Today’s world is by no doubt a largely environment-conscious world. A supermarket is proud to show off is organic selection, a car is judged by its high fuel efficiency, and there is a movement to save electricity in every corner of every residential neighborhood. In such a world, how much a company appeals to the environment-loving side of their potential consumers is not just about helping the world by putting releasing fewer toxic gases into the atmosphere, but also perhaps symbolizes the very life and death of the company itself.

Continental Airlines has certainly realized this principle. Today, the Houston-based company and America’s fourth-largest airlines became the first commercial airlines to use bio-fuel to power its jets after conducting a test flight of a bio-fuel-powered Boeing 737. In no way of downplaying the cutting edge technology of the new bio-fuel, which included oil from jatropha, a bush with round, plum-like fruit, the branding aspect of the bio-fuel is just as, if not more, important to Continental than the reduced carbon dioxide emissions and lower fuel bills. Please see the picture below:

Strategically, a large banner with the words “Sustainable Biofuel” has now been placed on the side of the bio-fuel-powered jet, a striking sign for all people in the airport to see. The big green banner is reminiscent of the “Hybrid” signs on the bodies of Toyota Prius and many other vehicles marketed as not entirely powered by gasoline. Many of the hybrid cars have only slight improvements on fuel efficiency from their gasoline-powered counterpart, yet the prices are often thousands of dollars higher.

Thus brings a brilliant thought by Continental: if the ordinary Boeing plane is modified to carry something other than jet fuel, the passengers, keen on protecting Earth from all the harm caused by human industrialization, will be willing to pay a premium price to ride in the environment-protecting bio-fuel plane even if the bio-fuel actually reduce the cost. If they are willing to pay more for organic food and hybrid cars, why not also do the same when the see the nice green bio-fuel brand?

Source:news.yahoo.com