Lifelong loyalty counts for little when there is trouble in the air

When Loose Cannon flies to Europe, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has always been his carrier of choice.

It isn't the cushiest airline in the sky and the food is average, but the reservations staff are accommodating and the flight attendants crisp, unflappable and efficient.

The experience would be wholly utilitarian if it were not for those nifty little Delft ceramic canal houses filled with Genever, a lovely Flemish liquor, given to business class passengers at the end of the flight. An outstanding touch, that, and one that has won KLM Loose Cannon's undying loyalty.

Alas, in the aviation business, loyalty is a one-way affair.

In the early 1990s, KLM hitched itself up with the US carrier Northwest Airlines, affectionately known as 'Northworst' among travel agents in the US.

When he happened to travel economy class on a Northwest flight to Amsterdam from Detroit, Loose Cannon discovered abysmal food, sardine-style seating and stressed-out cabin crew who seemed apt to whip out cattle prods at the first murmur of protest. To be fair, this is exactly what US air passengers expect, and KLM could hardly be held responsible for its partner's lack of European refinements. Moreover, the code-sharing arrangement between the two airlines was so successful that Northwest, the big brother of the pair, began referring to it as the 'Alliance for Life'.