They just don't think
and it is indeed typical of the permanent gap between what AF intend, what AF says, and what AF does:
- step 1: "we want to be a full service airline but some customers go to low cost airlines or SNCF because they are cheaper than us. We can't match those prices with the service we offer but maybe we could offer a more basic service and that way we can offer fares that can compete with Easyjet and co with a basic service while retaining our usual service at slightly above our old prices. Our traditional customers will pay a bit more to keep the same service and we will gain new customers by offering new cheaper priced tickets with a low service to people who don't care about service but only about price. Bingo!"
- step 2: "great idea but you know what, we are already losing money. This concept of disaggregating the product is good. We can offer less service for the current price to gain new customers while our traditional customers will surely accept to pay €20 more per way to keep our superior service and that way we compensate our losses. In practice, most people will pay those extra €20 so we'll increase average revenue per ticket by €20 and be profitable again. Bingo!" (start noting how it is progressively stopping to make any form of logical sense, now they expect new customers to be more likely to start buying AF at current price with less than current service. Hello?)
- step 3: "why do you say we are turning low cost or risk reputational capital? You don't understand anything to the airline business! Our model remains exactly the same, we are just creating choice, 90% of passengers will still fly classic but pay a bit more for it, only now others have the alternative choice to be punished by MiNi lack-of-service concept, but those will be new customers coming from low cost so it won't cost us anything in terms of reputation"
- step 4: Everyone buying through a TA is automatically getting MiNi as long as there is any R, N, or V class available. This includes the vast majority of our business customers who often have to buy through a specific TA and are increasingly asked to fly Y within Europe in the current economic context. So now, those 'traditional customers' are being forcibly thrown into the MiNi bath. They will experience what it is for a Platinum member to get a middle seat in row 34 of 37, they will not get miles on their flights, they will experience punishment class (thanks
NickB and beyond you the SK forum people!), low cost minus or whatever you want to call it.
- step 5: Someone looks at the figure and will say: "most people prefer to buy MiNi than classic (without even realising that it is because people are not even given a choice and because those who analyse the figures don't know what the IT people do and the IT people don't know what the concept designers intended etc etc). We must conclude that in the current climate, within Europe, passengers want a "simpler" service (understand low cost minus minus) and reasonable fares, and few people buy classic anyway. Let us remove classic and offer "MiNi minus" as standard anyway. Let us get rid of food and drink and miles and chosen seats to anyone in economy. Now let us replace "Premium Economy" by the service of the current "economy" no more meals but just sucre sale and sell that at the price of Premium Economy today while we sell the "new economy" which is really MiNi minus for the old price of classic. That way we'll save on costs and increase revenue and we'll be profitable again. Bingo!"
- Note the evolution from step 1 to step 5 and continue cycle forever............