I do believe, in all seriousness, that his credibility is now zero. Not so much with us (because we arn’t important in this) but surely in the airline business, where the ludicrous chops and changes must be as well reported as they are here.
But that’s the thing, he does seem to be taken seriously in the industry (in some parts at least). There again, having worked in the industry for 13 years it was pretty much Alice in Wonderland territory… But, see this piece taken from Airline Business magazine which is not a comic you buy at the children’s counter in your local shop.
Routes is also a good place to see the shape of things to come, and there were plenty of start-ups vying for attention. Teen tycoon Martin Halstead was one of those. Halstead is setting up his own UK-based regional carrier, Alpha One Airways, and had a constant stream of airports queuing up to talk to the 19-year old. “People seem nervous of my age, particularly at first,” said Halstead. “But as soon as we start to talk they realise that we are doing this properly.”
If in 20 years’ time he is addressing the IATA annual general meeting as the next Richard Branson, Halstead will be able to look back to Routes 2005 as the even where it all began.
I don’t have any axe to grind for or against him. However, I’d say that on the basis of his use of PR so far, he’s up to Branson’s standard. But he needs to deliver or else he will lose credibility.
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