Shaking Up the Airline Industry

When he first entered the airline industry, British billionaire Richard Branson was under tremendous scrutiny. Here was the founder of a record label who was looking to expand his business into areas where he had no knowledge. Most were expecting him to fail within a short time, especially considering he was hoping to establish an international airline in England where British Airways had long ruled the skys. In a move that was the equivalent of the Battle of Britain for the airline industry, Branson and Virgin Atlantic Airlines helped change the face of air travel forever. And now he's hoping to do it again over here in the States.

Virgin began operating Virgin America some time ago and are hoping to begin competing with regional carriers for some of the more popular routes and city destinations. The hope that Branson and his investors have is that by fulfilling the promise of greater service and more luxury, passengers who had previously been disenchanted with the airline industry of late would make a return. These days the airline industry has degenerated from the once luxurious mode of transportation to something as common as a bus. What was once convenient is no becoming more and more inconvenient due to traffic and security regulations. At one time it was a simple matter to get from DC to New York by plane. In about three hours you could be there. These days it may take twice as long to make the same trip due to the delays at airports and the security checks. You may as well drive.

When Virgin Atlantic first entered the international air travel arena, they offered the promise of business class service at coach rates. At the time, the services they offered were state of the art and had never been seen before on any other airlines. In-seat entertainment systems for movies and games, seat massages, and more attentive staff made the experience of crossing the world a bit more like it was in the early days. The key was that Branson realized that by offering his customers more of what they wanted, he effectively drew in more customers and eventually, changed the way other airlines do business as well. Now some of the additions to his planes have been surpassed by upgrades and such by his competition, but by now, Virgin has established itself as a great airline and the industry has had to change its pace to keep up.

In America, Virgin's American branch is hoping for much the same. These days service on board airlines is no longer worth the money you shell out. For a six-hour cross country hop, you'll be lucky to get anything to eat other than your snack pack which itself is about the size of a postage stamp (or so it seems). The airlines argue that these 'perks' are being cut in order to pass the savings on to the customer but it still doesn't seem like it's doing much good. I'm still shelling out a lot more for my ticket than I should be if the airline is cutting costs as they say they are. They also add the arguement that rising fuel prices have led to increases in costs because they need to keep the airline going. Still, it doesn't make me feel any better when I have to pay more and get less.

Branson is starting his American branch off slowly with a limited number of routes and destinations but in time, he is hoping to expand it to serve as many cities as the rest of the domestic airlines. While he will not likely expand the service to the smaller regional airports, he will likely ply the routes between major cities and serve as an alternative to the big carriers like United, Delta and American. I for one welcome the competition and the change. Having flown on Virgin Airlines before I know that they do provide you more service than you might expect. In doing so perhaps Branson can change the domestic market here the way he did the international market. Maybe not all airlines will get massage chairs, high tech seat entertainment and improved food and meal service, but one can either try to keep up or fall behind. American air carriers beware... the British are coming!