Airlines are an absolutely brutal business to be in. But the bottom line is that even when it’s possible to fly Virgin — they only fly between a dozen or so cities, and while they’re very well-chosen cities that literally only takes you so far — their prices often aren’t the cheapest, and many flyers would rather save $50 and be uncomfortable for half a day. Add to that the lock in that’s created by frequent flyer miles with other more established airlines, and it spells trouble.
This makes a good example about “immersive user experience” for Om, but it perhaps inadvertently also demonstrates why outstanding user experience isn’t in and of itself enough to make a winning business.
In his post Om said he was going to fly with Air Berlin.
That poor bloke, he’s in for a shitty experience. Everything that’s wrong with American Airlines can be said about Air Berlin, too.
Curiously enough, this same “we care” attitude is prevalent at the ostensibly most plebian of airlines, Southwest. I typically would rather fly SWA than any other domestic airline. Sure, there’s no food service, but there are also no baggage fees, they have reliable Wi-Fi, and their employees really do seem to enjoy their jobs and treat the passengers as human beings, not just ambulatory wallets.
This is why American Airlines is referred to in the industry as the “Sky Nazis”.
YES….well done, Sir Richard!
Except not enough people are flying Virgin.
http://business.time.com/2012/10/25/why-an-airline-that-travelers-love-is-failing/
Airlines are an absolutely brutal business to be in. But the bottom line is that even when it’s possible to fly Virgin — they only fly between a dozen or so cities, and while they’re very well-chosen cities that literally only takes you so far — their prices often aren’t the cheapest, and many flyers would rather save $50 and be uncomfortable for half a day. Add to that the lock in that’s created by frequent flyer miles with other more established airlines, and it spells trouble.
This makes a good example about “immersive user experience” for Om, but it perhaps inadvertently also demonstrates why outstanding user experience isn’t in and of itself enough to make a winning business.
In his post Om said he was going to fly with Air Berlin.
That poor bloke, he’s in for a shitty experience. Everything that’s wrong with American Airlines can be said about Air Berlin, too.
Curiously enough, this same “we care” attitude is prevalent at the ostensibly most plebian of airlines, Southwest. I typically would rather fly SWA than any other domestic airline. Sure, there’s no food service, but there are also no baggage fees, they have reliable Wi-Fi, and their employees really do seem to enjoy their jobs and treat the passengers as human beings, not just ambulatory wallets.