BA apologises to customers the old fashioned way - handing out money

You may recall that on a recent trip to London on BA I discovered that the new BA in flight video on demand service had caught the "not sure why but it is not working" bug that plagued Qantas for so long. At the time I commented that while both systems seemed to have the same bug that the BA attitude and response was much more apologetic and customer focused than that from Qantas.

Now BA have gone one step further in sending me a letter and GBP100 worth of vouchers to be used in the on-board shop (or mail order). That is an Australian $250 apology for not being able to watch a movie all the way through. The contrast against the "process culture" at Qantas could not be more stark. You may also remember the response from David Cox the E-GM of Engineering when he was asked about the constant failures in the VOD system.

"As with any complex system there have been some technical issues,...The problems usually involve a small number of seats and the passenger can be moved to a different seat in these cases. We are dedicating considerable resources to address these reliability issues, including through the supplier Rockwell Collins."

So while BA apologised and took strong steps to compensate a customer for their VOD failure, the Qantas response was no apology and a statement more like "not a big problem and not our fault".

WHOOT: AOT climbs to 19.9% and Webjet claims it is back in the hunt

Time for another The WHOOT series update - WHoever Owns Outright Travel.com.au.

Long term Travel.com.au (TVL) shareholder and director Daniel Droga has sold more than 9% of TVL stock to the "quiet accumulator" AOT - who can now claim 19.9% of the stock. This is not enough (yet) to completely end the Wotif charge for TVL ownership as Wotif have made it clear tha they would be happy with 75% - bit it is close.

Webjet have also come back swinging claiming that with recent increases in Webjet stock value, the Webjet offer is now worth more than the TVL Board recommended Wotif offer. We are still yet to see the official Wotif bidders statement.

Singapore first class on the A380 – bring good clean fun to 30,000ft

The number one travel industry gossip story is always anything to do with claims about the mile high club. Even here at the venerable and always high moral ground aiming BOOT we have been forced to mention the odd story or rumour about shenanigans in the air.
With the launch flight of the A380, Singapore Airlines has re-launched its first class product with a level of luxury that none of us expected. Highlights include an actual cabin with floor to ceiling coverage, a separate bed to seat, a choice between Dom Perignon and Krug and the ability for the two centre seats to be combined into one larger room with connected (ie double) beds.
We are all thrilled and relived to discover that despite the obvious inferences that can be made about what people could be doing in a double bed suite at 30,000ft it appears from the advertising that all we can expect is a good, hard game of chess. Knight to Queen 4.

BOOT's away - Back on Oct 29

Unlikely to have a chance to post between now and the 29th.

It's raining Samsonite - Bags fall from the sky in Chicago

How is this for the ultimate lost baggage story.

A change in cabin pressure on Delta Flight 4718 blew two of the cargo doors ajar, raining bags across the Midway Airport area. Only two bags were declared missing. One was found almost a kilometre from the airport, the other is still MIA.

What is more frightening:

• you are in an aircraft and a door "comes ajar";
• you are minding your own business plane spotting and a carry-all falls on your head; or
• you turn up to a check in counter for an American airline - any American airline - and the check in clerk tells you "I'm sorry sir you are going to have to check that bag"?

Answers in the comments please...

Thanks to Consumerist for the story (originally from the Chicago Tribune).

NZ - Expedia In, Zuji/Travelocity out

Hot on the heals of Expedia announcing its entry into the New Zealand market, the NZ Herald is reporting that Zuji (the Travelocity operation in Asia) is shutting down its New Zealand site. Zuji.co.nz was being operated under a franchise style relationship with Stella Travel Services. Site will shut down on November 30. There is a chance that Travelocity may try and re-launch Zuji New Zealand with their own team but I think they have more issues to face in growing the Australian business first.

UPDATE - received an email from Phang Shueh Chyan, Zuji's Singaporean based Head of Business Development. Tells me that in while the Zuji/Stella relationship is coming to an end, Zuji will retain the NZ site and operation. We wait to see what resources/team will be used to operate the business when the Stella deal ends on 30 November (assuming that date is still correct).

Crystal ball gazing over at the TourCMS blog

Alex Bainbridge has published an interesting post over at the TourCMS blog where he considers "the future of travel distribution and travel ecommerce". I have added Alex to my RSS feed and Blog roll. If you enjoy reading about the industry I recommend you do the same.

The Airline Industry - IAG podcast style

Received an email recently from Addison Schonland from the Innovation Analysis Group (IAG) recommending that I check out the series of aviation podcasts that he and others publish on the IAGblog. Starting from September they have been publishing an Airline Insight podcast on the aviation industry at a rate of more than one a day. I have listened to a few and these podcast are informative, detailed and focused but also not for the faint-hearted. By that I mean you if you are a passionate follower of the aviation industry you will be very impressed by the level of insight, material covered and access to insiders that comes from each edition. However if you have a only a passing interest in who has bought what aircraft, which bankrupt/struggling airline is going to survive another day or which low cost carrier has found another way to charge its consumers without telling them up front then you may find this heavy going.

To give a taste of the coverage - I listen to the Oct 18 podcast interview with Airbus North America Chair Allan McArtor where he pulled no punches in the he said, I said, you said, I want to kill you war of words between Airbus and Boeing over who gets more from which government. Great to hear a company head not afraid to tear into a competitor. At the other end of the aviation industry I enjoyed the interview with Kate Hanni who you will recall is driving force for an airline passenger bill of rights after her marathon lock down on the tarmac without food, potable water or sanitary toilets. Fascinating though not unsurprising to hear about how she has to convince the US government to stop corporations from locking people in tin boxes without any guarantee of release.

Subscription feeds for the IAG Podcasts are here.

The BOOT interviewed in Yeoh Siew Hoon's Transit Cafe

Travel editor, conference organiser and industry veteran Yeoh Siew Hoon has published an interview with me on her blog The Transit Cafe.

Here is the beginning of the interview

Q: What made you decide to start blogging?

I left the travel industry and missed it. I was doing venture capital work in blogging and new media. It became clear that launching a travel industry blog would meet two aims - teach me about blogging and online media and help me to stay connected with the online travel industry.

Q: Do you think bloggings the best thing to happen to humankind since the invention of fire?

No, pizza is. But on the media side, blogging has enabled us to re-write the rules of media and communication which is fantastic. It has enabled me to become virtual colleagues with bloggers from Europe, Asia and US. It has introduced me to senior executives, financiers and entrepreneurs. It has given my wife a break as now I have someone else to rant to about this industry that I love.

Q: What does it take to be a good blogger in the B2B space? Questions you must ask before you take that first step ...

Time and commitment. You have to be prepared to write for 3-6 months 5-7 days a week before anyone will notice. This won’t happen if you see it as an obligation, it will only happen if you enjoy it. The secret to enjoying it is to write for yourself not for anyone else. Turning that into a question - are you prepared to write with passion and enthusiasm even though no one will notice for a long time?

Q: What do you do it for? Fame, passion or money?

Challenge and enjoyment. I have made money from my blog in the form of consultancy projects but that is not why I started it.

Q: Do you think people trust bloggers more than traditional media? Should they?

No general answer. Even the biggest bloggers in the world cannot command the generalist influential muscle of the likes of CNN, Fox News or even People magazine. That said the blogger is able to marshal influence in sectors and groups that previously did not enjoy a medium for collective communications. See the way TreeHugger has built a movement around the environment, the Consumerist around customer service, Lifehacker around tech tips and tricks etc. However a blogger has to do more to build trust than traditional media. A person who arrives in a foreign country will feel comfortable switching on the news (assuming they understand the language) and listening to the stories told out of the television or radio despite having never heard of the news reader before. However if a web surfer stumbles onto a blog that they have never heard of, then there is not the same natural/base trust...

For the rest head over to the Transit Cafe.

For more information on Siew Hoon's Wired In Travel conference look here.

Expedia launches in NZ - Hoffman adds two letters to his title

Expedia.co.nz is up and running with air, car, hotel, destination and packaging. Here is the press release care of Travelmole. Arthur Hoffman is the boss. His title is now MD Australia & New Zealand. NZ is a small market with United Travel, House of Travel and Holiday Shoppe already battling for the limited OTA scraps left behind from Air New Zealand's online dominance. Oh and Zuji are there too but not sure anyone had really noticed.

The Airline Industry - Freakonomics style

Loved the Freakonomics book, now have the pleasure of adding a link to their view on the future of the aviation industry to my little series of commentaries.

Thanks to the regular tipster for sending through the link.

Travelzoo AU and NZ launch imminent with appoint of new GM - Brad Gurrie

First there was an advertisement in the newspaper giving a hint of Travelzoo's arrival in the the Australian/New Zealand market. Now we have word that current Lastminute.com.au GM Hotels Brad Gurrie has been appointed as Travelzoo's Australian and New Zealand General Manager- starting next month.

The AU site is in beta already - as you can see from this shot - so Brad starts with something to work on.

For those of you that don't know Travelzoo are a NASDAQ listed company with a market cap of about US$320 based on revenues of $75mm. Their difference is that they are neither a retailer or a pure review/content/network site. They are a deal hunter. They use screened advertiser driven content to provide consumers with deals and specials.

If the rumours prove true, Brad may find himself working for Priceline. Would be the first Priceline employee in Australia since they shut down the Myprice joint venture with Telstra during the boom.

Congratulations to Brad on the new job. Not sure yet what this will mean for Lastminute staff retention post the Wotif acquisition.

UPDATE - Hotelmarket.com are reporting that the Sydney office will open on Nov 15 to be followed by a Taipei office on December 1

UPDATE 2 - Reliable rumours that in January at least one maybe more US based Travelzoo staff will be seconded to Sydney for an extended time to help Brad with the set up.

The New TripAdvisor - looking a lot like a retailer

Travolution have broken the story of the new look TripAdvisor being rolled out in the UK first.

In his post Kevin talks about CEO Steve Kaufer's desire to have the site look less cluttered through a reduction in gizmos and functionality.

In my view this the first step in a content/review site wanting to look more like a retail site. TripAdvisor now has the site layout, look and feel that you would expect from a full service OTA - widget in the middle, destination maps on the edges and a promotion spot or two highlighting the things of the moment. I have talked about the need for content/networking players to constantly innovate to produce the loyalty and scale defending abilities of retailers. Here is a twist on that where a content player seeks to defend its scale by looking more like a retailer.

PS to ensure that I continue to received the search engine traffic let me once again confirm that Expedia Owns TripAdvisor...

WHOOT: Wotif are happy, AOT even happier

Wotif have defended the price tag of $55-57mm for Travel.com.au despite the fact that profits will come next year. But COO Robbie Cooke in an interview with Travel Today has given away little in terms of what the strategy will be (see my thoughts from yesterday) other than to day that flights will be a benefit to Wotif. I continue to suspect that its more Lastminute.com.au that they are interested in than a flights engine.

Meanwhile AOT has continued its steady acquisition of TVL stock, now claiming more than 10% according to today's filing. CEO Andrew Burnes can at his leisure now decide whether or not to keep a stake in a business controlled by Wotif or sell for what we presume is a reasonable return. Well played.

Two planes collide on the ground at Heathrow airport

First saw the story on the SMH website. No injuries but imagine the place is a nightmare. Involved in the crash are a BA 747 and Sri Lankan Airlines A340. Cant find any photos yet online

WHOOT: Webjet are out - it is all over bar the AOTing

It seems smooth sailing now for Wotif in their chase for the Travel.com.au ownership title. The Travel.com.au board have backed Wotif, Wotif have their hands on 19.5% of the stock and Webjet have just announced that they are pulling out of the running. Webjet MD David Clarke is quoted in Travel Today as saying

"We wish Wotif the best. Time will tell whether the value Wotif attributed to the business is prudent. We did not believe it was for our shareholders but Wotif’s shareholders and board may have different perspectives."

This does not mean that we at the WHOOT are calling it all over in the battle for WHoever Owns Outright Travel.com.au. There is still the matter of AOT's shareholding and if this battle has taught us one thing it is that ain't over 'til its over.

WHOOT: Wotif takes the lead, gets backing of the Board and buys out netus

Wotif has taken the clear lead in the battle for WHoever Owns Outright Travel.com.au (WHOOT). Filings today confirm not only has the Travel.com.au (TVL) board come out and unanimously recommended the Wotif bid but that Wotif is already a substantial shareholder having bought out venture firm Netus' 19.5% stake as well as holding commitments from executives for a further 9.4%.

Wotif have amended their offer to two tiers depending on whether or not they gain 75.1% or 90% acceptance. Presumably a tactic to both entice AOT to sell their almost blocking stake and provide protection if they don't AOT engaged. At 75.1% they have more than enough for control.

Range in valuation of Travel.com.au and Lastminute.com.au is thus $55-57mm depending on which threshold they reach. Market cap before the announcement was $61.4 mm so in theory is a discount on market. But in reality this is bid is almost 40% above the price range prior to Webjet's first bid.

What will Wotif do with the business? Could we see the amusing situation where they maintain both the Lastminute and Wotif brands but with Wotif as the last minute brand - focusing on only 28 days out - and Lastminute is the "full service" brand that services 365 days a year. Air is clearly not the priority here (unless I am missing something).

Travel Today have the story here as well.

WHOOT: Travel.com.au board director resigns

After the close of business of Friday a director of Travel.com.au resigned. No reasons given.

UPDATE - reasons now clear as venture firm Netus had sold out to Wotif.com as part of Wotif's revised bid.

WHOOT: meanwhile AOT keeps buying Travel.com.au stock

While the TVL (Travel.com.au) Board has freed itself from its recommendation of the Webjet offer, AOT is quietly increasing its stake in TVL. It now has 9.03%.

WHOOT: Travel.com.au Board drops support of Webjet but not yet fully in favour of Wotif

The WHOOT series update - WHoever Owns Outright Travel.com.au - continues.

The Travel.com.au have officially advised against accepting the Webjet offer but have not gone so far as to throw support behind the Wotif offer.

Two announcements out in the last half an hour. Webjet published their announcement first saying that it has heard from the Travel.com.au board that the Implementation Agreement is terminated. Then moments later news from the Travel.com.au Board confirming the termination and announcing that they

"change its unanimous positive recommendation for the proposed offer by Webjet .....[and] have withdrawn their support for the Original Webjet Offer but are continuing to consider the revised proposals from Webjet and Wotif and have instructed TVL’s advisers to explore the terms of the revised proposals with Webjet and Wotif."

Again shareholders are urged to do nothing until they hear from the Board. So we wait on the Board - or maybe for another round of betting?