More than other companies, politicians frequently use airlines as punching bags to score cheap political points amongst the general population. It’s an easy way for the government to appear as if it’s fighting for passenger interests when in fact, it’s only posturing, usually with some kind of political objective.
Here is why it works on an emotional level:
People love to hate airlines. It’s almost a pastime to talk about how terrible or great the service was on your last flight, a privileged humble brag of sorts.
Flying intimidates more people than they would like to admit. It elicits a visceral fear in many; your sense of control disappears when you’re on board, leaving you vulnerable to someone else’s actions. So a politician that can tell an airline what to do and asserts control is revered, temporarily.
Flying is an emotionally charged experience. Death, birth, family, entertainment, exploration, love, and business are the most common reasons people fly. Often, airlines are the reason we can connect with so much of the world, but they can also seem to be standing in the way of what matters most.
And so politicians play to these very real emotions airlines evoke and rarely pay gratitude to an airlines’ role in connecting the world and country IRL. Whereas most politicians seek to divide the country based on ideology, airlines are their antithesis in metal form.
The most recent example of this ploy played out in Canada. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland wrote a letter to Air Canada’s board to advise them that their CEO should speak French, regardless of their competence in the job. Now, ignoring the 1980’s style approach to managing talent and huge government overreach, the reason this was done from my perspective was pure politics.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau. (The Canadian Press/CTV News)
The sprint to become the next leader of the Liberal party and potentially Prime Minister is on. But, to be successful, the next Liberal leader must convince the French language advocates, mainly in Quebec, that they are worthy of carrying their flame and being their champion. As an MP of Toronto University-Rosedale, predominantly English-speaking riding in Ontario, Ms. Freeland has a lot of convincing to do and must take every opportunity to score points with a tough audience outside of her constituency, The French electorate. Cue Air Canada, the perfect punching bag for this political objective.
Airlines and employees need to stand together when this happens and treat an attack on one as an attack on all. As you’ll never know when it will be your turn to be in the political crosshairs, but it is almost a certainty that your moment will come.
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