Bringing Qatar Airways’s Qsuite to Germany. Great stories about an airline’s in-flight cabin service are the result of agency’s experience of working with aviation and travel media.
Public Relations aims to create interesting story opportunities for the media. This year, Qatar Airways launched its latest business-class product, the Qsuite, on all its routes from Germany. The PR department at ITMS used the occasion to organize three press events to allow journalists to personally experience the airline’s new luxury service.
Qsuite, Qatar Airways’ revolutionary and patented business class, was first launched in May on the Frankfurt route, in September on the Munich route and now in November on the Berlin route. Passengers can now travel in a private, multifunctional suite that can be tailored to their individual needs.
The PR specialists in the agency’s Bad Nauheim offices know that the most effective way for aviation and travel journalists to report on an airline’s passenger services is by allowing them to experience and see the service with their own eyes. The best way to do that is by capturing the moment when the plane is at an airport, right between its arrival and departure times. The window of opportunity for such a visit is extremely short – cleaning and restocking must be considered – and requires exact coordination with the crew and airport.
The agency handles a number of such events every year and knows the ropes better than most. Every press event at the airport requires very close coordination with the respective airport’s media, event and security representatives. The event must be coordinated in close cooperation with every single department. Everything is timed, scheduled and arranged ahead of time. Passports and identity cards need to be collected several days beforehand to arrange passage for the journalists through the airport’s stringent security systems – no exceptions. A smooth event starts with the media group being led swiftly through security control to the aircraft.
Qsuite is a very innovative business class product for Qatar Airways. Shared space can be created for two, three or four passengers. There are also diverse specials when it comes to the meals served onboard. Special dishes offer hot, cold and sweet food creations that can be shared with a partner. In order to highlight this feature at the press event, ITMS works with the airline’s caterer to deliver the same meals for the media during the event. Presentation is just as important as taste for such a meal. Journalists are able to enjoy the Qsuite menu and feel like business class passengers before even sitting in the Qsuite seats during the aircraft tour. It’s the little things that make for a great story.
