Marketing experts, investors and entrepreneurship gurus are all proclaiming the same: Rather than finding the next Google or Ebay, businesses should focus on serving niche markets of existing industries. Long established businesses in industries that thought of themselves as optimized and efficient suddenly find themselves threatened by juvenile Startup companies that stir up whole industries. Those startups actually listen to their customers‘ needs and offer them the product or service that they actually want. The most famous example of this trend is the airline industry. Cheap low-cost carriers such as Southwest in the US and RyanAir in Europe are constantly robbing more and more passengers from Airlines like United and Lufthansa.
I recently found a blog post on The Airline Blog that got my attention right away. Let me tell you this: The idea of low-cost carriers seems lame to Alexander Schoppmann’s venture: Smintair – Smoking International Airline. Since the late Eighties, cigarettes were banned from air travel – many thought for good. Non-smokers were relieved; Smokers bit their nails and tampered with the smoke detectors in the lavatories.
Smintair, a German startup, wants to give smokers their right back to kill themselves above the clouds. This idea might be shocking and provocative for some as Smoking is a hot topic in every society. But every smoker has had this idea come through his or her mind on a long-haul flight whilst waiting anxiously to light up the desperately needed glooming stick. According to Craig Whitlock of the Washington Post, the first smoky route will be established between Duesseldorf and Narita, Japan. (Whitlock, 2007) Offering not only Smoker’s heaven, but also First and Business class as the only option, Schoppmann wants to bring back the flair of air travel of the 1950s, where business people travel in suits smoking Cuban cigars in big leather chairs.
I have to admit, that this topic is of personal interest for me. I enjoy smoking and my pack of Marlboro Reds accompanies me wherever I go. Certainly, I agree that my habit might bother and affect the people in my surrounding. However, I believe it would not be hard to find a compromise that would satisfy smokers and non-smokers equally. Why do non-smoking laws and regulations have to be forced upon us, when the market with supply and demand can regulate this? Why can there be only one way? Nobody forces non-smokers to book a flight on Smintair and believe me, there are and always will be way more options for non-smokers searching for non-smoking flights than the other way around. As I frequently fly long distance, I would certainly appreciate the option of booking a flight with a Smoking Airline and I am sure my fellow cigarette peers would too.
Unfortunately for me though, the venture of Mr. Schoppmann seems to have failed. Until summer 2007 it seemed to have a realistic chance of success. The company already secured landing spots in Duesseldorf and Tokyo, their first route. However, when I checked the website of Smintair is redirected to the latest project of Mr. Schoppman, a radical party that speaks out against any government intervention. His political extremism (On his website, he points out similarities between Bavaria’s current governor Seehofer and Goebbels) and his lack of experience in the aviation industry were certainly not beneficial to Smintair’s take off.
To be honest, I believe a Smoking Airline would certainly fulfill the needs of a still large niche market. Even though the number of smokers in Western countries and especially in the US is steadily decreasing, other nations still have a huge smoking population. If it were easier to enter the airline industry and smoking not such a hot topic in society, I am sure more people would actually go and try this. One thing is at least proven through Schoppmann’s attempt: Such a venture will receive a lot of free publicity.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Should passengers have the right to choose between Smoking and Non-smoking airlines? I am looking forward to a smoking hot discussion!
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Sources:
Blog, T. A. (2006, August 1). www.theairlineblog.blogspot.com. Retrieved February 10, 2009, from The Smoker’s Airline: http://www.theairlineblog.blogspot.com/2006/08/smokers-airline.html
Schoppmann, A. (n.d.). www.meine-dfu.de/. Retrieved February 10, 2009, from www.meine-dfu.de: http://www.meine-dfu.de/
Whitlock, C. (2007, July 25). www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved February 10, 2009, from German Entrepreneur’s Glamor Airline: Nicotine Niche or Pipe Dream?: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/24/AR2007072402355_pf.html
Picture by veganstraightedge http://www.flickr.com/photos/veganstraightedge/2378937068/
Though I personally find the idea of smoking on airplanes repellent, this is a perfect example of drilling down to find a niche market.
In 07 I was driving from Montreal to South Padre Island, Texas. In Paul’s Valley, OK. I noticed ashtrays in this restaurant. I asked the waitress if in fact I could smoke. She replied that I still had my rights in Oklahoma. I was most pleased.
South Padre Island also premitted smoking in restaurants and bars. I really enjoyed my stay there. I could finally relax and enjoy myself.
I buy my tobacco on indian reservations. I continue to boycott all non-smoking areas.
I post all this to show that we smokers are a resilliant lot and that we in fact continue to withold our discretionary income.
As a professional musician, I have lost much income from bars and venues losing money due to boycott by smokers. When I do play in non-smoking venues it is extremely difficult to keep the majority of bar patrons from constantly going outside to smoke. At times the band and staff are the only people left in the room.
Much tourism income from asia and eastern Europe is lost as these smokers similarly boycott non-smoking destinations.
Saganist
Smoking was banned from buildings and aircraft to cut down on insurance and building costs. In the late 80′s insurance companies issued notice that they would soon charge more to insure buildings and transport vessels, where smoking was permitted. Also, to help sell the idea to owners/operators, the idea that non-smoking buildings and transport vessels would require less ventilation equipment and capacity was put forth. I read all about this in the Wall Street Journal @ late 80′s.
The biggest losers were the transport companies especially airlines who continue to lose $15 million a day due to this no-smoking policy. I can say that as a hard-core smoker, I avoid all non-smoking areas including airplanes, any non-smoking transport, restaurants, bars and similar.
I have never understood why people allowed gov to have the same power over them as their high school principle.
Saganist
Well, Mr. “Electronic Cigarette Affiliate Program” didn’t add much to the conversation but I’ll turn his spam into something. At least one international airline has begun selling electronic cigarettes in-flight, and others allow these devices to be used during flights.
Before I started using electronic cigarettes I would literally run outside after a flight to smoke a couple cigarettes. The ecig might make this niche idea unsuccessful but it is a great idea.
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Imagine that only addictive smokers book a flight with that airline because that’s the only option, how would the plane look like? Everybody on this plane would smoke, your next seats, your front seats, your back seats..everybody. Since these are long distance flights you would sit in the smoke cloud for sometimes more than 10 hours. I imagine the plane arrive and open the doors and see grey clouds coming out
Did this airline make any research about how one flight may affect their health? Did they put up signs in the plane saying “flying with this plane will significantly reduce your life expectation.”?
Helin
Hello Helin,
Thank you for your comment. According to Schoppmann, the smoke inside the airplane would not be a problem. He said that airlines currently shut off the fresh air circulation in airplanes to safe fuel. Schoppman also promised that the air in his planes would be fresher than on all the non-smoking flights. I am not sure whether this is technically correct, but by any means, would it not be the decision of the people, who book their flight with SMINTAIR?
I also agree with your statement, that passengers should be warned about the potential harm on their health and may be even implement a minimum age for passengers, so chain-smoking parents cannot bring their kids on board. But I think adults should be able to make a reasonable decision about whether to board a smoking plan or not, don’t you agree?
hahahah, na klar, dass dir das gefallen würde
schön geschrieben!
drück dich
Nice idea.