The Anthropology of Airlines: Flag Carriers, Nationalism
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THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF AIRLINES: FLAG CARRIERS, NATIONALISM, PLACE, AND IDENTITY by Evan Jackson A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences with a Concentration in Anthropology Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University Jupiter, Florida April 2015 THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF AIRLINES: FLAG CARRIERS, NATIONALISM, PLACE, AND IDENTITY by Evan Jackson This thesis was prepared under the direction of the candidate’s thesis advisor, Dr. Jacqueline Fewkes, and has been approved by members of his supervisory committee. It was submitted to the faculty of The Honors College and was accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences. SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: ___________________________ Dr. Jacqueline Fewkes ___________________________ Dr. William O’Brien ___________________________ Dean Jeffrey Buller, Wilkes Honors College ___________ Date i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my thesis advisor, Dr. Jacqueline Fewkes, who like myself a connoisseur of commercial aviation and traveling, for guiding me through this process and encouraging me to think outside of the box, something I often have trouble doing. Thank you to Dr. Rachel Corr, my original academic advisor and the person who introduced me to anthropology, for all of your advice and assistance over the past four years at the Honors College. Thank you to Dr. William O’Brien, my second reader, for always encouraging me to perform at my best. Thank you to all of my professors at the Honors College who have helped me throughout my undergraduate career and encouraged me to think critically and learn from others. To my dear friends Rebecca Peter, Rachel Rohan, Hannah Paperno, Brian Pennington, and Skylar Benedict, thank you for your constant support and for always being there for me, especially during thesis writing. I know that my time at the Honors College would not have been the same without you all. Thank you for your friendship, hours of laughter, and love. To Suzyn-Elayne Soler, Elyse Greenfeld, and Monica Maldonado in the Honors College Office of Admissions, thank you for your never ending support, love, and for being my second set of mothers. To my mother, I cannot thank you enough for all that you have done and continually do for me. Thank you for inspiring me to learn, to travel, and to follow my passion for aviation. I also would like to thank my grandmother, who always supported my endeavors and instilled in me faith and assurance, now watching over me from Heaven. To the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University, thank you for opening my mind and making me a better student, scholar, friend, and person. To God be the glory, great things He hath done. ii ABSTRACT Author: Evan Jackson Title: The Anthropology of Airlines: Flag Carriers, Nationalism, Place, and Identity Institution: Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University Advisor: Dr. Jacqueline Fewkes Degree: Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences Concentration: Anthropology Year: 2015 In this study, I aim to explain the status of airline flag carriers as national and cultural symbols of their respected countries. With national interests and identity as part of their development, flag-carriers serve as “aerial ambassadors” representing their home nations. Through the media of design, uniforms, crew service, and advertising techniques, flag- carriers create a sense of place of their unique nations for both local and international passengers—promoting the “imagined communities” as coined by Benedict Anderson. Behind these flag-carriers are instances of public support and pride. The role of being an aerial ambassador emerges as the airline and nation become one entity, an association that could be either positive or negative. With examinations of airline websites, aviation marketing literature, and visual analyses, my research will show how flag-carriers express national identity across borders through their projected physical and cultural identities. Keywords: nationalism, identity, place, airlines, flag-carriers, aviation, transportation, anthropology. iii For mom and grandma. iv Table of Contents I. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 II. Methodology ............................................................................................................ 6 III. Nationalism and Commercial Aviation ................................................................... 9 1. Nationalism and Identity: Malaysia and Singapore ............................................... 10 2. Social Obligations and Government Nationalism.................................................. 12 3. The National Costs of Maintaining a Flag Carrier ................................................. 14 4. The Loss of a Flag Carrier ..................................................................................... 17 i. SABENA: Belgium’s Biggest Corporate Failure............................................... 17 ii. Malév: A Victim of Illegal State Aid ................................................................. 19 iii. Ansett Australia: New Zealand’s Blunder ...................................................... 21 IV. The Creation of Place In-Flight ............................................................................. 23 V. National Identity and Flag Carrier Construction: The Methods of Creating Place. .. 31 1. Language, Liveries, and Visual Identities .......................................................... 34 2. Uniforms and Service Attitude ........................................................................... 36 3. Advertising Techniques...................................................................................... 37 VI. Airline Case Studies ............................................................................................... 42 A. Case Study 1. The Sole Spirit of Australia: Qantas ............................................... 42 1. The Flying Kangaroo: Livery and Design.......................................................... 43 2. The Couture of Boomerangs: Cabin Crew Uniforms and Service ..................... 45 3. Australia as Home: Advertising Campaigns ...................................................... 47 B. Case Study 2. Creating Place through Five Senses: Garuda Indonesia ................. 54 1. Indonesian Hospitality: Design, Livery, and Uniforms ..................................... 55 2. Discover the Exotic Indonesia: Website Advertising ........................................ 58 C. Case Study 3. Africa’s Most Awarded Airline: South African Airways ............... 61 1. From “Die Vlieënde Springbok” to the “Horizon Mark”: Livery & Design ..... 63 2. Expressing the Rainbow Nation: Crew Uniforms and Service .......................... 67 3. Advertising the Republic and Southern Africa .................................................. 69 D. Case Study 4. The Airline of Colombia and of the Americas: Avianca ................ 75 2. Advertising Colombia and the Americas ........................................................... 80 E. Case Study 5. Mexican Beauty and a Global Outreach: AeroMexico ................... 83 v 1. The Aztec Eagle Knight: Livery and Uniforms ................................................. 83 2. Advertising the Inexpensive Beauty of Mexico ................................................. 87 F. Case Study 6. The Airline of Three Identities: KLM. ........................................... 91 1. Royal to Royal: Design, Livery, and Uniforms ................................................. 91 2. Dutch Identity and Delft Houses ........................................................................ 94 3. Advertising Amsterdam and Abroad.................................................................. 95 G. Case Study 7. The American Anomaly .............................................................. 99 1. Advertising Techniques in National Geographic .............................................. 99 2. Advertising and Representing America’s Exotic Other: Hawaii and Alaska. 102 VII. Conclusion: Mergers, LCCs, Hybridization, and Global Business ..................... 108 VIII. Appendices ....................................................................................................... 115 Appendix I: Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations .................................................... 115 Appendix II: List of Figures ........................................................................................ 117 Appendix III: List of Currently Operating Designated Flag Carriers ......................... 123 IX. Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 126 vi I. Introduction The world of commercial aviation has greatly changed since its beginnings in the early twentieth century. From the first commercial flight in 1917, a twenty-one minute hop from St. Petersburg, Florida, to Tampa, Florida in a Benoist open-air flying boat, arose the first scheduled airline in existence: the St. Petersburg—Tampa Airboat Line.1 Five years later, Dutch aviation pioneer Albert Plesman begat KLM Royal Dutch Airlines whose current existence makes it the world’s oldest continually operating airline.2 World powers such as the United States, Britain, and France began their own