Dr. Neil Hair

We've seen several years of heavy down grading of service in the airline industry in the name of cost reduction. Of course the airlines will argue the opposite, service has never been better, more of our planes are in on time blah blah, else they'll blame the worlds security situation for not offering in-flight internet access or 'the need to charge $5 a drink fiasco' (at least on all American airlines it seems). The situation is starting to annoy me from both a customers perspective and that of the marketer. Several questions I'd like to throw at their director of customer service. Why aren't you offering internet access on long haul flights? The technology is not as expensive as you make it out to be. As a heavy user this would seriously eat into idle time on a plane and MIGHT even pass as excellent customer service – oh and I'd pay an additional $50 for the privilege on an 8 hour flight. Why aren't you offering 'delux' in-flight services such as the ordering and provision of additional reading material? Magazines after all have some of the largest margins known to mankind. Why aren't you offering real champagne when people want it (not sparkling wine from California)? Where are my noise reduction headphones that are dropping in price? Why do you insist on hot meals made of rubberized tarmac? Where is the selection? (technically 2 choices IS a selection I guess). Why haven't you enlisted the help of someone who really knows how to produce ready made meals such as Tescos, Sainsbury's or my own favourite Waitrose – British Airways? Where is the partnership branding in all of this? One of my biggest gripes however is reserved for Virgin. The company that seemed to be really going somewhere in terms of innovating the airline industry has sold out. Just another airline whose only true differentiator is its ability to charge slightly more than BA on the basis of the goodwill of the British public who once cared about the 'dirty tricks' campaign. I wouldn't mind as much if you could still pack your own food and drink for the journey (Hannibal made it look so much more appealing with his little box from Dean and Deluca – minus the brains of course). So much more to be done. One of the true successes of the new transatlantic era is Zoom. This little known Canadian company offers you little frills in return for little bucks. Companies like this will be the true winners as more and more of the old guard threaten to file for bankruptcy. They manage your expectations as part of their business model. Don't expect favours, we're cheap and trying to stay in the business! At least their vision's 20/20.