Could You Run an Iconic Airline?

[TonyHancock]

From the same people, well person actually, that brought you "What type of frequent flyer are you?" comes a new insightful* questionnaire to see if you have what it takes to run an iconic airline.# Carefully researched^, and with quite literally next to no data analysed these carefully constructed questions will highlight your keys skills and perhaps flaws.

Can you make the tough decisions? Do you know the industry inside out? How will you deal with competition, your staff, and your global partner airlines?

Try to answer the questions as honestly as possible....or just lie, or don't even bother.

As with previous Tony Hancock quizzes please, please, please, please don't bother offering suggestions for further questions, simply make your own quiz up.



*Insightful is such a subjective word
#Any similarities to real life airlines are purely coincidental
^ read "barely researched"

 

[TonyHancock]

1. You turn up on your first day as CEO of an iconic full service, profitable, highly respected airline do you

1. set about trashing the brand and setting up a low cost subsidiary (20 points)
2. attempt to gain a better understanding of your customers (1 point)
3. begin a cost benefit analysis of the current aircraft fleet (10 points)

2. How do you see your expansive work force?

1. Valuable members of the team who should be empowered and nurtured (1 point)
2. Worthless peasants who should be thankful they have a job (25 points)
3. They would all look better in orange uniforms (15 points)

3. Your airline is part of alliance of premium global airlines do you

1. Ignore your alliance partners and enter a codeshare agreement with a competitor. (25 points)
2. Work diligently with your airline partners to provide your customers with a seamless global travel experience (5 points)
3. Seek to extend partnerships within the global alliance (-10 points)

4. The definition of enhancement is

1. An improvement in a service or product (-5 points)
2. A reduction in service or product quality presented to customers as an improvement (30 points)
3. I need to look that up in a dictionary (10 points)

5. It becomes apparent that you are marketing Priority Boarding as a service for your premium passengers but are not actually delivering it, you

1. setup tiny signs and hope no one notices that it is not being delivered (30 points)
2. ignore the issue and hoe it goes away (15 points)
3. introduce clear signage and ensure staff follow through to deliver the service (0 points)

 

[TonyHancock]

6. It is performance review time and an opportunity to assess how you have done on the strategy implementation front.

1. you can tick all of the boxes, you have fully implemented all aspects of the strategy plan (1 point)
2. mmm not too bad almost half completed (2 points)
3. you realize that you must have been living in cloud cuckoo land when you planned to expand into Asia and you have in fact got nowhere….yet again. (20 points)

7. Whilst you have been playing on the flight simulator a local full service competitor has crept up unnoticed, you

1. take them on in a capacity war….even though they are funded by mysterious very rich overseas investors (20 points)
2. differentiate your airline and offer a full service product your competitor cannot match (-5 points)
3. ignore them they will go away soon enough (10 points)

8. Things are not going as well as you’d hoped and you are losing market share domestically, you

1. bleat endlessly to the Government about things not being fair and beg for money (indirectly) (20 points)
2. actually follow through on the strategy you have set (0 points)
3. hope the problem goes away (10 points)

9. Things go from bad to worse with a series of strike actions in the workplace, you

1. realize you need your workforce on board if you are to grow the business effectively and sit down to negotiate in a tough but meaningful way, winning support from the team (0 points)
2. Call in the arbitrators (10 points)
3. Decide to take it out on your customers and ground the entire fleet, simultaneously alienating the entire workforce (50 points)

10. Things go from bad to worse and significant cost savings are required, you

1. take a step back from the unprofitable routes (10 points)
2. remove olives and almonds from First class ex LHR (30 points)
3. review the fleet, get out of the price war with the local competition, reduce the workforce numbers (1 point)

 

[TonyHancock]

11. You fly from BNE to PER on a 767 and you

1. marvel at just how many more years it can keep flying in your airline’s livery (10 points)
2. join the rest of the pax in the sweepstake on which overhead locker will fly open upon landing (25 points)
3. wonder why this inefficient aircraft is still part of your fleet. (5 points)

12. It is becoming clear that the Frequent Flyer program is the [-]runaway[/-] only successful part of the business and consequently a reduction in value to the customer is needed, you

1. make it simpler and fairer………..for the company, but not the customers (20 points)
2. reduce points earn and honestly explain the predicament the company is in (0 points)
3. aim to sell more toasters for points (10 points)

13. Whilst studying a map of Australia, you

1. marvel at places you have never heard of, such as Perth and Adelaide (25 points)
2. decide to reroute all international flights through Sydney (15 points)
3. realize the market could be better serviced by your company (5 points)

14. You suddenly have a brainwave and realize you need those pesky high value super frequent flyers so you

1. setup a new status – Iridium One with promises of unheard of support…which Iridium One members find they never see, let alone hear of. (20 points)
2. Introduce minimal cost recognition of high status passengers- a simple greeting and thank you by the CSM (5 point)
3. Use simple tracking software to monitor the travel patterns of your most frequent fliers and match benefits to their needs. (0 points)

15. The end is nigh, it is time to move on, you

1. accept a nice seven figure pay out and retire to The Maldives (20 points)
2. refuse a payout because you feel it inappropriate (-10 points)
3. wonder if things could have been different if your predecessor had done a good job. (10 points)

 

[TonyHancock]

Add up your score to see how you rate as the CEO of an iconic airline


300+ Man alive you are at the top of your game. It is highly likely that whilst you are reading this you are being head hunted for the role of CEO of an Iconic Airline. You know how to treat staff and passengers, and your inability to place Perth on a map puts you streets ahead of other contenders for the position.

101-299 You are nearly there, perhaps a spell at a low cost carrier is all that is needed to hone your skills and take you to the top. Perhaps charging pax an additional fee for a seatbelt is just the sort of thing that would get you noticed and over the line.

51-100 You have a long way to go before you claim the top spot but you are showing promise.

21-50 Only a small improvement on the mob that scored less than 20. You really do need to spend more time watching Celebrity Apprentice……or was that Celebrity Big Brother I can never remember.

-15 to 20 Oh dear you really have no idea how this airline business works do you? You are one step away from ordering fuel efficient aircraft, trying to differentiate your product to increase margin and ensuring you have a well motivated team working hard to make the business a success. No, No, No it just won’t do.

 

[TomVexille]

I only got 193. Off to go run NK for a couple years

 

[Dalescott]

Tony, do you work for "Working Dog". Because if not, you should, it would make a great SitCom.

 

[medhead]

Q1-4 the lower cost subsidiary should've been set up already. Sack 1000 people for the failure.

 

[RooFlyer]

Two points. That's "2".

 

[JohnK]

I got 380! How did I do?

 

[casanovawa]

Someone aught to email it to AJ, or perhaps Red Roo could send it up the line through some reporting mechanism the social media crew have???

 

[TomVexille]

Someone aught to email it to AJ, or perhaps Red Roo could send it up the line through some reporting mechanism the social media crew have???

Careful, he might think it's real

 

[JessicaTam]

Two points. That's "2".

Well you did worse (better?) than me. I managed 27.

 

[SeatBackForward]

I like Planes. Can I be CEO?

 

[Mattg]

I got 28, but only because I wanted to take part in the 767 overhead locker sweepstake.

Your comments about Perth reminded me of this effort from a US TV station covering the MH370 search earlier in the year:

 

[JessicaTam]

I got 28, but only because I wanted to take part in the 767 overhead locker sweepstake.

Your comments about Perth reminded me of this effort from a US TV station covering the MH370 search earlier in the year:

View attachment 34526

No wonder QF don't fly to Perth. It's overseas!

 

[Mattg]

No wonder QF don't fly to Perth. It's overseas!

And I think you just passed the test to become Iconic Airline's next CEO!

 

[TonyHancock]

I got 380! How did I do?

I believe you are now the CEO of an iconic airline.

 

[casanovawa]

The downside is the way its going it could be a short term contract....

 

[TonyHancock]

The downside is the way its going it could be a short term contract....

...Oh I don't know I see some iconic airlines continue to have boards made up entirely of clowns.