Boeing media campaign from next week

Ashwini Phadnis

DUBAI, Nov. 7

IN an effort to get passengers back in the air, the US aircraft major, Boeing, will launch a media campaign next week.

Talking to Business Line, the company's Senior Vice-President, International Sales, Mr Douglas M. Groseclose, said the campaign's message, which is to be advertised through the major television channels, newspapers and magazines, is to emphasise on how safe it is to travel.

While not disclosing too many details of the yet-to-be launched campaign, the company officials said the image of a grandmother meeting her grandchildren after a flight could be one of the methods used to show that travelling by air was safe.

``Though the campaign starts in the US next week, it will be going around the world. The plan is not to promote any product. The idea is to show that flying is safe, fun, helps families get together and also helps business,'' Mr Groseclose said.

They added that the need for such a campaign was felt as there was a growing realisation that something needed to be done to help the industry. ``If the industry grows then the aircraft manufacturers also get more customers. This is a win-win situation for everyone,'' officials said.

However, officials were not willing to disclose how much the company would be spending to get the message across to passengers around the world.