Singapore Airlines business class seat backlash, Digi Mart USA News (Singapore): The backlash against Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) new business class seats contains some good news for the airline. Customers care deeply about SIA, according to marketing professor Julien Cayla from Nanyang Business School.
The seats were unveiled on Nov 6 as part of a S$2 billion wider cabin upgrade. They have been praised for improvements in comfort and privacy, but their grey-and-yellow colour scheme has drawn criticism, with some even likening them to dental chairs.
Cayla compares the reaction to New Coke, the Coca-Cola reformulation launched more than 40 years ago. Despite extensive market research, the company faced public uproar and was receiving 1,500 calls a day from disgruntled consumers at the height of the backlash.
What it underestimated was how emotionally attached consumers were to the brand.
Cayla argues that SIA is not simply a premium airline but a premium Asian brand that evokes comfort, elegance and Asian hospitality. In his view, the grey-and-yellow scheme does little to evoke that identity, and the more technical aesthetic appears largely disconnected from the airline’s heritage.
SIA said the colours and materials were selected to create a “fresh, contemporary and refined ambience” and that the designs were informed by research involving more than 5,000 frequent travellers, customers, staff and industry experts. Cayla suggests the research may have focused too heavily on customer needs and not enough on what the brand means to people, which may explain why the design is ergonomic but not emotionally resonant.
Rather than becoming defensive, Cayla recommends that SIA acknowledge the reactions in a short video from management, consult its most loyal business class customers about what feels right or wrong in relation to the airline’s identity, and engage local design talent. He points to Finnair’s collaboration with Marimekko as an example of connecting to heritage, suggesting that working with Singaporean designers could help SIA reconnect to its roots.
