Klm is Dead - Long Live KLM

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/bu...n-glamour.html

How will American and European airlines compete in a world dominated by Eastern Airlines equipped with the best aircraft and with the best service of trained, enthusiastic, young stewardesses that only work around 4 years before moving on instead of staying and getting plump, mean and lazy and all subsidized by some of the richest sovereign funds?

NYC96

4 years? Thankfully, that cant happen in this country. There's laws against that NON SENSE.

1964 Civil Rights Act passes. Flight attendants use Title VII of the act to challenge discrimination policies based on genger, race, age, weight, pregnance and marital status.
1968 Average career for Flight attendants lasts 18 months, Mandatory resignation at ages 30-35 struck down.
1971 Pressed by the Association of Flight attendants, courts prohibit airlines from refusing to hire males and find the no-marriage rule illegal.
1974 Court rules Northwest Airlines must pay females the same scale as males.
1975 Association of Flight Attendants challenges requirement that flight attendants stop working upon pregnancy.

Klm is Dead - Long Live KLM

Nothing in the article says they have to leave; they appear to be leaving of their own accord.

If American or European stews were required to be paid Emirates wages and based in Dubai they might also only last 4.3 years...

MatthewLAX

What is the point of even speculating about this?

djk7

There may be a few premium pax dreaming of a return to glamour. Most are just dreaming of finding the cheapest ticket they possibly can.

YYZC2

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8L1 Safari/6533.18.5)

1) I won't be looking to the UAE for any tips on labour relations.

2) Ask Joe Six-Pack if he wants better products and services, and he will always say yes. I wish the subway train I rode to work this morning had an oyster bar, but I don't want to pay extra for it.

Klm is Dead - Long Live KLM

It's not a speculation, it's a direct comparison.
In a global market each company has various advantages and disadvantages. Some past advantages become disadvantages and vice versa.

I would disagree. There are many passengers, premium and otherwise, that, when given the choice, will take the flight with "glamour" over the one that offers a poor hard product, mediocre, indifferent service and demeaning, cattle class conditions. Especially if the price for the two alternatives is not that much different or if the glamorous choice is even cheaper.

Companies like Emirates can exploit their special host country, sponsorship and labour market conditions to offer a potentially better product at a more competitive price than either American or European airlines can. The fact that companies like AFKL are cancelling their existing orders for airplanes, announcing their third round of company cost reductions in a year and begging the EU for protection against Emirates while Emirates orders 32 (!) more Airbus 380s speaks to how the market is moving.

1. No. But you might be looking to UAE to provide your international travel needs, especially as they blow several established competitors out of the water.

2. Joe Six-Pack can increasingly not even afford his rent and food in the same month let alone a ticket for Greyhound bus in the sky. He is not necessarily the main part of the rapidly growing target market of better or well-off citizens with pent up demand for flying and the pocketbook to pay for it outside of North America.

DenverBrian

Well, duh. Thank you Captain Obvious. I want steak tonight for $1. I'm not likely to find it at any restaurant in town.

zpaul

There are airlines that provide a superior hard product at prices lower than their North American and European competitors. LAN has a substantially better hard product in both Y and J than many, if not most, airlines from NA and Europe and their fares are usually lower.

Even when their fares are higher many of the US expats that I know here choose LAN because we know that the long-haul experience will be better (more "glamorous"?). Risking another "duh" from my fellow Coloradoan, I'll mention that for short-haul flights it's not so important.

I do believe that the number of people who look at more than price when choosing a long-haul airline is growing, as long as the fares are not absolutely prohibitive.

Klm is Dead - Long Live KLM

Perhaps you aren't looking in the right places.
In Vegas you might find many establishments where you can have a steak dinner in town for free. How do they do it? It is part of their total business model.

Likewise, you might want to buy a real First Class airline experience from an American airline, but you're not likely to find it from any of them. Yet, it is possible to fly a First Class Suite on Emirates for the same price as a business class ticket on Delta or to fly economy on an Eastern airline with much better product and service for less money than an inferior European competitor's economy price. How do they do it? It is part of their total business model and long-term business strategy.

azepine00

I don't know about people but more and more businesses pressure employees into getting the cheapest option and afaik the majority of premium class tickets on this continent are purchased by businesses.

NYC96

maybe NOT. I searched around and wondered if mandatory limits still existed overseas. This site says, they sign a THREE YEAR CONTRACT: http://blog.airlinecareer.com/2009/0...ing-again.html

GUWonder

Is the quest for "glamorous" really a reference to a quest for flight crew that would get a higher score for comeliness?

As is routine even in the US, companies are under no legal obligation to renew all contracts; and employees or other retained persons hired under a contract are also not legally required to renew contracts with the employer, that is if they choose to stay for the full duration of the employment contract. Of course the airline does renew some contracts. And of course some FAs do sign up for another contract period.

Speaking about discussions with some former EK crew acquaintances of Scandinavian country citizenships, the plurality seem to have:

1. gotten bored of the routine;
2. wanted to return to their home country (perhaps to take advantage of paid family leave benefits);
3. realized they were missing out on their social benefits and social benefit/retirement contributions;
4. realized that the UAE would never be a home for the longer term.

Home-sickness, a desire for a more settled life, and/or the pursuit of greater return for their labors -- all that eventually made jumping ship an easy decision.

NYC96

And, these benefits are considered anti-competitive for young females/males in the middle east?

Award-winning Emirates Airline Benefits

A three year renewable contract.

A tax-free starting salary of AED 3,640 (approx. US$ 1,000) plus flying pay of approximately US$ 600 per month.

High quality furnished shared accommodation (own bedroom).

Comprehensive medical coverage.

Free duty transport.

End-of-service benefits. A bonus is also payable on completion of the first three year contract.

Emirates will provide you annually with a confirmed ticket to your home country.

Generous travel concessions on Emirates and other airlines.

DenverBrian

1) You haven't been to Vegas lately. Name one restaurant giving away steak without some catch (like lots of slot play).

2) I'm not in Vegas; I'm in Denver. So this mythical free steak you speak of actually would cost me hundreds of dollars in travel in order to get it "free."

This faulty line of reasoning extends to other posters. Hey, LAN has a great product at a great price. Knock yourself out. Problem is, they don't fly where *I* need to go.