British Airways on the nose

British Airways has the whiff of an idea that it hopes will tempt passengers to keep using its jets – a special scent.

Under plans by the airline’s new marketing supremo, the distinctive “brand” fragrance would be wafted over travellers.

Former hotel chain guru Frank van der Post aims to mimic the customer experience found in posh stores that have their own aromas.

“This is one of many ideas we are currently considering in order to improve the experience on board our aircraft,” the airline has confirmed.

British Airways has been interested in scent for a long time. In 2008, their travel site High Life published an article called Scents of Destination, featuring fragrances for different locations.

This isn’t the first time StartupSmart has written about signature scents for a company or venue – earlier in the year we wrote about the possibility of custom-made scents for nightclubs.

Is there a market for company-specific scents? It would certainly add another dimension to a company’s branding strategy, so perhaps it’s worth sniffing out.