Comments on: When Size is a Disadvantage: My Air Canada Story

By: Slawek Rogulski

Slawek Rogulski — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 05:32:51 +0000

“Small is beautiful. … When will we ever learn?”Indeed! When? Looking at the current trends of MNCs not that soon. Isnt the food chain os smaller bigger eating the smaller? Then as a result the bigger gets even bigger, and so on it repeats. One day you get the likes of mega corporations that have often been compared to small countries in statements like “these corporations have more power and wealth than small countries”.Economies of scale and drive for profit through efficiency demand such a course of events. This says to me that the results we are seeing are rooted deeply in the DNA of our economic systems.I can also see parellels to this in how civilizations have developed. And then I remember that those civilizations have fallen. And then new ones have appeared. So perhaps this is the natural cycle of building up in size to a point where it all falls apart. Then we start again small. Sometimes we remember the lessons of the past and as we build up we try to do a better job but in majority of cases we still aim for the sky. And then we become victims of our success and it falls apart.Is it because we do ot cooperate but compete? For if we cooperated we could cooxist as a cooperative in the diversity and on a smaller individual scale. When we compete we play a win/loose game. I am not the first oen to think in those terms but I think old habits die hard. The momentum of the old ways is not spent yet.

By: Cyndy

Cyndy — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 11:40:11 +0000

I had a similar experience, though due to thunderstorms, on US Air a few years ago. There was a point that was crossed where attendents who had been dutifully and quietly answering questions individually began to look at the passengers with fear in their eyes. One would think there would be far less questioning if the PA system worked properly and they used it.Good thing we were patient, peace-loving, non-line-jumping Canadians.I love that sentence. That was far from my experience on US Air unfortunately, but the remainder resonates.

By: Jon Husband

Jon Husband — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 03:17:50 +0000

Customers have been telling airlines to let them know what’s going on .. as an antidote to terrible service such as this .. for eons now. I don’t think they’re capable of learning.

By: Yule Heibel

Yule Heibel — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 01:29:09 +0000

What a nightmare scenario — glad to hear you survived and did manage to get home. You’re right in your analysis: bigger isn’t better at all. If anything, all “negative externalities” are pushed off on consumers/ customers in the name of an “efficiency” that isn’t very efficient in fact.Well, on a positive note: at least Air Canada isn’t handing out psalms with its meals. My husband had to travel on Alaska Airlines on business last week, and got a Bible passage with his crapola snack. He was pretty offended. On both counts. Then again, it could be gallows humour, too: pray that you arrive!, pray that you arrive! ;-)

By: MommyCool

MommyCool — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 22:24:53 +0000

Beautiful written. It’s such the common experience. How many times have we rushed through the airport with thousands of others without a thought of what we were doing. Your six points should be require reading of anyone entering an airport, especially to work!