Albatros: “Some agents still don’t know who an expedition customer is”
Albatros Expeditions’ new CEO, Jakob Lunøe, shares his plans to ensure the line capitalised on the expedition cruise boom. Jack Carter reports
When I joined the travel industry as a journalist nearly 13 years ago, I remember a colleague telling me that now I was in, I’d never leave. The network of relationships that seamlessly evolve from professional to personal combined with the opportunity to see the world is what makes this one of the most rewarding sectors to work in.
Still, the idea that my future was predetermined always felt unsettling, until I met Jakob Lunøe, who encapsulated it perfectly. “The travel industry is like Hotel California. You can check out, but you can never leave.”
It’s an early start, but I’ve managed to catch Lunøe, Albatros Expedition’s new CEO, for breakfast before he catches his flight back to the line’s HQ in Copenhagen.
Having got his start as a safari guide in East Africa, Lunøe did what my former colleague thought was impossible and left the travel industry to go to business school in Denmark, before spending the next two decades working in the IT sector.
“During those years, I kept searching around the travel industry trying to find a role that was the perfect fit,” he says. “After joining Albatros Expeditions in November, I can confidently say that it’s exactly what I was looking for.”
We’re in the medium price range, but we deliver high quality when it comes to expedition activities. In that sense, we’re batting above our league
Lunøe immediately recognised the similarities between expedition cruising and safari travel, saying it’s the kind of experience that’s difficult to comprehend until you’ve been and done it.
“When you go on a high-end safari, you live in luxury accommodation, you get four-course meals and nice wine, then the next day you wake early to go out on a dusty bumpy road. Our expedition cruises are almost the same.
“You live in a premium setting, and then you climb out the door of the ship and into a Zodiac and you’re met by raw nature, where the water is cold and you see penguin colonies and glaciers. The product is magic.”
Growing the brand
The expedition sector is booming, with the Expedition Cruise Network (ECN) revealing that more than two-thirds of its members saw a rise in bookings during the first half of 2024.
However, small-ship operators like Albatros have a fight on their hands to stand out in what’s becoming an increasingly crowded marketplace.
“We’re fighting against a lot of other expedition lines and trying to find where we sit in the mix,” Lunøe explains. “We’re in the medium price range, but we deliver high quality when it comes to expedition activities. In that sense, we’re batting above our league.”
Communicating these differences to the trade will be crucial if it’s to increase its brand awareness in the UK leisure travel marketplace. To that end, the line has now joined both CLIA and the ECN to benefit from the associations’ year-round events and learning programmes.
Albatros will be one of six lines exhibiting its product at CLIA’s inaugural Expedition Showcase in Svalbard this July. Before that, however, the line will be hosting a familiarisation trip for UK trade and a ship visit in Portsmouth in April and May, respectively.
This year the line anticipates that more than 100 agents will step onboard to experience its product first-hand, a significant increase on last year’s total of 40. Albatros is also searching for a UK business development manager, with Lunøe hoping to make an appointment by the summer.
The goal, he says, is for them to hit the road and target a pool of agents whose clients fit the expedition passenger profile, even if they don’t know it yet.
“Some agents still don’t know who an expedition customer is, but they’ve got them in their databases. They may not necessarily be cruise-goers; they might be land-based holidaymakers simply looking for their next adventure.”
Culture club
When Lunøe took on his new role last winter, he said he wanted to make the line more “guest-focused”, and I’m eager to find out what he meant by this.
“When you sit in an HQ in Copenhagen 15,000km away from our ships,” he explains, “it’s very easy to spend your time looking at spreadsheets and losing sight of what’s important.” Most of the line’s expedition guides are freelance, which Lunøe says can make it difficult to offer a consistent guest experience. “I want to eliminate some of that randomness and create a strong service concept.”
Being a small company that can be light on its feet means Lunøe is empowered to make changes quickly, whether it’s increasing guide capacity to maximise guests’ time on land or offering the line’s first ever Halal cruise. If it all goes to plan, Lunøe might just stick around for good this time.
What my career has taught me
Find your passion
“I spent too many years working on things that other people wanted me to do. This is the first time I’m doing something I want to do. It’s still long hours and lots of hard work but it’s my job. It’s an amazing feeling.”
Be humble
“As a young leader, I was a bit hot-headed until my boss told me to be kind. It’s a small world and you will need people around you. I’m still firm with what I want, but I focus on being kind first and foremost.”
Be curious
“Ask questions; learn peoples’ stories and why they do what they do. If you’re being curious, that generates network.”
