1 (too many) Time.

I’m not sure what to make of this 1time eNewsletter that arrived in my inbox (I never seem to remember subscribing to half of the newsletters I receive, but anyway that’s off the topic). It sold itself on the slogan “life’s short, go on holiday”. Huh? I guess they’re trying to be humorous? Maybe a stab at trying to occupy some of Kulula’s cheeky differentiation strategy? But I have a number of comments about this:

Firstly, 1time, get your own brand. Secondly, is playing on people’s fear of death really going to sell seats on your airline? With a subject like “Holiday deal to die for” and a mention of a death certificate, it’s kind of ironic that a 1time plane had to make an emergency landing just the other day. Bad timing? Fact of the matter is that life might just be cut short if you do fly those horridly out-of-date planes you own, 1time.

It’s concerning. Let’s just think of it this way. What is the one thing that a consumer is most concerned about when travelling via airplane? Any guesses? Well, in my opinion it’s safety. When one of your planes’ engines blows up (1 November 2010, read that story here), and your cabin crew freak out more than the passengers, and you follow that incident with a marketing campaign about “Holiday deals to die for”, it kind of surpasses any humour and just becomes kind of sick. Let's not forget the "precautionary" landing in Bredasdorp (12 April 2010) and the landing gear emergency landing in Durban (23 June 2010). I think you're forgetting the lesson learnt from the crisis of Nationwide airlines. Their profits plundered rendering them bankrupt and forcing them to close. Why? Because their customers began to see their planes as unsafe. Watch this space 1time - you're fast on your way to becoming the next consumer behaviour case study.

Good luck 1time. After 1 too many times rattling my way back to Cape Town on the tin cans you call your fleet, I sure as hell will never be flying with you again.

P.S. Cherry on top was the R60 compensation voucher given to the passengers in the last incident. I don't even have the words to comment further.

I'm still vegetarian at 35 000 feet

I really enjoyed this article written by iAfrica's Rebekah Kendal on being a vegetarian traveller. I travel quite a bit domestically for business and it's a constant stress...god knows why I stress about eating plane food anyway with it's notorious reputation. But I think it's the expectation...it's part of the flight, and face it, scoffing your face for 30mins does help to pass the time. Secondly, if I've paid over a grand for a flight, I want all the perks regardless.

The best part of ordering the veg option on any flight is that you get served first...waaaaay before all the other passengers who glance over at you and wonder to themselves "what makes her so special?". And generally the veg option is much better than the meat ones in my opinion, but notice I say generally. Once, on a lunchtime flight, I received a sandwich that had nothing more than sauce on it, atchar sauce to be precise. Ever had an atchar sauce sandwich? I do NOT recommend it. I wanted to ask the air hostess to take a bite herself and tell me just how much she enjoyed it.

British Airways gets a big thumbs up from me for their new partnership with Woolworths (Cafe Cloud...cute name as well!). I have to say, the veg omelette they have for breakfast is by far the best omelette I've ever had. And with that you get a muffin, juice, fruit salad and a chocolate. Now that's how plane food should be. They also always offer a veg option or a meat option, so there's no need to request the veg option prior to flying (being veg seems so normal to me, I forget I have to continuosly remind the rest of the world). So thanks British Airways for considering the veggies of the world. To SAA...I'd rather starve than eat your food.