Air New Zealand’s first in-flight focus group took to the skies late last week with a panel of "uber-frequent" fliers onboard to find out how they handle long-haul flights with finesse.
The airline said that it is hoping to find out how its customers can avoid the "lag" often associated with international travel. The project, dubbed #NoLagToLondon, will get helpful tips, tricks and insights from these frequent fliers that Air New Zealand will pass onto its passengers via social media.
Air New Zealand will be sharing its findings with followers on the @AirNZUSA Twitter feed throughout April - from the best position to sleep in and pre-flight rituals, to what to eat and secret jet-lag cures. Project #NoLagtoLondon was moderated by Lily Kosner, the Los Angeles-based website editor for PeterGreenberg.com (@PeterSGreenberg). She led the group through a range of discussion topics from what to eat on a flight to sleeping positions via creative research methods including haikus, Rorschach inkblot tests and word associations.
Focus group participants included:
Harriet Baskas (@hbaskas): Baskas writes about airports and air travel for outlets including NBC News.com, USAToday.com and MSN. She also pens the blog, StuckAtTheAirport.com.
Amy Chen (@amychenwrites): As community manager at LinkedIn, Chen covers business travel and small business. She was previously online editor at Frommers.com and an assistant editor at Budget Travel magazine. Chen’s writing has appeared in Moneymagazine, Real Simple and CNNgo.com.
Mike Ortiz (@SmartWomenTrav): Editor at SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com, Ortiz has been writing and photographing destinations for the travel websites since 2008.
Adam Popescu (@adampopescu): A Los Angeles native, Popescu contributes to ReadWrite and LA Weekly and has written on technology, social media, green business, eco-travel, politics and the arts for publications including Marketplace Radio and Los Angeles Times Community Newspapers.
Peter Thornton (@airfarewatchdog): Airfare analyst and contributor at Airfarewatchdog.com, Thornton writes about airline sales, trends and regulations. He has traveled extensively, visiting every continent except Antarctica.
The#NoLagToLondon project is part of a brand campaign demonstrating how Air New Zealand’s in-flight product and service makes it the best choice for business travelers flying from Los Angeles International to London Heathrow.
Air New Zealand, a Star Alliance member, flies daily between Los Angeles International and London Heathrow.
Interested readers cab share the Inflight Focus Group's experiences by joining the Vine contest on Twitter. ANZ will be sharing three Vine videos during the next two weeks on Twitter with the tips for ensuring #NoLagtoLondon. Follow @AIRNZUSA and retweet the Vine video posts for a chance to win a grand prize of two roundtrip tickets from LAX to London in Air New Zealand’s Premium Economy. There will also be daily prizes of No Lag Swag.