IT SHOULD BE APPARENT that the airline business, particularly those parts of the industry that move passengers, is in the fast-moving consumer goods business. As such, brand loyalty, desirability and the ethos that surrounds a particular service or product are vital, and the airline industry is generally good at emotively delivering that objective. To support that, operational excellence in delivering the lowest cost unit commensurate with product offering at a competitive price is a critical ingredient. If that is true, then why is the airline industry so bad at making consistent profits? There is no simple answer, but this industry has an unsatisfactory track record in providing shareholders with a consistent return. Not all of those poor performances can be placed at the door of global pandemics. The industry is a barometer of business confidence and global trading. COVID-19 has had a devastating and tragic impact on human life and the business repercussions are profound, but are there other, more significant factors at play?
展开▼
