Champagne At Beer Prices - Again

James Kirkup in his column in today's Scotsman makes some amazing statements.

Returning from a holiday in Egypt last week, I was delayed by just shy of 33 hours because the airline concerned (it is called XL.com - anyone planning a holiday should take note) apparently sees no need to maintain its aircraft properly, to have a standby in case of mechanical failures, or to ask its staff not to abuse its customers.

If I were XL.com I think I'd be more than a tad upset by JK saying that our planes were not maintained properly. Mr Kirkup clearly has little understanding of the economics of aviation if he thinks that any, but the very largest, airlines have 'planes standing by'. Even the largest carriers don't - if they did making money would be even more difficult. Mr Kirkup seems to be like everyone else - he thinks there's champagne at beer prices.