When it comes to PR disasters, one of the worst has been the fabulously bad ‘bucket list’ challenge issued by Malaysia Airlines this week.
Malaysia Airlines has had a terrible year. In March Malaysia Flight 370 disappeared into thin air, perhaps over the Indian Ocean, perhaps not. The plane has not been found and conspiracy theories continue to be spread. In July, 131 days later, Malaysia Flight 17 crashed in Ukraine, possibly caused by a missile fired by militants in the region.
Over 500 people have died in these two disasters. The airline is floundering with stories of quarter-filled planes and heavily discounted tickets. It has recently announced cuts to flights and staff.
It seems incredible that this week the airline introduced its “My Ultimate Bucket List Campaign asking customers to list which destinations they would most like to visit. The prize is one of 12 return economy class airfares from Australia and New Zealand to Malaysia or one of four iPads.
Bucket list? This is a list of wishes that a person wants to ‘tick off’ before dying or ‘kicking the bucket.’ Malaysia Airlines has had a bad year as far as passenger safety goes, the campaign has deservedly been criticised.
After a hectic round of apologies, the competition has been renamed "Win an iPad or Malaysia Airlines flight to Malaysia.” The damage, however, has already been done. A PR crisis of the airline’s own making.