Final Word from Thursday, May 3, 2007
Hana Černochová is being squeezed out as CEO of Prague Airport, despite strong financial results. Her downfall was undoubtedly largely political, but we'd have fired her for the $4 water. Not literally, of course, but the 1,600% mark-up on water is emblematic of what's been happening at the airport. Profit has been first, without a corresponding increase in customer service. Parking rates and concession fees have skyrocketed, yet the security lines have only grown longer (causing more flight delays), the baggage carts still aren't where departing passengers need them, and when you find one, your luggage goes flying off because of the uneven curbs. And we won't even start on the Fix taxis. The airport's new CEO, Miroslav Dvořák, comes from the private-banking division of ČSOB. That's a line of work that requires close attention to detail. We wish him luck, for passengers' sake.[Czech Republic Letiště Praha bottled]