Why say 'What we all saw does not represent Air France'?
That sentence does 2 things:
- it creates a sense of 'we' between the writer and the reader, opposite to the events on Monday, which is then 'they' (without saying it). 'They are not us' it says.
- it says that the event has nothing to do with Air France
So in a way the Air France Management says 'We have nothing to do with this'.
Come on !
What we saw was ugly. That is true. But it represents the emotions and culture of the French employees. Wether we like it or not, that is part of the Air France culture. And the Air France corporate culture IS the responsibility of the senior management.
This letter I find problematic, as a customer.
I am a frequent flyer, and am in flight twice a week.
This letter worries me. If a company is so troubled, where the senior management takes no responsibility whatsoever over the corporate culture that it has created. A culture that could have led to these exact events that we have seen, and which is a culture that clearly has severe symptoms of disease. A management that therefore, after this email, will allow this culture to fester.
Do I want to step in flights of that company?
What if one of those outraged pilots takes a 'Germanwings decision' in the cockpit?
In my expectation, I would like to have seen senior managers take responsibility and resign. I would have liked to see such credible and responsible behavior that will reassure me that the management will also be successful in curing the disease in their corporate culture.