Continental-United: How To Alienate The Female Customer

A few comments on the United-Continental Airlines deal, based on reporting in The New York Times:

• Continental's Mr. Smisek will become the new airline's leader in a couple of years, after United's Mr. Tilton steps down. Stockholders, employees and customers certainly want to have a self-confident leader; however, they also want one who is thoughtful and wise. Regarding Continental's old alliance with Delta, Smisek said it was "a lot like being married to a woman who wants to poison you." Later, when commenting about the choice of United as a partner over US Airways, Smisek said, " ....I didn't want to marry the ugly girl; I wanted to marry the pretty one." Message to Mr. Smisek: your female stockholders, employees and customers may be offended by these comparisons; that is not smart or respectful. In fact, you would be very well advised to surround yourself with women who are smarter, more creative, faster, and generally more capable than the average guys on your current teams. A leader understands that it is not all about her.... or him. 
• The newer, bigger United will become a huge player in the New York market. The Times notes that a big piece of that battle is for the business traveler: "Too woo them, airlines are introducing sommelier-chosen wines and fancy lie-flat beds to their business cabins on international flights from New York." Well, fine for some. There will always be the well-heeled hedge fund baroness or media personality, who require aristocratic treatment in  first and business classes. But businesses, like big banks, that dominated these markets prior to the recent financial "troubles" are hardly going to be worried about which wine their employees drink or how flat their beds become. We might ask of those seeking sommelier advice, "What planet have you been visiting?" As we suggested in our previous post regarding this merger, United We Stand In Coach, just below, customer service for coach flyers is certain to get worse, not better. What business travelers, whose companies no longer permit business class use, really want is a comfortable coach seat that reclines just enough to allow some shut-eye. In other words, they really want seats like JetBlue has in coach. They are happy just to have a job and don't see a flight as a wine-tasting event. Advice: speak to some real, live customers about this before paying the sommelier or acquiring the Frette sheets.