A budget airline has pulled off an inadvertent public relations masterstroke after its millionaire chief executive launched a foul-mouthed tirade at his own check-in staff in front of cheering passengers, prompting the arrival of the police and a wave of publicity.
Jet2.com boss Philip Meeson made an unannounced visit to Manchester Airport at 6.30 in the morning, only to catch slacking staff sitting around doing nothing while a queue of more than 200 frustrated passengers waited to check in.
A furious Meeson then proceeded to give desk staff such a rollicking that the police were eventually called in, who went on to issue Meeson with a warning under the Public Order Act.
Yet the bad-tempered actions of the Jet2 boss were met with broad customer approval, with queuing passengers cheering him on as he launched into a barrage of reprimands on his own company staff.
And the airline came up smelling of roses as the national newspapers lined up to report the story, giving the carrier favourable column inches and Meeson the perfect platform to announce to the world that his company takes incidences of poor customer service very seriously.
But what has impressed PR professionals the most is the way Meeson handled the press and turned a potential PR banana skin into valuable positive publicity.
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