Originally Posted by
pinniped
I look at two categories - table stakes and differentiators.
Table stakes:
- Operationally efficient, reliable, safe
- Reasonably good global coverage through its route network plus alliance or partners
- Adequate comfort per at least the modern standards for Y and J. Includes a standard business lounge for J.
- Good website and the ability for any traveler to buy and manage their itineraries online from anywhere in the world
Differentiators:
- Better-than-average soft product in Y and J.
- A good true F product/service. Includes a premium lounge offering.
- A true premium economy offering
- Extensive route network on its own metal, including regionals if they are operationally integrated
- Good FFP - rewarding, easy to use, easy to redeem online
- Extras such as generous routing rules, free stopovers at their hub cities, ground transfers for J/F pax, etc.
di-di-differentiators? I am not sure I follow these great vocabulary you have got there! I do think you mentioned some great points!
IT is extremely important, this is your 21st century store front, and nobody wants to go into a store that is falling apart.
Alliances are not as useful as true partners, AR has as much to do with MU as me with my ex, while CX and AC are getting in the bed more frequently than ET and CA will ever do.
And the coverage is only really crucial when it is a joint venture, because the fares and schedules will be coordinated instead of competing with a partner's flight with your own number plated on it.
As for an F product, some business models simply cannot support an F product. FI's one stop model is not appealing to most rich persons, LA and SA's population base cannot support a native F, while QR's F is basically their J, I think an airline can be good if it fits its niche well, instead of having a shiny F that nobody is able to take. So I would say even FR is not an F tier because it has its place and it does it well. But yes, to some extent, nearly every place and business model can support J, and given the world nowadays, J should have a global standard for short haul and long haul.
an FFP base on your description does not exist in this world any more :P