The British airways (BA) had built such a big brand reputation over the years that it seemed the airline could do without any marketing or PR. There had been no shortage of customers and the company had been enjoying a somewhat monopolistic advantage that probably accounted for the subtle vein of snobbishness in its public relations dealings. But the brand British Airways sustained a deep dent on the day the airline opened its £4.3bn Terminal 5 (T5) at the Heathrow airport.

The T5 project had been well planned and all the necessary measures and precautions taken, and yet it was a disaster on the first day of its operation. Baggage operation failed and there were extraordinary delays in flight landing and take-off; with thousands of passengers stranded at the airport for hours. The air filled with shouting and swearing from angry and exhausted sufferers. In a critical situation like this sustaining the brand image is difficult but not impossible for highly capable PR personnel which the British Airways lacked. Whatever public relations effort the airline was able to put in turned out to be sloppy and counterproductive. Brand analysts blame most of the damage done to BA's image on its poor PR. Although BA's press office has admitted to having made mistakes the Chief Executive, Willie Walsh, remains defiant in the face of the clamour for his resignation.

Mistakes

Any operation can fail but if the crisis is handled wisely, there can be less adverse impact on the brand. On the morning of the inaugural day of the T5, there were high officials present at the airport, as well as people from the press and television channels. But when the T5 technical system failed the BA officials were caught off-guard; they did not know what to do. They could not tell the media properly what was happening; they even avoided meeting the passengers. For their part, the passengers felt abandoned and many of them swore publicly they would never fly BA. The media did its job. Television channels showed the footage of the chaotic terminal to millions of people around the world, causing the maximum damage to the BA brand.

At last when BA officials were available for a statement, it was evening and the statement was rather terse and did not come from Walsh but from Head of Operations. What is more, the spokespersons refused to take questions from the media.

But not all that BA did was completely bad. It did at least one good thing: it avoided the 'blame game', which is dangerous in a situation like this.

Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in India earning an estimated $1500 million in foreign exchange annually. About 5 million tourists come to India every year and the number is expected to rise in the near future. The industry has registered an impressive 13% growth in the month of January 2008. The prospect looks much brighter in 2010 when India hosts Commonwealth Games.

But as brands are expensive to build, they are also extremely vulnerable. Any sensitive incident can rock its foundation. The recent incident of rape and murder of a 15 year old British tourist Scarlet Keeling on the beach of Anjuna in Goa and the initial negligence of the Goan Police in instituting proper investigation has sparked angry reaction throughout the world. The media - television, the press and the internet - is full of stories narrating horrible experiences of tourists visiting Goa and the worst thing is the police are allegedly involved in the incidents. Goa, which was once regarded as a paradise for tourists, is now considered a haven for 'notorious corrupt police and officials' and 'drug mafia'.

In the aftermath of the Anjuna beach incident Indian tour operators are reporting a sharp decline in tourist arrival in Goa, although according to an Indian tourism official, "The incident will not affect the 'Incredible India' campaign." However, India is taking some measures to ensure durable security for tourists; the country is planning to form a team of retired defence personnel to be deployed at popular tourist resorts; it is considering illuminating prominent beaches throughout the night and closing down all shacks and restaurants by midnight.

But Industry experts say such measures are not enough, pointing out that Goa desperately needs a facelift. After all, the scars of Scarlet are deep.