Parallel thinking

Two completely independent pronouncements were made on 8 May. One was from Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline, and the other from Lord Lawson of Blaby, former Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom. Let's start with Lawson. He put forward a case that the UK should leave the European Union on the basis that, whatever the original rationale for membership, modern realities have rendered UK membership irrelevant. Lawson clearly believes that people have become blind to the obvious fact that, 'the relevant economic context nowadays is not Europe but globalisation.' In other words, to prosper, you should follow the money and stop faffing around barking up the wrong trees.

Coincidentally, Tim Clark, speaking at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, was saying precisely the same thing. Except that Tim was thinking of airline alliances, rather than membership of the European Union. He said that the old ways of doing business and 'patchwork quilts' of airline alliances are coming unglued in the face of a changing industry. 'You must go to where your new markets are and fit your products to what is happening whether you like it or not.' And, of course, the Emirates and Qantas partnership is a perfect illustration of this idea.

Lord Lawson and Tim Clark, without realising it, have stood up for each other.

A plea to FlightGlobal

I must take my hat off to the folks at FlightGlobal. Nice people, nice articles, nice blogs. Yes, they are all very nice indeed. Their website is informative and always full of interest.

However....
Quite often my interest is piqued by some juicy headline or other, which leads me to click on a link in order to read the full article. And then my glow of appreciation for those nice people fades somewhat. Why? Because, more often than not, there is a little orange logo within which are the dreaded letters, 'Pro'. This means, of course, that unless one subscribes to FlightGlobal Pro, access is blocked. What I do not understand is why this is not made clearer at the outset. It is soooo frustrating. I wouldn't mind if 'Pro' were to be reasonably priced, but it isn't. At least, it isn't for independent businessmen like me, who have to watch the pennies.

I did speak to a nice gentleman at FlightGlobal about this, and he was terribly decent about it, sympathising and agreeing with me. But I am small fry and policy will not be changed for me. This is a pity because in my past life, when I controlled corporate budgets, a simple signature was all that was needed to unlock the treasures within 'Pro'. Who knows, one day I might be a bigger fish again, with my finger on the corporate purse.

Nice.

Another return to the world of the living

Greetings to one and all

Those of you who know me well will understand the reasons for my silence over the last three years. I was working on an aviation project for the Abu Dhabi Government and any form of private activity connected with that activity would have been frowned upon. Happily for me, that episode in my life is now well and truly over. In effect, I am a free man. And this leaves me to speak freely once again. You can't imagine the relief....unless, that is, you happen to live in the UAE in which case you will know what I mean.