Business as (un)Usual
Lots of Shifting in a Business that is Always Shifting
No witty preamble necessary on this beautiful Spring Day — let’s get to some recent news and observations.
We are Spirit(s) in the Creditor World
Some recent travels saw us drive right by Spirit’s (very nice) HQ building in Dania Beach, Florida last week.1 Having spent time at two carriers in bankruptcy protection, we had a lot of empathy for the people inside. It’s never fun to be learning more about your company on CNBC than in your actual workplace, but that’s kind of how things go in these situations. It’s not a great scene right now for NK, and the 5 or 6 parked planes we saw at nearby FLL didn’t inspire much confidence.
Pretty quiet at Spirit HQ in Dania Beach — that being said they have walking distance restaurant options that other airline HQ employees would love. However, there is now talk of a government bailout(!?) headed to that beautiful new building in Dania. While the airline industry is no stranger to government assistance, this sort of bailout would set a new precedent that we’re sure every airline executive team is watching very closely.
Springtime HAM
The biggest show for all things airline onboard experience is the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX), held each year at the Hamburg Messe. We haven’t been for a few years, but trust us, we’ve paid our dues.2
It seemed like every show news release (unsurprisingly) talked about connectivity in one way or another. One thing that did stick out was the new open-platform IFE concept developed by RAVE and Reaktor — while customers might not see the big deal, industry insiders know that breaking down the OEM walls between the airline and the passenger is a big deal. But, if you really want the full scoop in terms of news from the show, we always recommend our friend Seth Miller’s news recaps at his site: paxex.aero.
Hamburg is a beautiful city. The Hamburg Messe (aka Expo Center), well . . . . Besides, we always view this week much more through the eyes of our airline supplier brethren out there. If you make aircraft seats, galleys, or entertainment systems, this is the biggest week of the year. Your sales VP/account director/PR coordinator at the show will have sore feet, be working on little sleep, and may be hungover — may be. If you’re an airline representative, it’s kind of like being the most popular kid at school, as everyone wants to invite you to dinner or to their party.34 However, you will also have sore feet, will be working on little sleep, and may be hungover. But again, who can say?
Mating Season
It’s pretty simple: the more volatile things get in the industry, the more promiscuous airlines get. Against a landscape of global conflict, crazy-high jet fuel prices and (potential) government interventions, it’s basically the month before prom out there. That’s why it was not surprising to hear that American and Alaska decided to pursue a revenue sharing agreement, albeit after merger talks apparently didn’t work out — a conscious “sort-of” coupling if you will.“So we’re going to live together but you don’t want to put my name on the house???” (Photo by Adam Young on Unsplash)
This definitely won't be the last development on this front. We’re just curious to see what other dance partners emerge in the coming year. Sometimes it’s the ones you least expect.
Notes
We’ll be doing a deep dive next month on airline HQs — they can say a lot about the airlines themselves
Believe it or not, we were at the last AIX not in Hamburg — that was in Cannes in 2001 and while that show was a tiny version of what it is now, the food was better
Been to that show many times but never while actually working at an airline . . . always a bridesmaid
A good friend of ours has a rule at shows like this: “Never sit down for dinner” — you’re inevitably trapped in small-talk hell and then someone will order coffee after dessert