Got an airline complaint? Here's what the CEO might say

[Hvr]

Yes it is lifted straight from a US source but I suspect at least someelements might be applicable to the Australian industry.

Have you ever had the pleasure of sitting next to an airline CEO on a flight? I have.


When they have to get somewhere, they actually fly on their own "metal" (in first class, of course, if their airline has it). I've only had the briefest of conversations. Like the time I sat next to David Neeleman, founder of US budget carrier JetBlue. He wasn't much interested in talking to me, which was fine, I guess.

...
CEO: "OK. Let's get real here. Just in case you were in a coma for the last 25 years, airlines have done nothing but lose money. In fact, since its beginnings the airline industry hasn't made a dime. Quite the contrary, it has lost billions upon billions. And why? Because of you.


"That's because whenever we raise fares to a profitable level, you stay home. Or you take the damned bus. Or you drive to grandma's house (did you miss the memo that driving is 100 times more dangerous than flying?). Please. Airfares, since the 1978 deregulation legislation that nearly killed our airline, are a freaking bargain.

Got an airline complaint? Here's what the CEO might say

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[chrisb]

You seem to have cut out the lines that indicate that the entire text is fiction.

 

[anat0l]

When I saw this thread title in New Posts, I immediately thought of Michael O'Leary, and him saying, STFU or suck it up or equivalent.

EDIT:

George Hobica is founder of the low-airfare listing site Airfarewatchdog.com

And that's all we needed to know.

The article is supposed to be read as a sort of 'ribbing' at the airlines, and maybe consumers, but I think it might be teeter-tottering on a bit too far.

And let's face it, in the end, about 99% of passengers don't care about an airline's workings. All they care about is excellent service at the lowest cost. If a young virgin had to be sacrificed to keep fares low, they wouldn't care.

It's not just airlines - it's the service industry in general. People simply expect everything with protections but will only be prepared to pay peanuts for it.

It doesn't help that this description is probably a lot more accurate in the environment where the opinion originated from, the United States.