July 2005 Archives

Ever seen a chicken handling revenue management? Then you need to visit http://www.skyhighairlines.com. The site was launched a couple of years ago and has probably peaked by now, but if you haven't been there then take a look -- there are some real gems. The radio ads are definitely worth a trawl, with the painfully familiar Gate change workout an ever-fresh favourite. 

All in all, Skyhigh is a legacy carrier truly worthy of preserving with federal money and a salutory reminder of how aviation got so unpopular back in the 1990s. It doesn't say who's behind it, but a look through the links suggests that it was set up by Alaska Airlines. Another of the site links, by the way, takes you to http://www.worldbeardchampionships.com/ . Nothing to do with aviation but... well see for yourself. Any more sites to add our favourites list gratefully received.

The other week at our Airline Business Awards we were talking with Richard Sweet, marketing director at Southwest Airlines, about DING!, the suitably cool new web download launched earlier this year that lets customers see latest fare offers on their desktop. If you haven't seen it yet take a look at http://www.southwest.com.
What impressed us most was the way that they had rushed out with DING! on the grounds that no-one is going to have more than a couple of these things on their desktop and Southwest was determined to be there first. Makes you wonder who they were rushing to beat into the market? In truth, it probably wasn't the other majors so much as retailers and online agencies.
Another example, perhaps, of Southwest living up to its claim of being a customer service company that "just happens to fly". It's an interesting point. As bookings go online, so all airlines are increasingly going to be retailing  direct to travelers rather than through traditional travel agency wholesalers. While there has been much talk of the technological and cost issues that raises, there has been less focus on the fundamental change in business culture it must surely bring. That is pretty unchartered territory.
The folk at Southwest are being pretty coy about just how many customers have downloaded DING! to date, but they do admit that fare sales can now be trialed over hours rather than days. They are still themselves working on refining their approach to that degree of immediacy. 
DING!, along with their strategy going into the East Coast hubs, helped Southwest walk away with this year's Marketing category in our annual awards programme. Visit our dedicated website to see full details, as well as pictures of the good and great gathered for the evening's festivities in the ever magnificent setting of London's Middle Temple Hall http://www.strategyawards.com.

The Airline Business blog is a sideways look at the airline industry. The Airline Business blog team includes Andrea Crisp, Kerry Ezard, David Field, Mark Pilling and Brendan Sobie.

Meet the team:

Mark Pilling started his journalistic career back in the ’80s with a press trip on a Shorts 360 flown by Jersey European Airways. Surprisingly that didn’t put him off. This blog is the most instant publishing opportunity he’s had to date.

Brendan Sobie has been writing about airlines for a decade but has been an airline geek since he was a little boy, when he used to collect and study airline timetables. He has been the Deputy Editor of Airline Business magazine, based in London, since June 2006. Previously he worked in our Asian bureau in Singapore and in our Americas bureau in Washington.

David Field has been at this game since 1981 but is still fascinated that airplanes take off and that people want to go work for airlines.

Kerry Ezard has been covering the airline industry for over three years now, after a prior stint reporting on real estate. A little-known fact about Kerry is that even though she spends her working life travelling on and writing about aircraft, she doesn’t actually like flying.

Andrea Crisp has been production editor and self-appointed showbiz reporter on Airline Business for over two years.

Some people may argue that there is no such thing as a 'right tax', but I think that in our society they are a legitimate way of funding government. However, the plan by the European Finance Ministers to create an airline tax to fund development aid (they are meeting today) is of course plain lunacy. Obviously every self respecting airline association (from the charter one, IACA, via the Association of European Airlines AEA to IATA) is fulminating against the proposals - and they would, 'cause that's their job. And sometimes they miss the mood of the moment a little bit by protesting too sharply against everything that will cost them more, but in this case they are right. Targetting taxes at one segment of commerce doesn't make sense. Aviation doesn't merit a special position because it is aviation (as it has been acting like for a long time) but taxing air travel is the same as slapping a tax on nappies, chocolate or CDs to fund development aid. If we as a nation or continent want to increase development aid - and I personally think we should - our politicians should not be afraid to raise general taxes to pay for this.

Having said that, I also think the industry should be more real about fuel tax - because that is going to come, and makes much more sense. Again aviation thinks it should get special treatment, and not pay tax on fuel - well if I fill up my car I pay fuel taxes, so aircraft that pollute the skies by burning fuel should do the same. Perhaps a simplistic analogy - but fuel use is and should be taxed for everyone.

Government regulation is still very pervasive in the airline industry - it will be a long time (and many blogs) before that has been brought to levels that other industries enjoy - and it may get worse before it gets better.