Originally Posted by
intuition
I can't say the SK FA/pax ratio exactly, I didn't count (was just enjoying the service
)
But: 32 pax and each aisle had 2 FA doing meal/drinks so at least 1:8. It felt like there were more staff at other times, I guess some went to Y after take-off.
It is interesting how quickly this turned into a cost analysis, inferring some kind of cost-based pricing model for airline tickets. I don't think that is how pricing works, but it is true that cheapest AY ticket offered right now for HEL-JFK is ≈10% cheaper than cheapest SK ticket on ARN-ORD. A consolation for those getting quiched by Finnair!
Anyway, I think both ffay005 and I tried to take a step away from being a back seat airline manager (it's hard, I know!) and were just customers. Just like in the original report. We had our tickets, we took a flight each and got some impressions we shared.
It is clear there are choices out there. Is there a "golden airline" that does everything right for everyone? Of course not. But there is no need to believe all airlines skimp on everything. There is no need to accept the future of Business class is economy service with a bigger seat. And with loyalty programs having less benefits than before, it is just one more incentive to break old habits and have a look at the options.
Well, I for one have been saying that people should be trying out other airlines for a while. Being "addicted" to an airline and unable to change loyalty can be pretty hard on your wallet and mind. The point I guess is that, while it is useful to see your "benchmarking" exercise which shows SK having some nicer service, the airline is exiting bankruptcy with a new PE owner and therefore this might not be relevant in 6 months if the airline decide it needs to run a profit.
To me the reports look almost identical. I don't like the quiche either, but the sandwich doesn't look too appetizing. The presentation seems to generally favor SK, though there are some small details: if the flight attendant really described a wine as a "Tuscany Chianti" it would just annoy me as they are just adding pointless descriptives to make something seem sophisticated but also revealing ignorance of it, and I say this as a person who is about as far from an oenophile as can be (though I guess this increases the importance of needing good advice on wine). There are some small details like the espresso and chocolate that seem to favor SK, but to me at least these are marginal.
But you are absolutely right - people SHOULD be looking at their options and shopping around.