You know you have been flying too much when you know your way around airport without knowing which country you’re actually in; unless its Heathrow which is the exception that proves the rule.
You’ve been in the air too much when you begin to recognise aircrew and can actually tell before you take off whether they are going to look after you well. But the real indication is when you get an invite from your favourite airline to a weekend launch of something.
The invitation when it arrived asked us to join a bus next door to the Peninsula Hotel but seemed to have missed out the part about meeting in The Bar. Never mind I assured my wife this is probably an oversight that I’m sure would be corrected. Having had to work a little to convince my wife that the best thing we could do in Hong kong at the weekend was to go to the airport I was a little surprised to see that the airline didn’t seem to share my needs.
I am always struck by how excited people can get when they have been asked to collect names from people and make sure they get on the right bus – one for press and one for the rest of us. Trying to give your name to someone with a clipboard who is so excited to see you that they are positively bouncing in and out of their shoes is always a fun experience. And despite giving my name at least 3 times there still seemed to be no gin and tonic available.
What there was was a very big coach. Such a shame it was for the press rather than for us. Ours would be along in a minute or three…Maybe it would have a bar on board. No. Although the coach did have a small wicker basket with crisps and drink boxes that we passed up and down.
Arriving at the airport through the back gate and passing through the hangar we eventually arrived at the main doors – held closed in case any of us got a sneak preview of the airplane hidden outside. When I say hidden I really mean parked outside behind the huge closed doors as trying to hide a Boeing 777 isn’t that easy; although Malaysian airlines might beg to differ.
As with any corporate event there has to be a video and a number of worthies talking about why we were there but this one was special.
I have absolutely no design or marketing sense at all and I am always intrigued by those who do. I tinge this with a genuine respect for people who can design things, logos and brands in particular and then come up with a story about how they developed the idea or what the pictures represent. So I was genuinely interested to listen to the marketing gurus talking about ‘liberating the tail swish from the box in which is has been contained.’ I am sure you’ll be able to see the difference in the pictures below and I am sure like me you’ll be genuinely impressed.
Before
And after….
The event finished with a tour around the plane including an opportunity to sit in the pilots seat. For a nerd like me who has travelled far too much to finally be allowed to see inside the cockpit was wonderful. It brought back memories of being invited up to the cockpit on almost every flight I went on when I was growing up. Shame those days have long gone.
But I would like to say thank you to Cathay Pacific for the invitation and for making the event a lot of fun.
I might not understand marketing but I know a good Boeing paint job when I see one…
The Burble 