Being a loyal British Airways customer is increasingly a test of fortitude.
Operational glitches, delays, last year’s IT meltdown – they can all be forgiven or forgotten… People have even become used to buying their own food and paying to check in luggage on BA, which never used to be extra.
However, when it comes to our personal data being compromised, we rightly feel differently: it’s more invasive. In situations like this, brands have to move swiftly and be completely transparent to stop the rot, so it was edifying to see the full-page adverts BA took out to apologise for the breach, alongside its proactive communications approach through the media and social channels to reassure customers about what it was doing to manage the issue.
BA will need to maintain that focus if it’s to restore faith, but there’s still enough latent love for the brand for it to pull through.
Phil Bloomfield is managing partner at Siren Communications