“Flight bookings make up 95% of EaseMyTrip’s business”: co-founder Rikant Pittie

Be it in-flight branding, like placing ads on the boarding pass or seats in the plane, EaseMyTrip is present across all such crucial traveller touchpoints. Recently, we saw an interesting initiative by the travel aggregator platform, where the brand's logo was placed on the top of a SpiceJet plane.

Speaking about this unique brand activation, Rikant Pittie, co-founder of EaseMyTrip, says that instead of opting for high marketing budgets, the brand’s emphasis is always on high ROI marketing spending.

He explains, "We always try to source relevant mediums through which we can gain the maximum interest of our customers. Our in-flight branding marketing initiative was very well-received by the travellers. We have witnessed a strong rise in bookings and queries. Looking at the response, it is the right time to take it to the next level and highlight our unique booking services and features.”

Earlier, EaseMyTrip used many big-ticket events, such as the Indian Premier League (IPL), and brought out full-page ads in national dailies. By using branding space in flights, the brand aims to cater to the pent-up demand by promoting its offers using such “high-impact marketing initiatives,” Pittie mentions.

He points out that the country is witnessing a growing air traffic demand, even from smaller cities. “A significant chunk of these people are digital savvy and prefer online bookings. Through this unique activation, we are trying to reach out to those customers, and with the explosion of the Internet and online booking, it is the right time to do so. We believe that such activation will also strengthen our proposition.”

Earlier, we have also seen some other brands use the top of planes as their branding space. For instance, Delhi-based media company NDTV used Air Deccan’s flight. And, more recently, UAE-based Emirates painted its aircraft to promote Dubai Expo.

With the strong pent-up demand and international flights resuming operations, EaseMyTrip believes that there will be strong travel growth too. People will prefer portals that can provide them with good customer service.

“This activation is aimed to increase brand recall and awareness about the brand’s proposition of providing an exceptional and hassle-free booking experience. Today, customers prefer value services, flexible bookings and customised experiences. We want to ensure that they have EaseMyTrip in mind when they think of a hassle-free travelling experience,” states Pittie.

He shares that flight bookings make up around 95 per cent of EaseMyTrip’s business.

However, most of the brand’s recent acquisitions have been in the non-air segment, as it is looking to grow its presence here to be a complete travel solutions provider. The aim is to grow the revenue by leveraging the brand’s existing customer base for cross-selling. The brand also plans to utilise its agent network for holiday bookings that will complement its hotel and holiday businesses.

It must be mentioned that SpiceJet has been EaseMyTrip’s partner for various branding initiatives. We asked Pittie whether the brand plans to partner with other airline brands also for such activations.

He informs that over the years, EaseMyTrip has had a collaboration with SpiceJet and has initiated multiple in-flight activations with the airline. The brand also has an exclusive partnership with Spice Holidays for holiday bookings.

“We will look to partner with other airline brands when the time is right. For us, a greater focus on high ROI marketing spending is imperative. We do not believe in extravagant marketing budgets, so we opt for relevant brand activations that will gain the maximum interest of our customers,” Pittie concludes.