Airlines are about to get thumped as holidays from hell multiply

Count on this: there will be more scenes of chaos at airports, more holiday horror stories, more furious travellers venting their spleens in the print and broadcast media before this long, too hot summer is over.

We should spare a thought for the flight attendants. They aren’t responsible for this, yet they’ve been taking much of the heat by dint of the uniforms bearing the corporate logo they’re forced to wear.

Their employers got caught flat-footed by the industry’s rapid post-pandemic recovery. Seeking to emerge from the hibernation of lockdowns lean and mean, they got rid of too many people. They thought it would take years before the industry was back to its pre-lockdown height. It was more like a matter of weeks.

Accuse me of hindsight if you want, but they ought to have known better. Lockdown imposed considerable strain. When it ended, many had a strong desire to “just get away” combined with confidence in the vaccinations the majority of them had had.

Corporate executives, who live in an entirely different world from that of the average family, fatally underestimated this – with disastrous results. In some cases, their (mis)management of the situation that confronted them has served only to add insult to injury. Labour shortgages have hit their ability to hire the new staff they desperately need.

It is against this backdrop that regulators have jumped in, with an open letter to airlines sent by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). It amounts to their saying: “Do better or else.”

The presence of the CMA really ought to worry airline executives. Its general counsel, Sarah Cardell, signed for the competition watchdog, which suggests that the legal issues have been given careful thought (the CAA’s chief executive Richard Moriaty did the job for the industry’s primary watchdog).

In the letter, the regulators outline their “expectations for compliance with consumer protection law to ensure you treat your customers fairly”. The clear implication is that this is not always happening. And, let’s face it, that isn’t so very surprising, is it?

You could probably put together a fairly formidable dossier just by wandering around Heathrow and/or Gatwick on any given day over the next couple of weeks, with most schools in England and Wales closing for the summer break.

The letter’s contents are a fair summation of the woes of passengers.

It covers the overbooking of flights (don’t do it) and the impact that has, the failure to re-route customers hit by cancellations with alternative carriers “where necessary”, and the breakdowns in communication and support that have been a depressingly common feature of this affair.

The last point can always be counted on to exacerbate any problems that might occur.

So to the all-important “next steps”.

The CAA says it will “continue to monitor airlines’ practices and consumers’ experiences, including by engaging with airlines to ensure they are addressing our concerns”.

It adds: “If we receive evidence that consumers continue to experience these serious problems, the CAA, supported by the CMA, will consider further action, including enforcement.”

If that doesn’t happen, you can be fairly sure that questions will be asked of the regulators. You don’t send out letters like this one unless you’re willing to act.

What should really concern the industry is that they are pushing at a wide open door. Airlines are rapidly becoming corporate hate figures, viewed as little better than cowboy builders or financial salesmen by a public that has had enough.

A crackdown on one or another of them will be loudly cheered. It would be likely to have political backing too. It would be both populist and popular.

If airlines don’t “do better”, the hammer is going to fall. They’ve shown scant sign that they know how to do that.