This is just the incoherent rambling of someone who has no real knowledge of one of the most complicated businesses in the world.
MOAR! BETTER! FIRE THEM ALL! He never got the memo that airlines operate under thousands of regulations, with extraordinary capital costs, in a marketplace where consumers will pick the ticket that's $20 cheaper every time.
1) Everyone who has run an airline for 30 years is an idiot. It never occurred to them that people would pay more for better service, even though they all went to prestigious b-schools. The author of this blog post is a genius.
2) The author of this blog post has no idea about the myriad of government regulations and economic realities of the airline industry.
If I'm ever arrogant enough to assume #1, shoot me.
They don't make money because they compete on fares, which is because that's all most people care about. Those who care about luxury just fly first, but that's a small percent of the market. Even most people in first got there via free upgrades.
After deregulation, especially in the advent of low cost regional carriers, there have simply been too many airlines. Bankruptcies and consolidation are going to take care of that very soon. This happens all the time in new industries (and the airline industry is effectively new since deregulation reshaped it so much).
This is what this whole article is about - not picking the $20 cheaper ticket every time. That all the companies are the same, so why should anyone NOT pick the $20 cheaper ticket every time?
The companies are not all the same. Virgin America, Singapore Airlines, Southwest Airlines, British Airways, Emirates, all occupy different marketing niches compared to the standard US carriers (United, Delta, Northwest, etc.)
What the few successful airlines have realized is that there isn't THAT much room to go premium in economy class -- that consumers might pay $20 more for an airline they like, but not $50.
This blogger wants business class service for an economy class price plus a few dollars, and it's just delusional. A Boeing 777 costs $300 million.
What marketing niches? My different areas in the world - but airlines are all pretty much the same.
Show me something amazing an innovate that an airline has done compared to a competitor. There are slight differences - and I travel all the time, I don't have any one airline I absolutely love and MUST fly.
And if I did, you can be assured I would pay more. I am not looking for business class services for an economy price - I am looking for a DIFFERENT airline.
I hope I wasn't implying that the regulations are bad -- the incredible rigor of the airline industry, by all parties, is one of the major reasons that you can get in a gigantic metal tube for 20 hours, 7 miles in the air, going halfway across the globe, more safely than walking down the sidewalk.
Comments
This is just the incoherent rambling of someone who has no real knowledge of one of the most complicated businesses in the world.
MOAR! BETTER! FIRE THEM ALL! He never got the memo that airlines operate under thousands of regulations, with extraordinary capital costs, in a marketplace where consumers will pick the ticket that's $20 cheaper every time.
Yeah. There are two possible scenarios.
1) Everyone who has run an airline for 30 years is an idiot. It never occurred to them that people would pay more for better service, even though they all went to prestigious b-schools. The author of this blog post is a genius.
2) The author of this blog post has no idea about the myriad of government regulations and economic realities of the airline industry.
If I'm ever arrogant enough to assume #1, shoot me.
You are correct on both points.
Maybe you have a solution as to why the travel industry doesn't make any money? Because obviously what they have now doesn't work.
They don't make money because they compete on fares, which is because that's all most people care about. Those who care about luxury just fly first, but that's a small percent of the market. Even most people in first got there via free upgrades.
After deregulation, especially in the advent of low cost regional carriers, there have simply been too many airlines. Bankruptcies and consolidation are going to take care of that very soon. This happens all the time in new industries (and the airline industry is effectively new since deregulation reshaped it so much).
So this is all because of regulations?
This is what this whole article is about - not picking the $20 cheaper ticket every time. That all the companies are the same, so why should anyone NOT pick the $20 cheaper ticket every time?
The companies are not all the same. Virgin America, Singapore Airlines, Southwest Airlines, British Airways, Emirates, all occupy different marketing niches compared to the standard US carriers (United, Delta, Northwest, etc.)
What the few successful airlines have realized is that there isn't THAT much room to go premium in economy class -- that consumers might pay $20 more for an airline they like, but not $50.
This blogger wants business class service for an economy class price plus a few dollars, and it's just delusional. A Boeing 777 costs $300 million.
What marketing niches? My different areas in the world - but airlines are all pretty much the same.
Show me something amazing an innovate that an airline has done compared to a competitor. There are slight differences - and I travel all the time, I don't have any one airline I absolutely love and MUST fly.
And if I did, you can be assured I would pay more. I am not looking for business class services for an economy price - I am looking for a DIFFERENT airline.
I hope I wasn't implying that the regulations are bad -- the incredible rigor of the airline industry, by all parties, is one of the major reasons that you can get in a gigantic metal tube for 20 hours, 7 miles in the air, going halfway across the globe, more safely than walking down the sidewalk.