One minister has been brave enough (a rare quality in politics) to put into question “family enterprises”. This is an interesting sociological issue for the future of Mauritius, especially in the context of Corporate governance. Allow me to introduce a very successful and fast-growing European airline as an illustration of what can be achieved with modern attitudes. The key learning points are:

Deregulation creates wealth - many airlines have been set-up in Europe and around the world, whereas, in protected France, eight airlines have gone bankrupt. The status quo (whether strategic or cultural) should always be contested, whichever the industry sector. Surprisingly, newcomers have, sometimes, the most fresh approach: see the Post Office’s new aggressive Internet pricing!

Growth is not sustainable if employees are not a priority. Protecting the environment has a cost and polluters must pay. At easyJet, for European air travel, we are asking governments to set up a “pollution exchange” whereby airlines using new aircraft with clean emissions could trade their pollution allowance with heavier polluters. Deregulation does not have to be extreme, externalities must be taken into account (social or environmental) and I mean “company accounts”!

Did you say “family enterprises”? The young billionaire Stelios who set up easyJet and still has a majority share of votes (with his family) has voluntarily stepped down as he insists he does not have the required competence to be Chairman of a PLC. He is only an entrepreneur, he says, who owns the company, for heaven’s sake!

Last but not least, how does our national champion, MK, compare? They do have the benefit of a protected environment as bilateral rights de facto create a duopoly situation. And what about our economy? Maybe we have to revisit some aspects: strategy, structure, culture, attitude…

Tangible example: why do we still not have online booking facilities with ticketless travel for such commoditised air trips like Maurice-Réunion in our ambitious cyber-island? Without the high administration and thus high cost of antiquated travel agent practices, ticket costs could easily be reduced by at least 10% without reducing MK’s margin. Indeed, profit could improve as a reduced fare would stimulate demand whilst making air travel less elitist. Improving load factor would in fact reduce average unit cost and even increase profitability further. This is exactly the sort of virtuous benefits we stand to reap by restructuring …

<B>Fouad Diouman</B>

<I>Strategic Project Manager easy Jet Airline pilct London Luton Airport</I>