Better is Cheaper

There is no more embattled industry these days than the airline biz. From the high cost of fuel to gel-wielding terrorists, air travel is a tough space within which to make a buck. But proof that better can be cheaper and that quality--in the words of Phil Crosby--really is free, comes once again from the Japanese.

Think Jet Blue’s got the formula down for decent but discount flying?  Well, Japan’s StarFlyer is taking it up a notch with its new service and its new fleet of black and white (and sexy as hell) Airbus A320 jets designed by Flower Robotics, a radical Japanese design firm. Instead of the usual 170 seats, the StarFlyer birds only have 140.  Result: lots of legroom, leather seats with LCDs and PC ports.  The short hop tix are discounted and the service, as you would expect in Japan, is spectacular.  Their stated motto: Maximum Kindness, Maximum Comfort.  Does it work?  Yes, StarFlyer is raking in the yen, because consumers choose comfort over crap 10 times out of 10.

The point here is that you can make anything and everything better and make a ton of money doing it.  Imagine if US carriers went at it this way.  With passengers so put out by the exhausting new rituals of travel, maybe the airlines could wage a service trade war to up the ante. You know, pro-actively help us get the best deals when we book, or upon boarding, greet us at the door with a cold  bottle of water.  Perhaps, in this spirit, one smart company will declare itself the “safety airline” and go beyond the feds in securing a terror-free experience for its passengers.  Maybe they require background checks when you buy your ticket. Maybe they invest on their own in big shiny American-made machines sensitive enough to detect even the brand of deodorant you wear.  Wouldn’t you choose that airline over its risky competition?  You bet.  Even if it cost 20% more to fly—but it probably wouldn’t since quality is free, and--in the long run--better is cheaper.