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The most important part of the spat between British Airways (BAIRY.PK) and Virgin Atlantic over biofuels is
not whether BA is stuck in the “old economy�and can’t adapt (as
tempting as that might be given the headlines about opening day at
Heathrow Terminal 5) or whether Richard Branson is the ultimate public
relations wizard.
The real key is that the perfect solution to airline pollution doesn’t exist yet, almost by definition. The reason that going green
is both difficult and full of opportunity is because the solutions
aren’t easy and aren’t yet available. Instead, it will require substantial experimentation and multiple false starts in order to find the right answers.
I once read that in the early 1910s, there were literally hundreds of car companies
in the United States. These companies tried multiple platforms,
manufacturing techniques and marketing approaches. And we all remember
the number of supposed “killer apps�from the dot.com era of the late
90’s (think: sock puppets). As industries mature, part of the natural
order of things is that many ideas will be tried and few will be
successful. You need the “failed many�in order to find the “successful
few.�/p>
For all we know, the use of biofuels in airline fuel may be a total
non-starter. However, the companies that are long-term leaders are
precisely those that are willing to try new approaches without certain
return, recognizing that many of their seeds won’t take root. You can’t
grow anything without first planting the seed and taking your chances.
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