????當然，大型民航公司也知道品牌的重要性?！懊绹娇照幱谥亟M進程中，我們計劃變成一家非同一般的航空公司，”美國航空女發言人在聲明中稱。“本公司期待完成重組之后，能為顧客帶來全新、不同往昔的體驗?！彼茉靺f調一致的企業文化也是美聯航首席執行官杰夫?斯米塞克的重要任務。去年，他告訴《財富》雜志（Fortune）：“我的管理團隊和我本人正在投入大量時間，培養這種新文化。我們很重視這一點，因為任何整合都有淪為平庸的風險。”截至本文發表之時，達美航空尚未回應記者請求評論的要求。

????目前，規模較小但品牌形象好的航空公司取得了不俗的成績，可能會開始給大型民航帶來壓力，迫使其改變品牌戰略。“我覺得壓力將來自區域性的民航公司，他們很擅長塑造獨特的消費者體驗，并圍繞這種體驗打造企業，”品牌咨詢公司Prophet美國分部總裁安德魯?皮爾斯表示。“這些企業將變得更加強大?！北M管大型民航嚴防死守，這些小公司仍可能奪走其份額。如果沒有協調統一的品牌戰略，這些民航巨頭只能繼續打價格戰。如今燃油成本和消費者行為模式都難以預測，處在這樣的市場，民航公司本來就已經困難重重，品牌形象千瘡百孔恐怕是它們最不愿意看到的情況。

????譯者：小宇

????Of course, the major airlines know that branding is important. "American is in the middle of the restructuring process and plans to emerge a very different airline," an American Airlines spokeswoman said in a statement. "The airline looks forward to emerging from the restructuring process with something new and different for its customers." Creating a coherent corporate culture is also on United CEO Jeff Smisek's to-do list. Last year, he told Fortune, "My management team and I are spending a lot of time on developing the new culture. [We're] very focused on that because you do run the risk in any integration of ending up with mediocrity." Delta did not respond to a request to comment in time for publication.

????For now, the success of small airlines with strong brands is likely to begin pushing against the branding approach of larger airlines. "I think the pressure is going to come from the regional guys that are getting pretty good at creating a unique experience and delivering around it," says Andrew Pierce, U.S. President of brand consultancy firm Prophet. "Those guys are going to become more formidable." They could chip away at the edges of a market that big carriers guard closely. Without a coherent brand strategy, those major carriers will continue to play the price game. And, in this market, with fuel costs and customer behavior difficult to predict, a broken brand is the last problem any airline wants on top of everything else.