Air Canada is Out of Touch

What was that about "Those Who Forget History...?"


I was reading the June enRoute magazine on my Air Canada flight into Toronto. I enjoy the magazine, but the editorial written by (or on behalf of) the President and CEO Robert Milton, was disturbing.

I don’t have an MBA, but I think I can tell why Air Canada is going bankrupt: they’re spending millions of dollars to do things like offering “sports briefs, and airport maps beamed directly into your Palm hand-held computer. And there’s more to come.”

Oh goody. I mean, I’m a true believer in technology, but seriously? This is ludicrous. How introverted and gear-dependant does the average business traveller need to be before you’ll leave him alone and spend money on something important?

The most terrifying suggestion in Mr. Milton’s article was the upcoming ability for travellers to use the Express Kiosks to “print and attach your own baggage tags and respond to standard baggage security questions.”

What?!? If the head of a major international airline has already forgotten about the most devastating act of terrorism of our generation, less than two years after it has occurred, we should all be afraid to get on a plane.

They don’t x-ray all the stowed baggage. They are no longer cracking down on blades and pointy things in your carry-ons. And now you will be able to sidestep talking to a security person, whose sixth sense about a traveller’s behaviour may be the last barrier to a major act of terrorism

Come on Bobby, get your priorities straight.

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