Aldenta: Handcrafting the Web

While actually on a flight, I came across an interesting New York Times article discussing US Airways bid to acquire Delta. Now, I’m interested in this possible acquisition due to all of my travels but more so due to the charts they provided.

As you probably noticed, US Airways and Delta rank pretty high in customer complaints, which doesn’t bode well for customers if a merger does take place. But, more importantly, take a look at Southwest. They are #2 in total passengers compared to the other major U.S. airlines and they only have a fraction of the complaints!

So how has Southwest Airlines enjoyed 33 straight profitable years and done what no other U.S. airline seems to be able to do? I think Jason Fried summarizes it best:

Simple fares (no secrets, one-way fares aren’t more expensive that round trip fares, fewer fees), simple planes (they only fly 737s — every SW pilot or flight attendant can work any flight), simple seating assignments (they don’t have any), simple meals (they don’t have any), simple friendliness (shiny happy people), less big airport hassles (serving the unserved at smaller, simpler airports), dead simple rewards program (based on # of flights, not miles), simpler fuel costs (they buy futures to lock in prices), etc.

I hope you’ll think long and hard the next time you want to make your web application, business, or product “bigger and better” because simplicity does pay.

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I recently read a great article by Sam Stephenson of 37signals where he shows some of the difficulties Microsoft creates for developers (and all users). He’s recorded 2 screencasts that perfectly portray what it’s like working on Windows versus working on a Mac. Check out his installation of a script debugger on Windows Visa and then on Mac OS X. I showed both of these to my family to, once again, explain that it’s not their fault – users are not stupid but most software is.

David Heinemeier Hansson really says it well in the Apple video promo that he and Jason Fried star in. They talk about the joys of owning a Mac and how it’s changed the way they work. Having a Mac definitely makes my development work more pleasant.

On a final note, I have to send a big congrats to my brother who is, as of today, the newest convert to the developer community (and I’m jealous that he has a MacBook Pro and I’m still on my PowerBook). You can see how much brighter the screen is on the new models.

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