The Friendly Skies

Airlines’ participation in consumer-products licensing is relatively limited compared to many other types of corporate brands, both in the number of properties active and the scope of their programs. That said, they are involved in the business in a variety of ways:

• Outbound licensing. Lufthansa has been extending its brand for a decade but last week announced it has retained German agency The Brand Residence to expand its efforts globally, with Alita’s Brand Bar handling North America. The company has created a new style guide and says it plans to sign high-end licensees. Meanwhile, earlier this year, The Emirates Official Store, the merchandising division of Emirates airline, named Global Icons to serve as its agent, with plans for a wide variety of travel-related goods, apparel, stationery, electronic accessories, toys and collectibles, and more.
• Amenity kits. Smiley licensed Formia for a series of children’s amenity kits tied to the SmileyWorld and Rubik’s brands, which will be available to airlines around the world. Outside of licensing, brands announcing their involvement in amenity kits lately include luggage label Tumi, which styled kits for Delta One passengers that contain health and beauty items from Kiehl’s, and Soho House’s Cowshed Spa, which supplies products for United’s newly redesigned kits.
• Promotions and sponsorships. Airlines have long been key partners for tie-ins promoting licensed properties. Earlier this month UFC paired with AirAsia; the latter becomes the official airline of UFC and will sponsor fan experiences in China. In addition, the two companies plan to co-sponsor content on China’s Weibo social networking site and WeChat instant messaging platform. Separately, Turkish Airlines teamed with Warner Bros. last year to promote Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, including sponsoring the world premiere, wrapping a 777 with movie graphics, creating limited-edition amenity kits, offering travel guides to the fictional locales of Gotham City and Metropolis, designing a promotion-specific frequent flyer card, and adding themed menu items.

These represent just a handful of examples of the connections between airlines and licensed properties around the world. Other instances in the past few years have included Pan Am’s retro lifestyle licensing program; EVA Air’s fleet of Sanrio-themed planes featuring Hello Kitty, Gudetama, and other characters; designer Zac Posen rethinking crew uniforms for Delta; and Qantas and Nickelodeon developing 32-page activity books starring the network’s roster of characters, for flights in Australia and New Zealand.