Less than two years ago, it was easy to speculate on the emergence of a completely new economic model for airlines. Analysts and bankers were monitoring low-fare carriers' two-digit traffic growth and healthy profitability while expressing concerns about legacy airlines' struggle for decent financial results. A growing resemblance between the two models prompted suggestions that they could be combined into a workable hybrid concept. Leading budget carmine if air transportation is a genuine commodity. Jean-Cyril Spinetta, chairman/CEO of the Air France-KLM group, is wholeheartedly convinced that the world needs commercial aviation. "It is not simply useful, it is essential," he asserts. And this is no mere slogan but a sincere expression of a firm belief-unaffected by oil priced at more than $125 a barrel. Spinetta's view deserves attention. He heads a profitable airline group and, despite his self-effacement, he may have However, it took a long time to transform the early 1990s state-owned flag carrier, posting abysmal losses, into a success story and, to some extent, a source of inspiration for other airline leaders.
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