Text 12616, 77 rader
Skriven 2014-04-26 13:57:53 av Nancy Backus (1:261/1381.0)
  Kommentar till text 12553 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: Re: traveling 546
=========================
-=> Quoting MICHAEL LOO to NANCY BACKUS on 24 Apr 14  15:50:00 <=-

 ML>> me. If they become a super-oligopoly, they'll quit making
 ML>> the loyalty programs attractive, as they won't need to.
 NB>> Unless dropping the loyalty programs ends up chasing away all their
 NB>> faithful frequent flyers, who will find small new airlines to take
 NB>> them strange places...  ;)
 ML> You know the best way to make a million running an airline?
 ML> Start with two million. The byways are littered with failing
 ML> airlines. Even the big survivors are failing, constantly, and
 ML> they're kept going by the too-big-to-fail phenomenon and by
 ML> the energies of a bunch of neurotics who are fulfilling their
 ML> childhood dream of running or owning an airline. The fact is
 ML> that carriers can't charge enough to make money.

Which somewhat argues against giving all the frequent flyer benefits,
except that frequent flyers keep the airlines flying...  Optimism keeps
them aloft, where pessimism would just ground them all for good...?  I
do see some parallels with the passenger train service...  

 ML>> There are places that have Fudd'ses and don't have such
 ML>> attractive alternatives. Speaking of which, there's an
 ML>> outlet of QSL in the Cleveland airport. I may try to route
 ML>> myself through there before United de-hubs that city.
 NB>> Would an airport QSL outlet have the sports bar atmosphere...?  Or
 NB>> just the food options...?
 ML> The airport bars do a good job of simulating "atmosphere";
 ML> they know they're in the entertainment business more than
 ML> the food or even drink business. It's very much, oh, crap,
 ML> we've got an hour to waste, rather than hey! let's get
 ML> something delicious to eat and drink.

And here I thought it was catering to the famished and parched
travelers, that just want something to keep them going...  ;)

 NB>> Unfortunately, makes a lot of sense...  The 5 Guys do seem to wish to
 NB>> keep their good reputation... at least they pay good lipservice to it
 ML> I met a guy who was one of the first - Lilli knows him better
 ML> than I do; he swore up and down that they try to maintain
 ML> high standards of cleanliness and quality, [s]even though he
 ML> sold his share some time ago and no longer has no interest[/s]
 ML> I just, as in this minute, found out that he still owns some
 ML> franchises through his incarnation as an equity capitalist -
 ML> perhaps more than he did when there were just 5 guys.

Apparently he still has personal reason to keep up the high standards,
then... From the little I've seen (single visits to two different
franchises), there does indeed seem to be that dedication to maintain
their high standards...  :)

 ML> There was this guy who was a vice president at US Air in
 ML> charge of something like marketing who was complaining
 ML> internally about people who took advantage of the frequent-
 ML> flying system to get better benefits than he thought they
 ML> deserved; he called them (us) cockroaches, and next thing
 ML> you knew, the cockroaches left, and US Air was in a deep
 ML> doodoo that was escaped only after they cut their losses
 ML> and gave in to the vermin.

Somewhat a practical working out of what I was surmising above, then...
He'd have done better to have recognized the worth of what he considered
vermin... 

 ML> The Cockroach
 ML> categories: booze, Passover, Vermin
 ML> 2 oz Tequila
 ML> 1 oz Kahlua or Sabra Coffee liqueur

 ML> M's note: M would add a coffee bean for verisimilitude.

Indeed.

ttyl        neb

... Sunday Brunch? Why sleep in when you can go pay $18 for eggs?
--- Blue Wave/DOS v2.20
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