Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Nigerians, Inflight service and Foreign Airlines

I have flown first class twice in my life. Once from Dubai to Lagos on an Emirates B- 777 and the other time from Detroit to Amsterdam on a Northwest Airbus 330. I did not pay for either upgrade. Here is the paradox. I would prefer to fly Emirates ‘cattle class’ than any European airline first class. Okay maybe that’s not entirely true but you get the idea. Why?
I do not buy into the white racist agenda that some travelers claim but then why is it that on several European airlines you get the idea that they talk down at you. And yet that never happens on Emirates? Or Qatar Airlines as some of my colleagues have attested to. Meanwhile 75% of passenger traffic from Africa is carried by foreign , mostly European airlines.
Im not an Emirates salesman but slowly but surely that airline is positioning itself to be the best airline in the world. Quote me. One of the reasons I believe European airlines are stagnating is the first line managers that travelers meet when they board their planes: air hostesses or using the politically correct term, cabin executives. Most of their cabin crew are monolithic, solidly German or English, stubbornly omnilingual.
Nigerians are a special breed, all over the West Coast, Africa and indeed the world. Love us or hate us you cannot afford to ignore us after all we have one of the biggest and potentially the biggest aviation market in Africa. think of it. Nigeria has a population of 140 million people and only 4 million travel by air. 3%. Compare that to 40% in developed countries and you begin to get an idea of how huge the market is. Imagine 56 million people! So while not holding brief for Emirates, i'd advise the managers back home in London, Schipol , Frankfurt etc.. please get your act together, we dont like being treated like cattle, even when we pay for 'cattle class'.

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