Virgin vs American

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And this is why people are flying Virgin.



  • Brandon

    This is why American Airlines is referred to in the industry as the “Sky Nazis”.

  • http://twitter.com/kgbraund Kyle Braund

    YES….well done, Sir Richard!

  • http://tracks.ranea.org/ Watts

    Except not enough people are flying Virgin.

    http://business.time.com/2012/10/25/why-an-airline-that-travelers-love-is-failing/

    Airlines are an absolutely brutal business to be in. But the bottom line is that even when it’s possible to fly Virgin — they only fly between a dozen or so cities, and while they’re very well-chosen cities that literally only takes you so far — their prices often aren’t the cheapest, and many flyers would rather save $50 and be uncomfortable for half a day. Add to that the lock in that’s created by frequent flyer miles with other more established airlines, and it spells trouble.

    This makes a good example about “immersive user experience” for Om, but it perhaps inadvertently also demonstrates why outstanding user experience isn’t in and of itself enough to make a winning business.

  • http://mangochut.net/ mangochutney

    In his post Om said he was going to fly with Air Berlin. That poor bloke, he’s in for a shitty experience. Everything that’s wrong with American Airlines can be said about Air Berlin, too.

  • mycroftxxx

    Curiously enough, this same “we care” attitude is prevalent at the ostensibly most plebian of airlines, Southwest. I typically would rather fly SWA than any other domestic airline. Sure, there’s no food service, but there are also no baggage fees, they have reliable Wi-Fi, and their employees really do seem to enjoy their jobs and treat the passengers as human beings, not just ambulatory wallets.