Canadian Airlines hires UK agency

Canadian Airlines International is appointing Griffin Bacall as its advertising agency in the UK.

Griffin Bacall won the estimated 1m account following a four-way pitch and then a second-round battle against Cogent. The incumbent was the Communications Partnership.

The agency’s first project, as well as working on product branding, will be to launch the airline’s new business class service, Club Empress.

The service is being launched in the UK on October 30, two weeks after British Airways’ relaunch of its premium services and a month after Air France announced improvements to its business class.

Club Empress will include custom-made electronic seats and individual video screens, as well as extra airport and inflight services.

Canadian Airlines’ research highlighted the fact that frequent flyers wanted more control over the inflight environment, including entertainment and meal times. “Club Express is the latest step in our strategy to reinforce the airline’s position as a competitive player,” says general manager, Northern & Western Europe Steve Taggart.

The last time that Canadian Airlines re-evaluated its advertising in the UK was in 1990 following the acquisition of Wardair by Canadian’s parent company, the PWA Corporation. The account was then retained by the Communications Partnership.