaction – customer service and entertainment:

• 78 per cent of fliers admit the people on their plane with them, such as cabin crew, make a difference to their journey
• Four in ten said they have had cabin crew go out of the way to help to keep them entertained on a flight, by doing things such as telling jokes and amusing kids
• One third of those surveyed would be more likely to choose an airline which offered free live entertainment as part of their in-flight programme
• American and French flyers are most likely to enjoy a good chat with a stranger on their flight

Notes to Editors

*The report combined a survey of 9,000 air travellers across, North America Europe and Scandinavia with a further meta-analysis of global economic data and publicly available research. Markets surveyed: Canada, USA, UK, France, Germany, Netherlands and Scandinavia. It was commissioned in May 2017 by Explain The Market & Icelandair.  

Icelandair Stopover Pass

A free performance series to mark the airline’s 80^th anniversary running until end of March 2018. You can enter to win tickets to the ‘opening flight’, a three-act play on a flight from London to New York via Iceland or Icelandair passengers can transform their boarding pass into a Stopover Pass to be in with a chance of gaining access to a range of incredible performances. Icelandair.us/stopover-pass.

Icelandair

Icelandair is a transatlantic airline and offers a unique opportunity for passengers to take a Stopover in Iceland for up to seven nights at no additional airfare. Icelandair has encouraged passengers since the 1960s to enjoy an Icelandair Stopover and now offers the service from 28 European destinations to 18 North American gateways. Icelandair also offer flights to and from Iceland to the following destinations:

Canada: Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver

Europe: Reykjavik, Akureyri, Aberdeen, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belfast, Bergen, Billund, Birmingham, Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Geneva, Gothenburg, Glasgow, Hamburg, Helsinki, London, Madrid, Manchester, Milan, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Stavanger, Stockholm, Trondheim and Zürich

USA: Anchorage, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, Seattle, Tampa and Washington D.C

Immersive theatre group, Gideon Reeling

Gideon Reeling make truly interactive, theatrical experiences. Their work has been created for many diverse locations and audiences: for theatres and arts venues but also on city streets and for public festivals, schools, and music festivals, aboard a river cruiser, in the back of vans, in pitch dark elevators, and soaking wet dragon boat races, for private parties, in clubs, pubs, galleries, online, in houses and gardens, parks and stately homes and even in a skip. Audience participation and a sense of inclusive playfulness are central to their work. 

Recent Productions include creations for National Trust, Royal Academy, Dior, Shoreditch Town Hall, the Skipgallery, Lumière festival and the Hyundai Fandome.