by Kunal Rathi (edited article/blog) (Edited on: 12th January 2010)
“You’ve got to be a billionaire to be a millionaire” was initially from Freddy Laker, owner of an airline company named Laker Airways. Sadly neither he, nor is his airline are around these days. But sadly the one thing that causes a terrible shiver down anyone’s spine is hearing a well known airlines company ‘British Airways’ showing a loss on the books every year.
It’s an even bigger shame when you consider that the airline industry as a whole is going down the pan faster than banks closing. In the year 2009 there have been a number of airlines that have been run-to the ground, and that’s the tip of the iceberg.
Those that have gone under are those who were already badly financed and badly planned, yet there have been some exceptions. XL Airways was one of the bigger losers to the saga.
To really make matters worse, you have to consider how on earth did the airline industry got into this mess. The simple answer is a lack of foresight and egos their aircraft’s have to carry, not to mention the cost of an aircraft, the fuel, the staff, the overheads in general… and so on. The only thing that could be added here would be the airports, which would be talked as this article goes further.
To run an airline is a very complex and highly risky affair, which involves juggling very volatile fuel and also passengers. In the old days it was simple, call the bank, ask for loads of money and hope for the best, not to mention to the bank that you secured your home if the affair goes bust. You then have to logistically tackle the demands of money and people by poking it with a stick and then satisfy government intent in making life harder for everyone and at the same time satisfy the authorities, environmentalists and NIMBYs.
Today, you not only need to secure your home, but your family, yourself and your passengers as security to get money from tight money grabbing bankers. Bankers are however the driving forces of any airline company. As a good example, just look at British Airways. In the year 2008 they decided to launch a New York service via London City Airport using a very small jet aircraft that barely takes-off and lands.
British Airways’ policy is to fleece the Business Traveller to the hilt and then claim service justice against economy customers. On the other hand, Ryan Air’s policy is simple, you are pigs and you deserve cheap service that resembles precisely the level of service that this country is run on, over-priced and under-reliable transport with uncomfortable seats and un-desirable passengers.
The other problem with airlines is the nationalised or mammoths of an airline. Monopoly is a game that requires you to dominate a board of people who have the same intentions to buy every single property and then demand excessive costs against other airlines and take them-over.
Air France-KLM is one prime illustration, they operate as one entity, but financially independent, but the idea of having a very large civilian air force is something that has a massive string attached. If this behemoth of an airline goes down, the world’s economy would suffer so much that we would be financially be living in the Stone Age.
You are probably thinking that it would never happen. Think again, consider Pan Am, it collapsed spectacularly and in style when there was so many of its aircraft’s were in accidents and terrorism, it financially could not remain buoyant. Juan Tripp quite literary rolled in his grave when he heard it collapse and it also meant that there were millions of passengers losing their money and also stuck in Terminal limbo, where they have no means to get them home.
TWA was another airline, immortalised by the film The Aviator which involves a mad Bi-polar egotist who prides himself in being distant and in control.
Aside from the human error in airlines, we should also not forget about the airports, and how about Heathrow? Heathrow is an airport built on lies and deceit, and airport that when fully built was of the wrong design and planned with the efficiency of a trainee butcher with a blunt knife. The biggest problem with Heathrow is that it was built so fast with very little planning that trying to make sense to a person who flies in would make them realise that actually they are human social guinea pigs in an aviation world.
Heathrow sorts out this problem by hiding from the realities. Take note that when you approach Heathrow, you are first led underground, and you never see the airport as an entirety. The first thing you need to also understand is, the terminal buildings are like a family with children who misbehave… most notably the bowels of these children don’t always work and eventually you have a baggage belt problem, which also means having piles… piles of luggage all going to Milan for sorting…
The other problem is that you are in the sole control of the master of all airport controllers, that is BAA, they herd passengers like sheep to the slaughter or in reality the shops.
Did you know that BAA makes its money from you spending cash at a shop? It should be called a retail business rather than an air transport business. And if you think that you will get money back from the tax-free shopping then you are a fool.
Airports do strangle the imagination of airlines in that airports favour bigger more “stable” airlines which bring in lots of sheep into the country. Airports cause problems for starters in that airports charge fees that are more akin to traffic cameras at the side of the road. They generate lots of money and feed the money into a black-hole called a chief executive. Money is supposed to be used to make facilities better, but with the thought of using it to generate profits.
Reference & Bibliography.
1. Anonymous (2009) http://binkyairways.wordpress.com/ 2009/07/31/youve-got-to-be-a-billionaire-to-be-a-millionaire/ (Accessed on: 12th January 2010).
Source: Binky Airways Blog. (original article/blog)
