Niceguy very much on the nail up there. Everyone thinks they can manage better than their managers, few actually make the grade, and those who do quickly realise it's not the cushy number the safety trained waiters think.
A fact of business that many would do well to remember:
- Sales are vanity
- Profit is sanity
- Cash is reality
As unfortunate as it is that another airline has gone to the wall owing customers flights and employees and suppliers money, it doesn't surprise me. In today's economic climate there are fewer SLF around and those who are, are shopping for the lowest fares. "Just being there" is no longer a viable formula for running an airline and you need either a very strong brand image and strategic position (eg BA) or a low cost base to ride the storm (eg EZ). Either way cash remains king and anyone without deep pockets is likely to be in equal danger of following downhill during the hard times that are likely to continue in 2010. When an airline announces it is anticipating a big new injection of capital that says to me "we've run out of money and want to spend someone else's". This isn't the first time we've seen this, I'm surprised so many are surprised.
Good luck to all finding new employment, but I wouldn't count on getting more than a handful of change out of the airline.