Update: Garuda Indonesia has backtracked on their policy changes. Will Lion Air follow?
Earlier I wrote about Garuda Indonesia’s very, very bad logic. A popular Indonesian vlogger was on a Garuda Indonesia flight from Sydney to Bali in business class. The flight wasn’t great, as they ran out of alcohol quickly and didn’t have printed menus.
The vlogger shared his experience, and rather than taking the feedback to heart (or just ignoring it — either would have ended better for them!), Garuda Indonesia made the situation 10x worse:
- They banned people from “documenting activities on the plane”
- They were in disbelief as to how the passenger was somehow presented with a non-printed menu
- The vlogger was summoned by the police over defamation of Garuda Indonesia
Long story short, the Streisand effect is in full force, and management isn’t thinking straight, clearly.
Indonesian low cost carrier Lion Air is getting involved here as well. You’d think they’d take the opportunity to say “hey, fly with us and take all the pictures you want.” Nope, instead they’re following Garuda Indonesia’s lead.
Kompas is reporting that Lion Air’s Corporate Communications has today announced new restrictions on “documenting” flights. Using Google Translate:
“If the institutions or individuals who will carry out documentation are required to ask permission from the company first. Then the company will provide policies.
In the operation of each flight, Lion Air always adheres to and applies safety culture. It is this commitment that confirms Lion Air must prioritize aspects of flight safety and security (safety first).”
Indonesian aviation is starting to sound a whole lot like post-9/11 aviation in the US, in terms of everything being considered a security threat.
Now here’s the thing — Lion Air has had more than their fair share of safety issues, to put it mildly (and I’m not including the 737 MAX accident, which I don’t think they were at fault for). If they’re so disillusioned that they think any aspect of safety is compromised by people “documenting” flights, then, well, I’m at a loss…
This is all just pure, stupid madness. One airline does something really stupid, and another airline follows.
(Tip of the hat to @skullcmdr)
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