Three Million Moments

Let Innovation Fly

March 12th, 2007

Thanks to globalization, and the democratization of, well, just about everything, air travel is simply a way of life today. Our parents grew up dreaming of long distance journeys and the luxury of flight. This generation’s nomadic youth jets around the country like they were going to the mall. And with this new attitude and wanderlust lifestyle comes ripe opportunity to innovate the airline industry. Unfortunately, it’s just not that easy to get up and go.

I’ve been waiting for months for the DOT’s decision to let Virgina America offer service in the US. The news came in early December that the government was not convinced that the airline was truly 75% US citizen owned and operated (the law). Virgin America has responded with additional proof of US ownership, and in January appointed a decidedly American patriot, former Secretary of the Department of Transportation under George Bush Senior, Samuel Skinner to Vice Chairman the VA Board. VA also launched the Let VA Fly website to give anxious would-be Virgin flyers a collective voice to convince the government that their service is a Good thing for the American traveler.

I could imagine some legistlator with a conscience asking, “Do we really need one more air carrier polluting our airways?” It is only a matter of time before people start to realize the impact of the superhighway in the sky on the environment. But this isn’t about one more. It’s about one better, and perhaps a few less. Maybe it is time for a new breed of airlines to replace the legacy airlines (and establishment) that litter our marketplace and airspace.

If you look at traveler ratings of airlines, companies like JetBlue consistently make the top of the list with 4 or 5 stars (ok, despite their own embarrassing hiccup last month). Companies like Delta, US Airways, United and American Air all fall in the mediocre range with a barely respectable 3 stars. Some of these have even been riddled with bankruptcy, yet we protect them under Chapter 11, and give them another chance to dig themselves from the dredges. Can we really expect the kind of complete reinvention it would take for them to create a superior journey experience? I am sorry for Delta that Song didn’t make it. But I have even less hope that Delta will really integrate the best that Song had to offer on its nationwide service.

I am sure the airline business is complicated. But what we can guess from their website is that the Virgin America difference is passion for reinvention, or actually, passion itself. They challenge the old rules and refuse to be complacent or indifferent. We travelers need a player like Virgin to change the game from operations to experience to customer relationships (including creating different, better words for describing these things and inventing the travel business language of the future.)

The travel experience begins the moment we dream of being with distant family, or realize it would be better to work with a colleague sitting at the same table versus a virtual one, or fantasize about salty margaritas in sweet tropical breezes. I am not sure the American traveler has found a partner to be there from those moments of inspiration all the way through to their gleeful sharing of vacation photos on flickr, or receiving their expense checks in the their bank accounts. Until this country has an airline that really understands life’s journey, I vote for more airlines. And quite frankly, pull the life support on the airlines that were once innovators and today just business as usual.

It is simple. Let VA fly, and let travelers decide.

Entry Filed under: Future of Good

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