Q&ABreitling Flies Into New Frontiers Of Aviation With ‘Gen Z’
With the launch of the updated Avenger collection of aviation watches, Breitling has put together an ‘aviation pioneers squad’, which includes a young XBlades drone racing pilot, Luke Bannister, who spoke to us along with Tim Sayler, Breitling’s chief marketing officer. Here’s what they had to tell us about exploring the new age of aviation
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Probably the most well-known name in the world of aviation-related timekeeping, Breitling has been a leader in the realm of flying. Aviation is almost always the first thing that most think of when they hear the name Breitling. So it’s no surprise then that this leading Swiss watchmaker plays to that strength and takes its own aviation legacy forward. This year, Breitling has even included civil aviation-inspired watches in their special capsule collections. However, the biggest launch of the year, as far as aviation goes, is the new and updated edition of the famed Avenger collection.
Since Breitling shifted gears about two years ago, the product offering has been streamlined and firmly categorised into ‘air’, ‘land’ and ‘sea’ pillars. The ‘air’ pillar initially saw the relaunch of the Navitimer 1 series, and the introduction of the Navitimer 8 collection (now known as Aviator 8), and since then, there have been several renditions, including limited editions and capsule collections. This year, the brand decided to reintroduce the Avenger collection, more streamlined than before. The Avenger portfolio now comprises just 14 models, and incorporates even the erstwhile-standalone Colt collection. Despite design updates, the new edition still stays true to the brand’s and the Avenger’s DNA. Available in 48, 45 and 43mm sizes, the sub-series of the Avenger include the Super Avenger and the Avenger Seawolf, while the watches come in three-hand automatic models, as well as those including chronograph and GMT functions.
Click here to read more about the updated Avenger series
To celebrate the renewed Avenger, Breitling chose to explore aerial adventurers of a different kind, and has put together an ‘aviation pioneers squad’ of three new-age ‘aviators’. This new squad includes Scott Kelly, an astronaut who pushes the barriers of conventional flight; Rocío González Torres, a female supersonic jet pilot, who’s breaking the glass ceiling; and Luke Bannister, a 19-year-old drone flying champion, who’s playing a significant part in the evolution of aviation’s appeal for ‘gen Z’.
It’s an interesting mix of professionals, and certainly one that makes the Avenger collection garner wider appeal from various walks of life. We had a chance to explore this new avenue of aviation with Breitling, as we had a chat with XBlades Racing pilot Luke Bannister, and Breitling’s chief marketing officer, Tim Sayler. Here are excerpts from the round-table conversation.
How did this association come about?
Sayler: Breitling is one of the most well-known pilot’s watch brands out there. And we wanted to find a way to address a new audience. So we asked ourselves: what does the younger generation dream about when it comes to flying? Nowadays taking a flight is like taking a bus. It’s not a novel experience anymore. So we asked, what’s the new frontier in flying, how does the new generation get into flying. We then met with the founder of the Drone Champions League (DCL). The first thing he showed us was a video of himself flying—not a drone, a real plane—and doing a loop. And his story was that he had become an aerobatics pilot by flying drones first. So his journey was really that he got into piloting and flying via drones. So we decided that this was how we could talk to a new generation about flying—via drones. That led to the first step—Breitling sponsoring the Drone Champions League, in 2018. Then this year, we had the launch of the new Avenger—our modern pilot’s watches. And we wanted to go a step further and include a face for the next generation into our campaign. So we asked the Drone Champions League who the best drone pilot was and here he is. Now Luke is with us, presenting our new collection to the world.
How can Breitling’s watchmaking connect with drone flying, like the traditional pilot watches link directly with the world of aviation?
Sayler: People used to use the slide rule in our Navitimers to calculate the speed, but today, no one necessarily needs that feature anymore. Now people wear a Breitling watch because you love flying, you love the adventure, you love the thrill. When Luke is flying, he wears his virtual reality (VR) goggles and he can’t even see his watch. But he does love flying, and the association. And when you wear a watch, you tell the world who you are. He is a sort of pilot, and that’s where the link comes to life. We’re just starting, and we’ve launched the Avenger collection. But I don’t see why there can’t be a watch that is inspired by the codes and designs of drone flying.
It’s just interesting to see someone young like you, Luke, interested in a brand with such a long history in aviation watches.
Bannister: Although it’s got a long history in aviation, it’s great to see Breitling dive into another aspect of aviation. And everything I do is time-based. The races are short, they’re like 60 seconds to a minute and half. And even in that short time, you can switch places with your opponent a number of times. Everything is down to split seconds.
Sayler: We do have a number of customers who are Luke’s age. On our website, the significant part of our traffic comes from 15- to 20-year-olds. Maybe that’s an audience that doesn’t have the means today to immediately buy a watch. But that’s an investment into the future, and we want to be prepared. We stand for aviation, we’re here for the future of aviation, and we’re interested in your sport.
What are the values of Breitling that you relate with the most?
Bannister: I love the fact that they’re so heavily involved in aviation, because ever since I was younger, I’ve wanted to be a pilot, I’ve dreamt of flying. Drones are just sort of a way I could access a piece of the sky a lot earlier.
What makes drone flying so thrilling?
Bannister: With the drones I fly, with the stick you control the degrees per second, and how fast it rotates. If I push it all the way forward, it’ll just keep spinning. The drone has a camera on board, so it sends a video feed back to the goggles. It’s as if I’m inside the drone and flying it manually.
Is it like a video game?
Bannister: Yeah, it’s fun, except when you crash. It means you have to fix something.
Sayler: When you crash, do you get startled when you fly into a wall like you’re actually hitting the wall?
Bannister: In the beginning, yeah. But it just happens so fast that you don’t even realise it. In a practice race once, I hit a lamppost. It was so fast that it was just, boom, black screen. There’s no real time to react.
Sayler: So with the next Drone Champions League, they’re launching an e-gaming version. As you know, e-gaming in general has a huge audience, and it will be very powerful we believe. We’re discussing how to be involved in this e-gaming version, as there is almost no discernible difference between that and the real race. So you’ll be able to qualify from wherever you are in the world, via the e-game. And then you can compete in the real race versus the world champion. It’s almost as if you could qualify on a video game for Formula One and then race against Vettel or Hamilton. And that’s quite unique to the sport, because you always look through the VR.
Bannister: We’re already using this, a beta version—it’s not out yet—for qualifying this season. So pilots from different teams all get access to practise. And then everyone qualifies through that.
What message would you want to send out to other youngsters, now that you’re a part of this squad?
Bannister: Well, when I started drone flying, it was a hobby. And then it spiralled into being a profession, so professionally now, I race and also film action sports with drones. You have to dream big and if you keep at it and practise, you can achieve what you want to achieve.
Where do you see the future of drones, especially with regard to safety, privacy and unregulated access, which are things that people are concerned about?
Bannister: The type pf drones I fly, we fly them like 3m to 4m off the ground and they go at 90mph. There’s no real privacy issue with them. Because what we do is too fast-paced, it’s racing, it’s a sport. And I can’t really comment on the other side of drones, because I don’t really do that. In terms of safety, the drones are dealt with in a very safe manner. There’s netting for the public. And you know, it’s set up in a way that they can get as close as they can, but they’re protected by that. And we have safety procedures that we go through if there’s a failure or if there’s an issue. In terms of unregulated access, a lot of issues caused by drones are caused by people who aren’t hobbyists. It’s the hobbyists who do know about the safety aspects and the regulations.
What are the wildest things that you and Breitling could possibly do together?
Bannister: I think I have got some ideas, some sort of potential things, some projects that we could do. It would be pretty cool—some collaborations between aviation and drones. I’m keeping them close for now.
Sayler: It’s just the beginning. One year we’re the partner of the Drone Champions League, and now it’s really getting off the ground, with Luke as part of the aviation pioneers squad. And the League will become even bigger with the launch of the e-game, so let’s see. Anything is possible, and we’re already seeing the response we’re getting and I think it resonates with the new generation. It is innovative, and it’s exactly where we want to be, where we need to be as a brand. Let’s see how it evolves.
How has this association with the aviation pioneers squad shaped up?
Sayler: With the squad we also wanted to bridge the past and the present. We have a fighter jet pilot, which is still quite Breitling and evokes an incredible feeling. We wanted to keep that, but we wanted a woman. And then there is the dream of flying into space. And if you look at everything that is happening with Space X. Outer space is the next trip that we’re all going to take. It’s the next frontier. And drones were a natural complementing aspect—an interesting way in which people get interested in flying and aviation. And it was the story of the founder of the Drone Champions League that really spoke to us. I think the great combination of the Breitling aviation pioneers squad bridges with the traditional way of flying as a pilot. But Breitling is now a modern, diverse brand. It’s got a leading woman who flies jets, an astronaut who’s been to space, and a pilot who flies drones.
Bannister: It’s actually really interesting. I was talking to Rocío [González Torres, the fighter jet pilot] about the similarities between drone flying and fighter jets. In a fighter jet, you’re constantly correcting. In drone flying too, you’re constantly correcting, constantly making adjustments.
Sayler: Scott [Kelly, the astronaut] was also very interested. You can see they are three pilots—all from different disciplines—but three pilots nevertheless, exchanging their expertise in how each of them fly. And Kelly wanted to know how to fly the drone.
Did you let them fly your drone?
Bannister: No, I didn’t let them fly my drone (laughs). They’d crash it right away!
And the other way around?
Bannister: I did have a go in a fast jet. That was incredible, feeling the G-force.
Did you get to take the wheel?
Bannister: Yeah, just for a little bit.
Finally, Luke, what’s your favourite Breitling watch, and if you were to have one custom-designed for yourself, what kind of elements would you put into it?
Bannister: In terms of the question about custom-making one, I’d have to have a think about it. I don’t have anything off the top of my head. But I really like the new Avenger collection, and I also like the Aviator 8 Mosquito watch. I like the old-school look, the brown strap and so on.
Sayler: See now that’s interesting. This is really the insight. As we see, many young customers like the vintage look. There’s no more: ‘you’re a brand with a history, [so you appeal only to older people]’. The biggest growth of vintage designs is among the younger guys.
