US airline passengers like ‘spoiled brats,’ says veteran investor after near US$50b Airbus deal

Veteran airline investor Bill Franke has claimed that US travellers are spoiled and need to be better educated about no-frills travel. Franke's private equity firm, Indigo Partners, stunned observers at the Dubai Airshow Wednesday when it signed a draft agreement to buy 430 planes with a list price of nearly US$50b. Indigo Partners holds stakes in 4 low-cost airlines who will take delivery of the planes. Speaking after the official signing, Franke said in the US, airline customers are yet to understand budget air travel. "The consumer is essentially like your teenage spoiled brat. They had been flying with all the amenities for ever and ever and that's what they think they ought to get," Franke said. "They don't want to pay any more for the ticket, they just want all the amenities," he added. <br/>