That last point is important. I don’t always agree with their opinions, but having opinions, even as a group, makes the writing more punchy, like many blogs.

If JetBlue, Southwest, easyJet, AirAsia, German Wings, VirginBlue and Tiger Airways are the Google of airlines, then Emirates is the Apple or Economist of airlines.

As far as how they have weathered the downturn, well time will ultimately tell and will shake out over years not months or quarters. However they are still profitable though margins have been challenged. I think their track record demonstrates a willingness to think and act differently and deliver results. I speculate that the market believes this as well given they are the most valuable domestic airline ($4.6B) and this is despite “doing everything wrong”.

The Economist, which is succeeding, appears to be producing “good, unique, valuable”. Are there any failures that do?

Suppose, for the sake of argument, that the vast majority of the successful journalism enterprises are practicing “good, unique, valuable” and very few of the failures are. (There will be a couple of exceptions – someone will make some money from the brutal biz that is commodity news.) What are the odds that your company will be one of the exceptions?

@Andrew Spittle, Paul H: I think before we brand Virgin (or any other company) as the Economist of their industry, we should look for the tell-tale qualitative signs: rising market share in a declining industry (or, at least, rapid growth that far outpaces the industry’s growth). Virgin and Southwest may have strong marketing strategies and good differentation, but how are they weathering the global downturn in air travel?

I’ve often wondered whether the main reason The Economist is so successful is that it was a collaborative place long before collaboration was fashionable. I just hope in their efforts to connect with me, their reader, they don’t lose touch with one another.

Tim