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Old 23rd Nov 2006, 09:24
  #67 (permalink)  
Momentary Lapse
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: England
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I agree with a lot of what is said above.

Years ago MAN made good profits because there was little competition. Now there is competition (LPL, Finningley etc), passengers are obviously voting with their feet. MAN are guilty of doing the "same thing" harder (cutting the workers' wages, building more retail, and putting more buckets in the departure lounge when it rains) rather than doing "new" things (new CX/directors/senior management on more sustainable wages, ignoring expensive consultants' advice, and hiring enthusiastic, talented people from genuinely successful airports, for example).

They pocketed the profits when times were good, but won't make investments when times are bad, which arguably is when you should make them. The investment process there is so convoluted and difficult that even getting a light bulb changed is genuinely too difficult. The process would involve writing a report to justify it, getting someone to check the material prices were "market tested", then the same for the labour price, then having four layers of management checking each other and reporting it up to their boss, while covering their own ass on the way.

British Leyland, anyone?
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