Finally Proof That Customers Make Decisions on Brand, Not Just Schedule and Price

by Gary Leff

british airways plane
Nov 04 2018

It’s become all too common to believe that the only things customers care about are schedule and price. This idea has been at the core of the ‘race to the bottom’ where legacy airlines strive to become more like ultra low cost carriers and then fail to understand why customers are unhappy.

Now that British Airways parent company IAG is telling investors that a quarter of the buying decision is based on brand, can we put to rest the notion that what customers think of their travel experience doesn’t matter for a full service high cost airline?

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New Flight Restrictions Announced For Accessing United Clubs

by Gary Leff

food in bowls
Nov 03 2018

In the least surprising move in the history of earth United announced that the are going to require a same day boarding pass for travel on United, another Star Alliance airline, or “a contracted partner” in order to access their clubs.

United no longer needed to treat its customers better, since competitors won’t. As with Delta and American, United’s lounge access is really sold on a subscription basis rather than being a ‘club membership’.

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British Airways Details Changes to First and Business Class, Beginning in July

by Gary Leff

airline cabin
Nov 03 2018

British Airways doesn’t have a competitive business class product. On their Boeing 777s seating is eight across, middle seats are especially intimate and passengers in the window climb over the feet of their seat opponents.

We now know a little more about what’s to come for business class, first class, and even the direction of how many seats they’re going to offer.

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United’s CEO Says Higher Airfares are Good For You (You Just “Don’t Understand”)

by Gary Leff

first class seats
Nov 03 2018

The President of United Airlines thinks airfares should be twice as expensive as they are today. United’s CEO Oscar Munoz takes things a step further: paying United Airlines more is good for you.

His argument is that more money for the airline means more money to invest in the product. You as the customer benefit even if you “don’t always understand.” He has things exactly backwards.

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British Airways Wants to Buy Norwegian – So It Can Raise Transatlantic Airfares

by Gary Leff

plane on runway
Nov 02 2018

Back in April British Airways parent company IAG acquired just under 5% of Norwegian and started talks to acquire the discount carrier. I assumed that acquire meant smother it so that the airline wouldn’t keep depressing transatlantic fares, especially out of cities like London.

Chairman Willie Walsh addressed a Norwegian deal at their investor day.

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UberEats Now Delivers From Restaurants That Don’t Exist

by Gary Leff

strip-mall
Nov 02 2018

UberEats now delivers from virtual restaurants — from restaurants that don’t actually exist.

It turns out that the food people want delivered isn’t always the same food they want in restaurants, and Uber can leverage excess capacity to produce food at a restaurant by having them make something else they don’t normally offer and branding that food as coming from a different restaurant that isn’t actually a place you can go.

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3 European Countries are Adding Lie Detector Tests at the Border

by Gary Leff

monty python
Nov 02 2018

iBorderCtrl is a new lie detector project being tested in European airports at immigration checkpoints in Hungary, Latvia and Greece. They all border countries outside the EU.

Passengers entering from outside the EU will be asked questions “by a virtual border guard avatar.” A computer will decide whether it thinks the passenger is lying, and if so the tone of voice of the electronic border official should get “more skeptical.”

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