Unfriendly Skies

In addition to the newspapers and online news I read, I also watch CNN. Of course, it's CNN International, which is the sort of thing that gets fed to hotel rooms around the world. It's much less frantic, and they have their own international cast. They run the occasional CNN USA show, but mostly it's different.

They spend hours and hours of the day talking about money. International finance. International business. International trade. International market shares. International currencies. On and on and on. They also have light shows like "Living Golf" and "Inside Sailing," for all those comfortable business travelers sitting in their rooms on a Monday evening.

But the thing that really pisses me off are the ads. It's clear after 5 minutes of watching that this network is not selling anything to you. Unless you happen to be an international business traveler.

There are ads for major financial services (HSBC, Deutsche Bank) and lots of ads for exotic tourist destinations (Maldives, Dubai, Malaysia), and other services for rich people (Diners Club card, Citibank Private Bank "For High Wealth Individuals')

And then there are the airlines.

Every single one of them is the best and most comfotable in the world. Singapore. Cathay Pacific. Air Emirates. Thai. Vietnam Air (?!). And others. The thing that really ticks me off, is that every ad shows how great their seats and service are. But the happy passengers are always sitting in first class, or at least business class. Of course they're happy.

If the airlines want to sell those seats, fine. I'm sure there are few other worldwide networks that have the same audience of rich business travelers (but Virgin Airlines is apparently marketing itself with some soft-core porn innuendo travel spots on a global hotel satellite network), but they should at least lift up the curtain at least once during the ad. Then the rest of us would see what we're really in for. Three hundred people, crawling over each other for 15 hours like ants in an anthill.