Originally Posted by
gold23
I mean....this is true, which is exactly why UA can serve the food that they do. They understand that convenience trumps almost everything domestically, and hard product trumps food by a million times internationally- especially ex-US.
I don't care that I get offered a plastic cup of water or OJ from a tray sitting up front on any domestic flight, as long as that domestic flight is direct and fits my schedule. Overseas, I want the most comfortable and convenient flight. UA has installed a really nice hard product in Polaris, so as an EWR captive I enjoy flying that. Yes, price is another major factor- but the lack of quality food isn't, and as such UA has no incentive to improve.
As someone that has worked in the industry this is all true -- but only for a while.... You can only live off a superior hard product for a short time -- then the soft matters -- UA is milking their advantage while they can -- that's a SK trademark -- but once UA has to compete on something else -- trust me SK won't have any answers -- the real question is -- how long will investors care?
Oscar was a visionary leader that saw the whole picture -- Kirby is a business guy that sees a narrow slice -- in the end I'm with Oscar -- Kirby's shelf life is ticking.... As it has been in all his roles....