I'm definitely in two minds about Dick Smith. I left the Australian Aviation scene in 1995, before the Dick Smith train well and truly came off the tracks, and have seen the vitriol, disbelief and frustration directed towards him both on PPrune and in the general media.
I met him a few times back in the old days and saw him as quite sincere with his desire to change things for the better. Maybe in hindsight he was the wrong man for the job and his ideas were a little difficult for the industry to agree too.
However, this letter in the Fin Review does make a lot of sense, if indeed the figures are true. I don't find it hard for a moment to believe that the two majors of the day were more intent on killimg competition.
Maybe it's time for Dickie to be involved in the debate again. I think his days at the centre of the debate are over, but maybe he has just one or two ideas that might allow us to move on.
What do you think?