MAM
bmi flies into Indian mkt. with a Mumbai-London service
MUMBAI: UK’s second largest airlines British Midland (bmi) marked its entry on Tuesday by announcing the launch of a Mumbai-London flight with an aim to explore opportunities and develop further services to other Indian destinations.
Speaking at the launch of the service, bmi chairman Sir Michael Bishop said that the airlines was committed to bring greater value and choice to a market that had been under-served and short of direct capacity.
Calling it a historic moment for bmi, Sir Michael added that the launch of the Mumbai-London service marks the first long haul service operated by the airlines from Heathrow, its main domestic and European hub.
bmi has an extensive domestic (UK) and European short-haul network and a choice of onward travel with its Star Alliance partner, which allows travelers wider choice of destinations. Limited deregulation of air travel between the UK and India was agreed in September 2004 and bmi was granted rights to fly from Heathrow to Mumbai in December last.
According to Sir Michael, “I congratulate the Indian government on being courageous and agreeing to open the market up to much needed competition.” This, he pointed out, will allow greater direct capacity between India and the UK, benefiting both British and Indian carriers.
Previously, more than 53 per cent of the market between the two countries has been forced to travel via connecting airports in the Middle East to the disadvantage of home carriers, he added.
As a result of further deregulation in the Indian airlines industry announced last month, bmi is evaluating options that would allow for further route network development from India to Heathrow. The airlines hopes to garner between 15 – 20 per cent of market share in a year’s time.
The sales and marketing of bmi in India will be handled by the general sales agents (GSA) Discover the World, while off-air operations will be looked after by GSA Jetair. The British airline is also looking at setting up a base in Mumbai and is presently hunting for office space.
Commenting on the sales strategy, a senior bmi executive said that the airlines would be looking at striking corporate deals in India and the UK. Apart from this, travel agents have been given incentive schemes to push sales.
A bmi flight offers an array of in-flight entertainment ranging from a choice of 11 movies and nine TV and 16 audio channels. Also available will be over 30 computer games, telephone facility and data ports. Laptop power connections will be accessible in the business and new economy seats.
bmi, which is working on comparatively leaner budgets vis-?-vis its main rival Virgin Atlantic, today unveiled a print-led campaign with ads across various publications. Hoardings have also been taken across Mumbai.
The campaign is a two-week burst with the ad spends pegged at $ 100,000. The creative and media duties are being handled by Citi Prime.
As part of marketing initiatives, trade activation with niche publications like T3 and Travtalk have been started. Direct mailers too have been sent out to travel agents, while seminars are being planned for agents to ensure product knowledge.
To ensure initial momentum, bmi has come up with an introductory offer of Rs 30,000 for a Mumbai-London-Mumbai trip. Asked about bmi’s unique selling proposition, company’s India manager Ravi Pikle said, “Considering bmi has such a strong network in the UK and within Europe, we are in a position to offer our passengers free add-ons to any point within the stated regions. This is something that makes us stand apart.”
With a vision to become a four-day a week carrier from Mumbai, bmi, anyhow, will have to face competition from others like British Airways, Air India, Virgin Atlantic and Jet Airways on the Mumbai-Heathrow route.
Brands
Hardik Jhaveri named senior director marketing at Colgate-Palmolive Asean hub
Former Hill’s Pet Nutrition general manager returns to the company to steer marketing for South Asean from Kuala Lumpur
KUALA LUMPUR: Hardik Jhaveri has been appointed senior director marketing for the South Asean hub at Colgate-Palmolive, marking a return to the consumer goods major after a three year stint with Hill’s Pet Nutrition. He will be based in Kuala Lumpur and will lead marketing strategy for the region.
Jhaveri joins the role after serving as general manager at Hill’s Pet Nutrition in Taipei, where he led a cross functional team and oversaw the business with full profit and loss responsibility. The role placed him at the helm of operations in Taiwan, managing growth in what he described as a start-up style environment within a global multinational.
Before that, Jhaveri spent over a decade with Colgate-Palmolive across several marketing and innovation roles in Asia. As associate director innovation for Apac excluding China, based in Hong Kong, he led new product development and launches across multiple markets.
His portfolio ranged from developing specialised oral care products such as a diabetes focused toothpaste for the Indian market to launching premium oral care experiences under the Colgate Total brand in Australia. Alongside innovation, he also worked on launch planning, brand strategy and communications for the company’s oral care portfolio.
Earlier in his Colgate-Palmolive journey, Jhaveri held roles including marketing manager innovation, senior brand manager and brand manager. His work spanned urban and rural markets in Mumbai and customer development responsibilities in the Greater Kolkata Area.
Prior to his long association with Colgate-Palmolive, Jhaveri worked as brand officer home care at Unilever, where he helped drive marketing initiatives for the Rin detergent brand, including nationwide relaunch and on ground activation campaigns.
He began his career in advertising with Bates David Enterprise, working on brands such as IDBI Bank, The Leela Hotels and The Times of India.
Jhaveri holds a post graduate programme in management from the Indian School of Business and has also completed a level 4 diploma in wine from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Announcing the move, Jhaveri said he is excited to begin his new chapter at Colgate-Palmolive’s South Asean hub and thanked colleagues and mentors who supported his journey at Hill’s Pet Nutrition.
