Government Controlled Airline vs Privatised Airline?

Question

Why are Government-owned airlines compared to private airlines?

So my professor explained to us in a lengthy lecture how government owned airlines are generating an image for the nation and the controlling government... so service and safety are very good, while profit is totally irrelevant.

So most of the top 10 airlines in most surveys are government owned, and in the same surveys the worst 10 airlines are privatised in a market where customer demand is for low fares with no service...

So I am curious: How can any respectable survey compare airlines that are privatised to airlines that have unlimited resources... and compare airlines from wealthy regulated markets to airlines in shark-like markets where demand is for low fares with no service... and then not explain to the flying public of these differences?

P.S. That question is part of my assignment, so honest answers are appreciated.

Answer 1

The subject is far more complex than just ownership of the airline.

Surveys don't reflect ownership (or whether the airline is in a regulated or deregulated market) because the traveling public couldn't care less about it. Travelers who use these surveys are interested in one thing only - service. No one is going to fly transpacific for 13 hours on a lousy airline because a better one has an "unfair advantage" due to its ownership. On the other hand, someone who is interested only in the price is not going to be influenced by a list of best airlines. They'll fly whichever airline is cheapest (and then complain incessantly about how lousy it was).

In the end, ownership matters only to those making an academic study - not those who are actually buying tickets and occupying seats.

It would be interesting to see which airlines your professor considers to be the "top ten". Yes, some airlines are still government owned and they have an advantage because they can be subsidized. However, many of the world's most respected airlines are public stock companies and receive no government subsidies. They still manage to provide world class service.