While browsing a collection of class blogs, I stumbled across Darren Rulof’s post regarding a unique partnership between Virgin Airlines and Netflix. This intrigued me because I am an avid Netflix user and with their current success in the online streaming industry I did not believe that they could find yet another unique selling proposition to boost their sales, I was wrong. Darren discusses an article that states Virgin Airlines has announced that they will provide passengers with free streaming of Netflix content on two new jets. How will this affect both Virgin Airlines and Netflix?
According to Darren, this is a “good marketing strategy” for Netflix and I agree. Not only will Netflix be exposed to current users but they will also give non-subscribers a glimpse at the variety of content Netflix provides. In my opinion, this will provide Netflix with positive public appeal because when you’re 30,000 feet in the air with nothing else to do but remain in your seat, entertainment of any kind becomes increasingly attractive. I believe Netflix will receive many new users as they provide their services on even more Virgin Airline plans.
Furthermore, Darren brought up an interesting point about how this new luxury, on its own, will not attract new passengers for Virgin and I could not agree more. People buy plane tickets based off prices. If a ticket is relatively cheap amongst its competitors, that will be the deciding factor for which airline people choose. It is quite rare that people will choose an airline based off of what type of entertainment they provide. However, I believe this pairing will still be beneficial to Virgin because it will give them a competitive edge between other airlines.
