A major national news story this week concerned a dying Vietnam veteran, Jerry Meekins, who had to cancel a trip on Spirit Airlines due to his illness. He's getting his money back from the owner personally, despite the company's strict policy of no returned fares whatsoever.
I mention it not so much about the details, but rather for the reason the money's being reimbursed. Because according to Fox News on-line, there was a week of criticism of the airline from veterans around the nation complaining that Mr. Meekins would not receive a refund of his fare. And that's why Spirit's CEO said on Friday afternoon, he'd not only refund Meekins' $197 himself, but the discount carrier would make a $5,000 donation to the Wounded Warrior Project.
Now, I don't know whether or not the airline will now suffer for their original refusal to reimburse the fare due to something like a boycott by veterans, or from other flyer's simply avoiding them as well, but I do believe there's another, much stronger, message demonstrated here. Because I think that if took only a week for a story to become to a big enough black eye for its CEO to acquiesce to media pressure about a $197 ticket, how big will the backlash be for someone who tanked the whole economy of the most successful nation on Earth?
So, what we have here is hard information flashing across the nation in seconds, alerting concerned folks to a poor decision made by an airline, forcing them to reverse their position as gracefully as they're able due to fear of retribution. And if that's as strong an indicator as I think it is that things have changed to the extent that a CEO fears that greatly for business losses, it bodes far more ominously for politicians who rely solely on hot air to get by. Because today, folks want real results and piles of BS simply will no longer cut it at all.
That's it for folks.
Adios
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