Skyhigh Airlines: The Relentless Pursuit of Adequacy
Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 11.26.03 | 9:42 PM ET
Just how bad have things gotten for commercial airlines? They’re now making fun of their own industry. Alaska Airlines’ latest advertising campaign centers on the faux SkyHigh Airlines, a carrier that embodies everything wrong with modern air travel. High prices. Lost luggage. Callous employees. The idea is to contrast Alaska with the misery of this hilarious, straw man airline. According to Wall Street Journal reporter Scott McCartney, it’s a risky strategy. He writes, “Alaska must now ensure its own customers don’t have a SkyHigh Airlines experience.” (McCartney’s story is available online only to WSJ subscribers.) At the very least, anyone who flies should find the accompanying Web site good for a laugh. My favorite features: The rotating slogans—“Flying More, Caring Less” and “A Commitment to Mediocrity” among them—and the travel tips, including this one: Don’t talk to freaks. “Man, are there some nut jobs out there! And given the chance, they’ll talk a hole through your brain. Word to the wise: If you see a guy skipping toward you with rainbow stockings and a handful of spoons, act unconscious.”
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Michael Yessis is the cofounder and coeditor-in-chief of World Hum.
sluggages 10.28.08 | 10:31 PM ET
Guys in the airlines seem to regard the passengers as goods with no feelings, just for the reason that there are no alternative airlines, which can compete with each other. So, no competition, no progress.