Anyone who travels often eventually has their day in airport hell. Mine was last weekend where, due to horrendous weather that day, everything was delayed. I arrived at 3:00 p.m. to a routine one hour delay that eventually turned into an all nighter.

I’m not here to write about my discomfort but instead about the two airlines at this particular set of gates and their differing philosophies. I flew JetBlue that day while others were scheduled to fly out on Continental and it was fascinating to watch how each of them handled the situation as the delays grew longer.

At the 2 hour mark JetBlue put up tables at their gates offering free water and chips while Continental did nothing. At the 3 hour mark Continental began cancelling flights, announcing as many as six at once while JetBlue continued to give away water, chips and updates.

At the 5 hour mark I watched a Continental employee on a major power trip force people to give up their seats because they were in an ‘employee only’ area. The fact that there were no Continental employees there to take the seats was irrelevant and the seats went unused as children lay on the floor and people stood to eat and wait.

At 11:00 p.m. my plane arrived with a very tired Captain aboard, but instead of cancelling the flight, JetBlue had a fresh Captain (with a huge smile on his face) ready to go and away we went. We eventually landed in Orlando at 2:00 a.m. and where a room full of people waited to hop aboard and head home to where I’d just left. Meaning, the Captain and crew would not finish their day until 5:00 a.m.!

If Management is when you focus inward to do things right and Leadership is when you focus outward and do the right things…you know why one airline continues to struggle while the other rocks on.

I was fortunate to have chosen the airline that refused to leave me stranded rather than the one that folded its tents when things got tough. Certainly Continental had reasons beyond my comprehension as to why they cancelled all of those flights, but my impression of them is that when the chips are down, they’ll probably let me down as well. (Any wonder who I’ll fly from now on?)

Remember, stuff happens every day in businesses and your philosophy guides you through the tough times while revealing the true nature of your organization. When the chips are down, how do you react? Can your customers count on you to not leave them stranded?

We’re watching…

Dwain – The Biker Guy

As always – These are my thoughts and I look forward to yours.  So, if you disagree or simply want to pile on, please do so here on the BLOG or email me directly at Navigator@BikersGuidetoBusiness.Com  I look forward to hearing from you.