Turbulence at Qatar Airways affects brand sentiment at Boeing

The reputation of the Boeing brand has suffered a severe blow following the recent incident involving Qatar Airways. On May 26, 2024, Qatar Airways passengers and crew on board Flight QR017, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, encountered turbulence while flying over Turkey from Doha to Ireland.

Flight QR017 landed shortly before 1pm local time, Dublin Airport said, adding that the aircraft landed safely and as scheduled. After landing, the aircraft was met by emergency services, including airport police and Dublin Airport Fire Service, as six passengers and six crew members on board had reported injuries.

In a statement, Qatar Airways confirmed that the flight had landed safely and that “a small number of passengers and crew sustained minor injuries during the flight and are now receiving medical attention.”

“The case is now the subject of an internal investigation. The safety of our passengers and crew is our top priority,” it said.

Do not miss: Singapore Airlines keeps brand sentiment stable despite turbulence

After the incident, sentiment toward the Boeing brand dropped from 59.6% before the turbulence in SQ, where Boeing was also an aircraft manufacturer, to 66.2%, according to media company CARMA. In addition, words such as “turbulence,” “injured,” and “died” dominated the word cloud.

The incident came five days after a Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok due to severe turbulence, resulting in the death of one passenger and 20 injuries. The incident has further damaged Boeing’s reputation among netizens, said Divika Jethmal, Asia marketing director at CARMA. The brand’s word cloud included words like “flight,” “good,” and “support.”

According to CARMA, the Singapore Airlines situation was not about the airline’s service and response, but rather the situation that resulted in deaths and injuries. Internet users also expressed their concerns about passenger safety and the maintenance of older aircraft such as the Boeing 777, aircraft model SQ321.

The CARMA report also said that even before the investigation into the situation, many internet users had posted about their fear of flying on Boeing aircraft, while others defended the structural integrity of Boeing aircraft after SQ321 was able to land safely in one piece in Thailand following severe turbulence.

Following the incident, Boeing released a statement saying: “We are in contact with Singapore Airlines regarding flight SQ321 and are prepared to offer time. We extend our deepest condolences to the family who lost a loved one and our thoughts are with the passengers and crew.”

Boeing has not yet released a statement on the incident involving Qatar Airways. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has requested further information.

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