A few ideas for Air Jamaica
published: Wednesday | July 2, 2003
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I HAVE just finished reading an article in the June 2nd issue of Business Week on Ryanair, an airline that is making waves in Europe because of its CEO's innovative ideas. This man, Michael Oleary, is no rocket scientist, he basically used mere common sense to achieve monumental success in a short space of time. He has slashed his prices in many instances in half; he gives away free seats during the slow period and his airline is showing a profit when most airlines, at this time, are showing quite the opposite/loss.
This 42-year-old accountant out of Ireland says the secret is "keeping operating costs to a bare minimum..." Some examples follow: His airline charges for a snack; the airline has rented out the overhead storage and seat backs to advertisers; as stated in his interview in the June 23rd Newsweek, Mr. O'Leary now sells 90 per cent of his tickets through the Web site, cutting out the middle-man, and it goes on.
Air Jamaica is having serious financial problems, as it is with most, if not all, other airlines. Maybe a few ideas from a layman are sometimes wise.
