Ben Smith: Some insights on the future
#1
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Ben Smith: Some insights on the future
The AF crisis has found a temporary solution and relations between the new CEO and unions seem good.
But new salary discussions are on the way.
There was an interesting article in Les Echos:
https://www.lesechos.fr/idees-debats...th-2216645.php
I do not know if these "gossips" are correct, but they make a lot of sense to me. To summarize:
- "plethoric" management staffing. Maybe half the positions could be axed. Smith points to a much greater integration of KL and AF management.
- AFKL must focus on its two established brands, AF and KL.He does not understand the growth of the "additional" brands Joon, HOP! and Tansavia which are poorly understood by clients.He has strong doubts about a longhaul LCC.
- "harmonize" the fleet. A350 for AF and 787 for KL.Too many different short/medium haul planes.
- "doubts" about retrofitting A380s. This could lead to the removal of A380 from the fleet.
-
But new salary discussions are on the way.
There was an interesting article in Les Echos:
https://www.lesechos.fr/idees-debats...th-2216645.php
I do not know if these "gossips" are correct, but they make a lot of sense to me. To summarize:
- "plethoric" management staffing. Maybe half the positions could be axed. Smith points to a much greater integration of KL and AF management.
- AFKL must focus on its two established brands, AF and KL.He does not understand the growth of the "additional" brands Joon, HOP! and Tansavia which are poorly understood by clients.He has strong doubts about a longhaul LCC.
- "harmonize" the fleet. A350 for AF and 787 for KL.Too many different short/medium haul planes.
- "doubts" about retrofitting A380s. This could lead to the removal of A380 from the fleet.
-
#3
Join Date: Mar 2016
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#4
Join Date: Jun 2011
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Agreed. For those of us who travel always on leisure and pay for the tickets, the A380 is great for the quietness and space and I happily pay for it. The 10-across 777......less so ! But I work in Finance and also understand the A380 is a nightmare to fill and operate profitably......but keep it !
#5
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Ben Smith is asking the questions that anyone with common sense in that function would. When we had some fun in the forums asking these questions - the sense of JOON, the fragmentation of the fleet, the incoherent brand portfolio, etc - some people probably laughed at us as armchair CEOs. And we were. But still we weren't wrong ;-)
#6
OH yess.... please please get rid of JOON, Hop, Skip, and whatever fancy subsidiary that has come up...also please please improve Premium Economy both HW and SW - not worth the value especially if paying out of your own pocket.
#8
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Ben Smith is asking the questions that anyone with common sense in that function would. When we had some fun in the forums asking these questions - the sense of JOON, the fragmentation of the fleet, the incoherent brand portfolio, etc - some people probably laughed at us as armchair CEOs. And we were. But still we weren't wrong ;-)
Ben Smith was originally hired into Air Canada in 1998 by then VP of Network Scheduling Robert Milton (Robert would eventually lead AC, Air Asia X, and Chairman of UA). Robert met Ben at a travel agent convention and was impressed by Ben's ability to point out armchair airline CEO improvement ideas. One of the first things Ben did at AC was to restructure the hourly shuttle service (YYZ-YUL, YYZ-YOW, YYZ-LGA) so that flights either left on the hour or on the half hour. Previously the schedule was created for operational efficiency with flights every 1:15. These simple from a customer perspective improvements are Ben Smith's core wheelhouse.
#9
Join Date: Apr 2005
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One of the first things Ben did at AC was to restructure the hourly shuttle service (YYZ-YUL, YYZ-YOW, YYZ-LGA) so that flights either left on the hour or on the half hour. Previously the schedule was created for operational efficiency with flights every 1:15. These simple from a customer perspective improvements are Ben Smith's core wheelhouse.
So far, I like what I see of the guy. Let's see when we reach the point where he'll do things that make perfect sense, but we won't like (such as life time Plat for 35 year olds). But until, then, let's wish him luck and a strong ability to move things.
#10
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#11
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I am not entirely certain whether I understood which point you are trying to make. Mine is that giving lifelong status to somebody very young age is potentially a liability for the airline as the person still has more than half a century to live.
#12
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Obviously my point is, provided that I'll retain platinum status for the whole time, I'd become platinum for life at age 36 ... and yes, I'm going to find 50+ years of the status for free definitely enjoyable
Last edited by Sjondorn; Oct 30, 2018 at 4:25 pm
#13
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I understand the Lifetime status thing can be tough for the company...they could do it perhaps closer to M&M with their senator status where it only kicks in at retirement age.If this was the case it would most certainly affect my loyalty.
#14
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Past CEOs had resorted to various twisted plans to avoid antagonizing unions too much. In the last one, and rather than going to a mixed-fleet concept a la BA, they created JOON where the only benefit is a cheaper FA structure but the brand disadvantages are obvious. Simple concepts are not in the French spirit of complex compromises. Let's hope that Ben Smith acts swiftly to take advantage of his good image. It seems that most French employees and politicians do not realize how much AF brand has suffered abroad, and possibly domestically.
#15
Join Date: Apr 2016
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Yeah I am in the same boat as you.
I understand the Lifetime status thing can be tough for the company...they could do it perhaps closer to M&M with their senator status where it only kicks in at retirement age.If this was the case it would most certainly affect my loyalty.
I understand the Lifetime status thing can be tough for the company...they could do it perhaps closer to M&M with their senator status where it only kicks in at retirement age.If this was the case it would most certainly affect my loyalty.