NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Who Passes The ‘Economy’ Test?

Frequent flyer programmes (the travel invention of the century) have been formulated with the single aim of retaining clientele no matter what the flying experience maybe. Most airlines today with their enticing frequent flyer programmes are banking on the fact that the carrot of extra mileage which converts into free tickets at a later date are bait enough for their clientele to stay loyal, no matter what the in-flight experience maybe. This stems from the fact that most airlines recognise that in-flight service and customer satisfaction plays a huge part in customer loyalty and any compromise on the above would have to be compensated in terms of monetary/mileage benefits. I have over the years flown a fairly even mix of business and economy on various airlines out of this country. The times when I have been ‘fortunate’ to travel in business or first are in stark contrast to the times that I have been ‘unfortunate’ enough to fly economy/‘cattle class’. Even though both experiences have often been on the same airline to the same destination, on identical routings, the end result is dramatically different. While most of my first/business class experiences (across all airlines) have seen me emerge from the aircraft all spruced up and raring to go for my immediate meetings, the economy experience has more often than not left me feeling like something the cat-dragged-in. This paradox of travel experiences on board the same aircraft is what need to be bridged if an airline is to truly emerge as a cut above the rest in in-flight service. It is the ‘economy test’ that really qualifies the superior service of an airline against its competitors. This point is very apparent as one goes through the cover story in this issue of feBusiness Traveller. A close look at first and business class facilities of most airlines covered here will reveal a great similarity, while not so many have cared to stress on their economy offerings. It is probably a folly for airlines to assume that most of their business travellers (which forms the lifeline of any airline) travel by business or first class, because this erstwhile trend is fast changing with most companies getting increasingly cost conscious. How long then would mere frequent flyer programmes help to retain customer loyalty?

Sheldon Santwan,
Editor, feBusiness Traveller
editor@businesstravellerindia.com