Loyalty.

For a quick definition I go to the new global encyclopaedia, Wikipedia, where people seem to agree on many things and they say, "loyalty is faithfulness or a devotion to a person, country, group, or cause. Philosophers disagree as to what things one can be loyal to, many argue it is only possible for loyalty to be to another person and that it is strictly interpersonal".

The thinking about loyalty came about because A good friend of mine left his airline role yesterday. He was in a senior position at Virgin and worked hard at turning around perception, processes, procedures and engagement with the flying public and the airline will miss his input and insights. I mention this in passing because I always felt a peculiar sense of loyalty when flying "his" airline, something that has now dissipated with his leaving. The airline, like most things in travel has become totally commoditised and no matter the number of frequent flyer points I accumulate the loyalty to that product, has suffered with his departure.

If I analyse that thinking it occurs to me the loyalty associated with the airline is personality related not product related. Without that personal connection, it shows a fickleness and a shallow engagement on my behalf, with a product that works perfectly fine, does the job, meets and doesn't exceed my expectations and delivers on the promise of getting me from A to B. You'll notice no great plaudits for anything out of the ordinary and that is the point as far as I am concerned, for without that personal anchor to a product it's hard for me to have any feelings of loyalty. After all I can't engage with every flight crew, joking I'm taking the flight to keep them in a job and get back a humorous reply recognising the part I play in the cycle.

It's that recognition, no matter how small or unperceived by others, that drives the loyalty gene and re-engages me with the product. This personal aspect of product alignment with real people works best when associated with larger purchase items where the variety of choice is governed by dollars but chosen because you know someone well, who is associated with that product. If my friend were to join another airline, I would of course change my allegiance as it is of more importance for me to have the human connection than than the product features.

I thought about the many products I use daily, chosen with great care but not necessarily with anyone in mind other than myself and realise not many have the "amigo" gene attached. Not many give me reason to have a conversation about my experience and receive personal acknowledgement driving my loyalty even higher. The convenient fact I know a lot of people at the "other" airline gives me hope, my flying experience will continue to matter from a loyalty view and that conversations outside of the product will enable me to pass on my allegiance to those involved. They say frequent flyer points can make you price blind, I say personal loyalty disregards price but not many products involved in the aviation landscape have worked that out.