Brilliant Media wins £2m MyTravelLite brief from Pure

MyTravelLite, the low-cost airline owned by tour operator MyTravel, has moved its £2m media buying and planning account out of Pure Media into Brilliant Media.The appointment was made by the airline’s head of marketing development Julian Carr.

Carr, who joined MyTravelLite from rival airline Jet2 in March (MW March 4), has decided to retain the airline’s advertising agency, Manchester-based And.

MyTravelLite is repositioning to shed its downmarket image and has introduced a range of features to distinguish it from rival low-cost carriers. These include allocated seating, a pre-order menu for cold meals and a revamped in-flight magazine called Lite Reading. It is also introducing a two-tier seating policy, allowing customers to upgrade to a seat with increased legroom for a £15 supplement.

The Birmingham-based airline will no longer use David Dickinson, the presenter of BBC 1 television show Bargain Hunt, who is famous for his “cheap as chips” catchphrase, as the face of the airline and has developed new advertising under the umbrella positioning “New season, new service”.

Further consolidation is expected in the low-cost market due to an oversupply of seats and the collapse of Midlands-based Duo earlier this month (MW May 6). However, holiday company TUI UK launched Thomsonfly from Coventry airport earlier this year and added flights from Robin Hood Doncaster/Sheffield airport in March.