Feature: kids onboard
“With kids, the gain is high when airlines do it well: they create brand preferences from an early age. It’s not an easy task as kids are a brutally honest passenger group and will express their like or dislike strongly”
According to the company’s senior product development manager Xaver Mascarell: “People have said the boxes are ‘very intelligent’, ‘a handy size’, ’easy to keep and use again’ and good for ‘kids to swap and share’. It’s also meant that the cabin crew engage with the families as they have to establish children’s ages to allocate the right boxes.” Fun, it seems, is not enough anymore and
of plane terms – like R for runway and S for seatbelt – and a backpack activity set with a combination of games. Its On Bored range also has a range of activity sets. Melbourne-based Buzz focuses on the entire
travel experience with its kids’ products, starting with pre-flight touch points including kids’ loyalty programmes and travel log books, passport wallets, and kids’ airport spaces. “This builds excitement and anticipation”, says creative director Leonard Hamersfeld, “enhancing the travel experience for children and creating memories that last a lifetime. It also increases familiarity, building brand loyalty with the airline before the journey begins.” Buzz also produces inflight products like
activity kits (toys, activities, pencils, colouring), amenity items (including socks, eye masks, blankets) and meal delivery (tray mats, boxes, cutlery, meal toys).
Education British Midland International, or bmi commissioned ‘edu-tainment’ specialist Silver Squiggle to come up with a British-themed product and they designed six different gift boxes containing a combination of games, puzzles, colouring, stickers, construction and a range of small gifts such as wind-up insects and compasses. A special trayliner links all the British themes together, and there’s a collectable set of barnyard animals for younger children. After bmi’s launch this April, the reaction has been positive.
education is an important part of onboard entertainment for kids.When children are out travelling they will experience new cultures and languages”, says Redvig of FunForKids, “which makes it natural to give the products an educative touch.” For new customer Novair, a charter airline, the company has designed an activity book based on its destinations like Greece, Egypt and Spain. And for Stena Line ferries FunForKids communicates with children through the character Curious George. Buzz’s specially develops activity kits, amenity items and meal delivery for its clients, creating custom designs and products using developmental psychology. Focus groups kid-test new products to create the ultimate
children’s travel experience. Activities are both structured and free play to stimulate imagination and promote learning.
Working together The whimsically-named Wandering Monkey is a company which has so far kept its brand to itself, rather than adapting for each client. Already big in the cruise market, The Wandering Monkey is expanding it inflight offering through Iberia, Malaysian Airlines, XL Airways and Thomas Cook in Europe, to name a few. Its ethos, according to director Jonathan Corbett is “entertainment and education for kids on the move”. However, The Wandering Monkey’s future strategy is to work in partnership with its customers, like its joint promotion with Condor Ferries this year. Using the vibrant graphics associated with the Wandering Monkey, the company supported games for kids in its summer brochure, plus hosting a colouring competition. The Wandering Monkey’s most successful product is its activity pack, which
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