Yeoh Siew Hoon reflects on the recent JetBlue drama and concludes, it's all about giving your customers the choice, even to watch their own impending death.

If you were on an aircraft that was in trouble and had to make a crash landing, would you want to be watching live news about your impending death?

The question came to me while I was reading the report about JetBlue Flight 292 whose passengers watched their own drama unfolding on their television sets.

I wondered if I had been in their shoes, would I have wanted to watch a potentially fatal event in which I was taking part?

My quick answer is no – I'd prefer to be lost in my ignorantly blissful iPOD world of music – but in a random poll of my circle of travelling friends, most (the majority of men) wanted to know what was happening to them.

"If these were my last few minutes on earth, I'd want to know what was happening to me, recollect my thoughts and compose some last messages," one said.

One woman said, "I'd prefer not to know. What's the point of knowing if you can't do anything about it?"

I remember when I first wrote about reports that live television feeds would now be available on airlines. My first thought was, oh no, there goes my last refuge and I told this to the person who was responsible for the satellite technology that would make this possible.

He rebutted, "It's still your choice – to watch or not to watch. We are just enabling people so that you can choose to do what you want inflight."

Fine, I said, but I, as a customer, should not have to pay for these extra services if they are "bundled" as part of the customer experience and that even if I don't watch it, I am paying for it in some way. 

I'd want to only pay for it if I use it, I told him.

That is the point, he said, you pay for what you use. Somehow, I found it hard to believe him but I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

I admit too it would be rather hard to pretend nothing is going on while everyone around you is glued to their TV sets and panicking but I guess he is right in the general observation that it's my choice to either switch on or switch off when I am flying.

Anyway, I was on a JetStar Asia flight to Bangkok while I was reading about the JetBlue drama.

This is the new breed of airlines (not just low cost because I ended up paying about S$260 for the return passage and you can find better fares on some scheduled airlines these days) that is handing over power to the consumers.

I like it though that they assign seats – I personally don't like the AirAsia and Tiger Airways model where you scramble for seats – but in other aspects of the inflight experience, the choice is up to the consumer.

You order food through the JetStar café – skip the coffee, is my advice but everything else is good and edible. You can order movies too if you like.

Give them low fares but make them pay for extras – it seems like a clever way of doing business.

I liked the experience because the aircraft was new, the seats were gleaming and clean, the crew was pleasant without trying too hard to be friendly and because it wasn't a full flight, I had two seats to myself.

Not having a choice of movies at my disposal, I read and listened to my music. A real treat, indeed, to be able to do that for two hours.

Low cost airlines are not the only ones, giving power to the consumers to make their choice. The big entertainment and media companies, understanding the shift in consumer power, brought on by new technology, have been reinventing themselves.   

Thing is, these new airlines are creating a new generation of travellers in Asia. On the JetStar flight, I saw young couples (mostly students), groups of girlfriends looking forward a weekend of spa, shopping and serious eating, three-generation families (grandparents obviously travelling for the first time with their children and grandchildren) and a few business executives.

Not only are they giving some folks a chance to experience flight but giving seasoned travellers like myself a new lease of life.

Personally, I like the freedom these airlines give me. No fuss, no hassle, my  choice. And, of course, great value.

It's created a growing band of last-minute, short-breaks travellers throughout Asia. Friends who fly in from different ports to a certain city (for example, Bangkok) to meet, bond and play.

I reckon, hoteliers in Asia would be wise to heed and cater to this new band of self-empowered, value-seeking travellers – let them decide what they want, give them what they want and not what you think they need because you've always been doing it a certain way.

That way, you also get to strip a lot of costs and wastage from your services. For example, while writing this column, I have just received the biggest fruit basket I have ever seen – it's a banana-exclusive. On it are at least 30 big bananas.

I am only staying one more night – I guess I will have to invite a few monkeys to my room tonight to finish them off.


The SHY Report
A regular column on news, trends and issues in the hospitality industry by one of Asia's most respected travel editors and commentators, Yeoh Siew Hoon.

Siew Hoon, who has covered the tourism industry in Asia/Pacific for the past 20 years, runs SHY Ventures Pte Ltd. Her company's mission is "Content, Communication, Connection".

She is a writer, speaker, facilitator, trainer and events producer. She is also an author, having published "Around Asia In 1 Hr: Tales of Condoms, Chillies & Curries". Her motto is ‘free to do, and be'.

Contacts: Tel: 65-63424934, Mobile: 65-96801460

Check out Siew Hoon's new website, www.shy-connection.com, which features a newly-launched e-zine with a difference.