Well the CEO seems to have started out alright with a tech degree and then working with AA and Sabre BUT then he turned to the dark side and got an MBA and worked for 'Management Consulting' companies.
After that he ran a rinky dink start up in Spain and moved to that paragon of quality Vueling. Any one who ran an airline with that paint scheme (vomit on a dirty white background) must have something wrong with them.
In these instances the culture espoused by the CEO starts the rot, if its cut cut cut then line managers will think it is Ok or even their responsibility to pare back on things previously considered essentials , It is hard to resist when your job and bonus depend on following the party line or company culture as opposed to your experience or professional training. I have worked in more than one company where experienced chartered engineers were ridiculed for putting forward professional sound proposals because they were 'too belt and braces' or not in line with current best practice . The latter being something a 'manager' read in a magazine about vaguely similar equipment in a completely different industry