Posts Tagged ‘airline system’
What is Social and Anti-Social about flying?
There is a lot of buzz these days about “social”, evidenced by the fact that anytime a topic is brought up online with the words “social” or “social media” all of us who claim to be social tweet it out.
So what is social and anti social about the experience of traveling by air?
A good definition of social in this context of travel is “allowing people to meet and interact with others in a friendly way”.
Conversely, Encarta defines antisocial as “hostile or indifferent to the comfort or needs of other members of a community or society as a whole”
So here’s a question for those of you who travel routinely in the airline system:
Would you rate the experience of airline travel social or antisocial based on the definitions presented above? Is the experience friendly or hostile?
Maybe hostile is too strong of a word to use to describe traveling by airline but “indifferent to the comfort or needs…” may accurately define the experience.
As I queue up in line to take off my shoes, unload my I-Pad bag, get searched, wanded and body scanned I don’t feel real social. The weary and worn out road warriors who spend valuable hours in the waiting areas of terminal buildings most likely don’t feel social either.
Compare the experience of airline travel against the experience of traveling in a business jet or even in a small private airplane.
Come hang out in the lobby of a fixed based operation, a terminal for private flights, and see the difference in the traveler’s demeanor over what you see at a busy hub airport.
We see it every day in our business. Smiling people passing through the lobby departing to go on vacation or a business trip, or getting ready to go home from a trip, knowing they will be back home soon. Knowing the experience they are about to have will be positive from beginning to end.
I grew up flying in small airplanes and some of my fondest memories of travel were the flights riding up front with a father who was a corporate pilot. The passengers in the back of the aircraft most always enjoyed the trip with my father smoothly flying them to the destination. Even when the weather did not cooperate he somehow still made it a good experience.
So what’s it worth to you to have a social versus antisocial travel experience?
Is there a monetary value difference in the two experiences?
Do you have to incentivize your employees to travel?
If you do then something is wrong with the airline system or your employees.
I will vote for a broken airline system.
Thinking about a recent NY Times article by Lisa Galst entitled “Rewarded for Flying Coach” makes me smile as I write this.
What is the world coming to when you have to pay your employees extra for the misery of riding in the back of the aircraft in the cheap seats as opposed to booking the more comfy seats up front? Sounds like hazardous duty pay to me.
I have never heard any of our clients having to incentivize their employees to take a flight on a private aircraft. In fact it is sometimes the other way around. Last week when talking to one of our good clients he was telling me that he uses the flights he books to see his clients as a morale booster for his employees. Those who travel with him are excited about the experience and when they get back to the office everyone else hears about how cool it was.
With all that is happening in the airline industry:
- reduced capacity resulting in high load factors which equals crowded airplanes
- oversold flights and increases in denied boarding
- cancellations due to the new tarmac rules
- a la carte fees for everything the ticket no longer buys you
Is it any surprise that people just don’t want to do this anymore?
And the federal government has the idea that they can step in and solve the problem with legislation to make it against the law to provide bad service.
Private aviation and business aviation are sitting on a gold mine of opportunity.
What if these companies took the money they are spending to incentivize their employees to fly coach and used it to fly more in private aircraft? They would get happier employees and gain a lot of productivity by not sending them through a hub that is cheaper to save a buck. Besides, with business aviation there is no such thing as routing through a hub. Its all point to point.