When You Become What You Mocked

When you become what you mocked, you should expect to be mocked for what you have become. Alaska Airlines, in a 1980s advertising campaign, mocked the food served on other airlines. Recyclable plastic parsley. A sample:

WC has no idea if the advertisements were effective, but they were worth a laugh. Of course, it’s been a lot of decades since Alaska Airlines served a gourmet meal to anyone on any of its flights. The passenger service on Alaska Airlines has reverted to the mean, and while leg room in steerage coach may be half an inch more than on its competitors, it’s still too tight for anyone over six feet tall. And Bog help you if you need anything on a flight and don’t have a credit card on you.

The karmic wheel came full circle Saturday night when Saturday Night Live mocked Alaska Airlines in a dead-on send up.

Sure, the near-catastrophe in a brand new aircraft is likely the fault of Boeing, the manufacturer, and not Alaska Airlines, the customer that bought the aircraft. Even so, it’s never a good thing when your brand appears in an SNL skit. WC suspects Alaska Airlines will be a long time living it down. Karma can be a bitch.

WC has flown on Alaska Airlines for something more than three-quarters of a million miles. It’s easily the least awful airline serving the region where WC lives. Clearly, WC has voted with his wallet. Okay, karma, you’ve made your point.

Alaska Airlines is a major customer of Boeing. There needs to be a meeting of senior management of both companies. Alaska needs to play this SNL skit for the Boeing executives. The Alaska execs need to point out that the existence of the skit is Boeing’s fault. And ask the Boeing execs what they are going to do about it. Not just because Alaska Airlines has taken a brand hit, but because Boeing’s shoddy quality control nearly killed and absolutely terrified Alaska’s customers and employees.

We know American engineering is capable of astonishing feats. Take a bow here, Mars Rover Perseverance. Why can’t Boeing get it right?