Braathens - Service

Service

Prior to 1998, Braathens had a one-class service; the service included a complimentary in-flight meal and discounted tickets were available with restrictions. Starting 23 March 1998, the airline changed its corporate identify to 'Braathens' and introduced a two-class system onboard its planes. Passengers paying full price were seated in the 'Best' category at the front of the plane, making up about 70 percent of the capacity. Best customers received complimentary coffee and meals with non-disposable cutlery, free newspapers and a better seat pitch. Behind the curtain was the 'Back' category, which had no in-flight meals or newspapers and a smaller pitch. However, a meal with coffee and soft drink could be purchased for NOK 45. Back tickets were sold with a discount, but had to be bought at least seven days before travel, and the traveller had to be away over a weekend. There were also some discounted Best tickets, but these never cost as little as the Back tickets.

The 'Best' and 'Back' service was highly criticized by analysts and customers. Braathens SAFE had a strong image as the people's airline, in contrast to SAS' business image. Braathens also drew goodwill from being Norwegian-owned and that it displayed the Flag of Norway on the tailplane. Prior to the rebranding, no airline in Norway had ever operated a two-class service on domestic flights. Professor of Sociology Per Morten Schiefloe commented that the segregation offended passengers: Customers who previously had been paying full price, became more aware of the savings on using 'Back' tickets, while people who wanted to travel with discounted tickets felt they received better service and were not treated as second-rate customers with SAS. The effect was that Braathens lost customers at both ends. The rebranding itself not only cost money to initiate, but also increased operating expenses, because cabin crew needed to move the curtain depending on the number of passengers on each class. Planes were sometimes delayed for hours, particularly in the beginning of the service, due to the increased work load on the handling and cabin crew.

Braathens launched its frequent-flyer program as Bracard in 1985, and rebranded it as Wings in 1999. The membership had three tiers: gold, silver and blue. Until 1997, Braathens had agreements with Finnair and British Airways, where Bracard members received miles on the partners flights. After the partnership with KLM was introduced, Wings-members received miles with KLM, Northwest Airlines, Continental Airlines and Alitalia.