Industry Comment


On the Tray


OnBoard Hospitality welcomes Rob Britton as a new regular columnist in the magazine. Rob is a consultant to the airline and airline supplier industries


Dr. Rob Britton leads AirLearn (www.AirLearn. Net), a consultancy that helps people to understand the complex and ever- changing airline industry,


and to translate those insights and knowledge into effective business results.


I am delighted to be invited as an OnBoard Hospitality columnist. If you’ve been to one of the several big inflight conferences, you know this business is a small world – everyone seems to know everyone else. I am the exception. You probably don’t know me, so I’ll devote most of this debut to a little introduction, and finish up with some thoughts on where the column will go in coming issues. I’ve been in and near the airline and travel business since 1969 (yes, there were jets then), when I began working my way through university as a travel agent. I spent most of my career with American Airlines, holding leadership positions across the carrier. But the best and happiest time was my two years as director of food and beverage, 1998-2000. What made it the best job among a dozen posts during 26 years at three airlines? First, it was an operating job, and many of you know that helping ‘make it work’ is enormously satisfying. Second, back then we had an ample budget – unlike the situation at many airlines today – so we had latitude to make changes for the better, while still managing controllable expense. Third, I got a cabin-crew uniform, and used it every quarter. There’s no better way to improve an operation than working the front line regularly, note pad in one hand and wine bottle in the other. Indeed, the need to reduce distance from head office to frontline operation is one of the themes we’ll explore in future columns. Since retiring from full-time employment


(as advertising director at American) in 2006, I’ve been consulting with airlines and suppliers, and doing a ton of public speaking, mostly


guest lectures at about 25 business schools worldwide. All that teaching – to Jiao Tong in Shanghai, the Indian Institute of Management, London Business School, Wharton in Philadelphia, and more – means a lot of flying, and that means the chance to stay relatively current on the state of inflight service.


Here are just a few things to explore in coming issues – and there’s a lot more: 1. Genuine innovation in service delivery – like Air New Zealand’s extraordinary new Economy- class seats.


2. Creative ways to reduce the distance from cabin crew and other frontline staff to planners and officers – what we mentioned above.


3. What the spread of low-cost carriers – Air Asia, Ryanair, Southwest, WestJet, and others – means for service delivery at traditional airlines.


4. Understanding what customers really want on board (now there’s a topic!).


5. The culture of airline management and


Fine dining with American Airlines


how the way they think and act affects the customer experience and ultimately the airline’s all-important bottom line. This may sound rarified, but is actually pretty basic, yet vitally important.


But more than my thoughts, I really need to hear from you (e-mail address below), to get your ideas and comments for topics. It’s a short column, so we can’t get too deep, but together we can have a good dialogue that provides food for thought – and, we hope, ways you can improve your offering to customers, whether actual passengers or the airline people who work hard to please. See you next issue. Meanwhile, always keep


your seat belt fastened, even when the sign is not on!


Email your ideas and comments to rob.britton@airlearn.net


www.onboardhospitality.com 41


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