Of all the industries I’m glad I don’t work in, even though I think I could theoretically enjoy it, the airline industry is near the top of the list.
Maybe you feel the same way. It’s ironic, because I write often about the airlines. I’ve even compiled a free e-book, Flying Business Class (download here), that explains why business leaders in every industry should study how the airlines face their big challenges.
In short, the airlines provide a nonstop parade of business school case studies — a commodity industry in which the big, publicly traded players make almost all their decisions under tough scrutiny, forced to explain each choice in front of an audience of stakeholders, analysts, and journalists.
But at the same time, it’s a very difficult business. Right now, it’s especially difficult.
Our exhibit of the month in support of that idea has been Southwest Airlines: specifically, the tension at Southwest between the company’s efforts to get as much revenue as possible after the Covid slowdown, against the more difficult workload that its pilots and flight attendants have faced as a result.