Astraeus Airlines Screams Marketing

Today for me is the day two of my life long loves collide … Astraeus Airlines has named Bruce Dickenson as its new Director of Marketing.

For those of you reading this wondering what I am talking about, let me explain. Obviously Astraeus Airlines is obvious … I have always loved airlines and airplanes … however the Bruce Dickenson part of this equation may make some explaining. Bruce Dickenson has been the lead singer for classic heavy metal band Iron Maiden since 1981 (joining the band three months after my sixth birthday).

For those of you unfamiliar with Iron Maiden and Bruce Dickenson, you may recall him from this post on Flying With Fish from this past April – How Far Would You Let a Heavy Metal Singer Push An Airbus’ Limits?

OK … for those of you not clicking the above link, Bruce Dickenson, in addition to providing the lead vocals for 9 Platinum and 8 Gold albums (with quite a few going multi-Platinum), as well as being a world class fencer … and he also happens to be a commercial airline pilot, having flown as a Boeing 757-200 Captain (that’s the left seat) for Astraeus Airlines for the past few years.

Not convinced that Bruce Dickenson is still an ideal Director of Marketing for an airline? How about the fact that he came up with the concept for turning a Boeing 757-200 into a 757-Combi, which Astraeus Airlines created, and promoted his airline and band by flying Iron Maiden around the world, as well all their crew and gear, for their most recent world tours.

A documentary film of Dickenson, Iron Maiden and the Boeing 757-combi, during the 2008 Somewhere Back In Time Tour, named Flight 666, was released in nearly 500 theaters in 41in April 2009. The documentary has incredible footage of Dickenson discussing the creation of this one-of-a-kind aircraft for Astraeus Airlines, as well as him at the controls flying the aircraft … as well as on stage, back stage and between shows.

Astraeus Airlines naming Dickenson, as their Director of Marketing is not a marketing ploy, in fact it is a very logical move.  Dickenson, in addition to knowing the airline industry and aircraft inside out, is an experienced television and radio presenter, hosting his own show on BBC 6 for eight years and now hosting a BBC 2 series.   In addition to Dickenson’s media experience, outside of being the front man for Iron Maiden, he has also written three books and a movie.

As for the reason Dickenson chooses to work as a commercial airline pilot while being a muli-millionaire rock star? He is quoted as saying “[When people ask] why do you need a second job?’ I say ‘Why do you need to breathe?”

Normally I don’t write about airline marketing executives, but this one really caught my attention and I am excited to see what Bruce Dickenson does for Astraeus Airlines in his new role.

Oh yea, and for those not understanding the headline of this post, Dickenson is well known for standing in front of an arena full of screaming fans and yelling “SCREAM FOR ME (PLACE CITY NAME HERE) … SCREAM FOR ME!” … and his official website is www.ScreamForMe.com.

Happy Flying!