The Frozen, Friendly Skies

A Not-Too-Distant Memory
Remember when airlines used to offer their coach passengers a free meal on a flight that lasted longer than a couple of hours?

Well, I have a simple idea that will bring back free meals on airplanes, and it won’t cost passengers or the airlines a single penny. Don’t believe me? Keep reading.

There Is Such a Thing as a Free Lunch
Airlines should invite pre-packaged frozen food brands such as Healthy Choice to serve their passengers free meals. Healthy Choice could use the opportunity in three ways:
  1. Free samples. Healthy Choice could provide airline passengers with products that are currently being sold at grocery stores across the country. The goal for Healthy Choice would be to introduce customers to one of its current products with the hope that customers would later purchase the product. It’d be like free sample day at the grocery store, but everybody would get a full meal, and they’d be flying on a plane while eating it.

  2. New product launches. Healthy Choice could provide passengers with products that are about to be sold in stores but aren’t available yet. The goal for Healthy Choice would be to build excitement and demand around a new product with the hope that when the product hits the shelves, it would have a pre-installed customer base.

  3. Product research. Healthy Choice could offer free meals to airline passengers who are willing to answer a brief questionnaire about their meal after eating it. The brand could test its new products on a captive in-flight audience and use the results to create better products. Wouldn’t you eat a free meal if all you had to do was answer a couple of questions about it after you were finished? I would.
A Win-Win-Win Situation
By partnering with pre-packaged frozen food brands, airlines could offer their passengers free food at no cost to them. The passengers would be happier because they’d be getting free food. The airlines would benefit from happier, more loyal customers because they’re getting a free meal, and the frozen food brands would be able to increase brand awareness and sales by tapping into a captive audience.

It’s a win-win-win situation.

Add This To Your To-Do List
Are there product features or services that you used to offer your customers for free that you’re now charging for or no longer offering? Instead of raising your prices to re-offer those features or services, can you find someone to partner with that might like to give them to your customers for free? It can be simple – maybe the local pizza place would like to sponsor the nice notepad that you used to give clients on their nightstand at your bed and breakfast. Reach out to a couple of local businesses to see if they’d be interested in forming a partnership to increase customer satisfaction. You might be surprised at what you come up with.

There’s never a lack of ideas.

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