Will upmarket Mannion take a low-cost strategy? There was touch of the anti-climax about yesterday's Aer Lingus results briefing, as the airline continued to keep the identity of its new chief executive a secret. At this stage, the situation is becoming a touch farcical, with Dermot Mannion's appointment to the role by now expected even by the dogs in the street.
Such a move may deliver back to Aer Lingus some of the personality it lost with the departure of Willie Walsh. Those who would hope to see Mannion (currently at Emirates Airlines) taking up where Walsh left off, however, could be disappointed. Where Walsh is the low-cost champion, Mannion is the king of spending, expanding and moving upmarket.
In 2004, the first year in history where Aer Lingus customers found themselves paying for food and drinks on flights, Emirates spent a packet on new "first-class" interiors. As Aer Lingus squeezed its Premier Class offering, Emirates was developing suites for its high-rolling passengers. Suites with massage beds and lighting changes to reflect the time of day, that is. "Passengers want good service, comfort and certainly some food," Mannion told Time magazine just a fortnight ago. Hard to imagine Walsh coming out with such a line.
The differences are more stark when it comes to fares: where Walsh was recently said to be preparing the launch of a long-haul, low-fares offering, Mannion was quoted as saying, "the low-fare model will not work on long flights".
Mannion to follow on with Walsh's strategy at Aer Lingus? Current Account thinks perhaps not.
Dizzy heights of dotcom past long gone
Five years ago yesterday the dotcom extravaganza came to an overdue halt when the most exciteable of bull runs expired in a rash of selling on the Nasdaq.
If the theme of the time was the many fortunes made on ridiculously overpriced companies, "Black Friday" heralded the beginning of the end of the madness. 'Twas fun while it lasted, although Current Account does not envy those who should have seen better than to bet the silver on a loss-making company just because it was in "e-commerce". Remember that?
Many fears were expressed for the Irish economy at the time, although half a decade later, the downturn that followed the bust seems to have given way for the prized soft landing. For the record, the Iseq index ended the day on April 14th, 2000, at 5,494. It closed yesterday at 6,153, proving the resilience of a market that has seen its share of delistings in the same period.
The Nasdaq index was trading at 1,960 yesterday, nowhere near the dizzy heights of March 2000. How green that valley once was.
Not so Smart moves
It is good to see that the telecoms industry is recruiting again after several years of restructuring. No firm has grown quicker than the aggressive new entrant Smart Telecom, which employs 300-plus people in Ireland after just a few years in operation.
And Current Account couldn't help noticing that the company placed adverts yesterday in the press seeking customer care representatives to work at its offices.
The advert says the company wants people with at least one year customer care experience, who are computer literate, and believe they have "a natural apathy with the customer".
Few customers will doubt that many customer care assistants in the telecoms sector suffer from a healthy dose of apathy when dealing with complaints. But it doesn't seem very smart to advertise the fact in a national paper!
Deloitte delights
News reaches us that Deloitte has launched a dedicated website for members of its Alumni. It provides a range of information about the association, its activities and members as well as access to Deloitte publications.
It is not clear if there is a page devoted to what to do if you are called in front of a tribunal of inquiry. But several Deloitte alumni - or more accurately alumni of one of its earlier incarnation as Haughey Boland - could contribute. They include Sam Field Corbett, Jack Stakelum, Charlie Haughey and former managing partner Paul Carty who have graced the McCracken and Moriarty Tribunals with their presence. The address is www.deloitte.com/ie/alumni
