7 SEPTEMBER 2009
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Austrian and Lufthansa
Nigel Turner
Clever layout gives more space
First Class Suite
The new hotel is an architectural fit
Sadly all gone
This is the Miami Cluhouse
The shipwrecked mariner had spent a number of years on a deserted island. Then one morning he was thrilled to see a ship offshore and a smaller vessel pulling out toward him. When the boat grounded on the beach, the officer in charge handed the marooned sailor a bundle of newspapers and told him, "Read through these and let us know if you still want to be rescued."
Peter Davies
Judging by the recent crop of headlines you could be forgiven for thinking that regional air travel was dead and buried.
As I write easyJet has just culled 360 flights a week from Luton and East Midlands, blaming high costs at Luton and lack of growth at East Midlands, choosing instead to deploy its aircraft to more lucrative European routes.
That followed Ryanair’s announcement of a 30% winter reduction at Stansted and an almost complete withdrawal from Manchester, again citing high charges, but tempered by an announcement of expansion at Leeds Bradford.
Then came the collapse of Slovakian SkyEurope – which flew from Luton and Manchester in the UK – sparking a tussle for market share, and just days later figures from IATA showed global airline losses of more than £3.7bn in the first half of the year.
All that makes pretty grim reading and it is tough out there, but just because it’s tough doesn’t mean that you can’t manage through a difficult period.
And the more negative we become, the more we risk imbuing our customers with the same sense of doom and gloom to the point that they begin to regard air travel as a miserable experience just because we keep carping on about what a miserable time we’re all having.
What we should be doing is fighting our corner, enhancing the customer experience and – rather than treat them as cattle in the relentless drive to cut costs – actually treat them with respect.
That’s exactly our strategy at Air Southwest. We’re a young airline – six years old next month, and we’re a niche airline, but above all we’re a customer focused airline with a network that is structured first and foremost around their needs.
The South West of England is not easily connected to other areas of the UK because of its geography so what our passengers demand are fast and efficient links, many of which are time-critical business services.
We have innovated by introducing a 20-minute check-in at Plymouth, Newquay and London City Airport, introduced a flexible premium package aimed at business travellers and we have been aggressively promoting our services in competition with the rail network.
Key to this was the introduction in April of a twice daily service to London City Airport from Plymouth and Newquay. The flight time from Plymouth – which operates as a direct service in both directions – is just 70 minutes. Combined with speedy check-in and fast transit through London City, we shave four hours off an average day return journey.
That’s an enormous saving when you’re marketing to business customers and we’re seeing more people abandon the train in favour of air.
Our transparent pricing policy has also contributed to our success. Too many airlines, for far too long, have insulted the intelligence of their customers through a pricing regime that aggregates a raft of hidden charges to the point that the final fare they are charged bears absolutely no resemblance to that advertised.
It’s a shoddy practice that antagonises customers and does nothing to improve the image of air travel. That’s why we introduced a ‘Fares Fair’ policy to tell customers exactly what they’ll pay from the outset, with none of those hidden extras that appear at the last minute. The feedback has been very positive.
Our industry has also done itself few favours when it comes to promoting its environmental credentials, especially in relation to regional air travel. For too long the environmental lobby has used us as the whipping boy for climate change because we’re an easy target.
At Air Southwest we’ve gone to great lengths to educate our customers so that they can put all these claims into context and make an informed choice.
This includes information on comparative emissions from other sectors (like road transport and industry, for example), and comparisons per passenger mile for comparable journeys by car and train.
In fact our Dash 8-300s achieve around 70 miles per gallon per passenger and because our aircraft typically fly at 14,000 feet we’re well below the altitude where emissions can have a multiplier effect.
Many of our customers have expressed surprise at the favourable environmental performance of our aircraft when compared with alternative forms of transport, so it falls to all of us to try and put the environmental arguments into perspective.
I’m proud of what Air Southwest has achieved. Sure, it’s a tough market and I wouldn’t pretend otherwise, but reports of the death of regional air travel are very much mistaken.
PETER DAVIES
Managing Director
Air Southwest
AERBT says travel light
Jim Albaugh
Metro nearly ready
Two-class Boeing 767
BA A318 on test at Hamburg
Purchase an 'earlybird' at check in
The ever popular Goodwood Revival motor race meeting has quickly come around again and takes place at the picturesque Sussex venue 18-20 September. As has often been the case there will only be one star, Sir Stirling Moss, this time to celebrate his 80th birthday, which is the day before.
Taking to the track each day will be a fabulous collection of cars raced by the great man during his illustrious career, representing all his most important results and significant performances. Goodwood is confident that this will be the finest collection of ex-Moss and Moss-associated cars ever assembled, with 80 cars gathered (one for each year of his life) of the 96 vehicles that he is known to have driven during his racing career. Expect to see a few surprises in what promises to be a great tribute to the man. www.goodwood.com
Tom Enders (CEO Airbus), Maria Claudia Oliveira Amaro (President TAM) and John Leahy (VP Sales Airbus)
London bendy bus
C series interor mockup
easyJet sponsors Luton Town FC
The experts gathered in Toulouse
On the bay
Credit cards in flight
In the market
Marrakech has a modern airport
Royal Theatre Marrakesh
Mamounia hotel Moroccan Restaurant
Souk
Chickens and ducks
The Medina culminates in the main square of Djemaa El Fna with its snake charmers, acrobats, story tellers, musicians and food stalls. This is not Disneyland but a real living culinary and performance culture, an increasing rarity and a privilege even for seasoned travellers. Butchers seem to abound in the bustle. They look exactly that, and every part of a sheep is used, from head to toe and everything in between (especially in the case of the males). Perhaps it is not too hygienic but people survive. Chickens and ducks run around.
If you stay for a day or a month no visit to Marrakesh is complete without one 'square meal' in Djemaa El Fna. Go to where the locals are queuing and you will not be disappointed. Depending on your appetite you may have to move around a bit to get a full meal as each stall specializes. However no feast is complete without a 25p bowl of Harria or Chorba soup to start and a 25p glass of fresh orange juice to finish.
Djemaa El Fna Square
HOWARD DAVIS