Brexit Metaphor No 18
US airlines that fly to and from Chicago in the winter tend to segregate the city in their network to minimise the potential for disruption. Chicago O'Hare airport is prone to winter shutdowns because of bad weather, so airlines use dedicated planes to fly back and forth, in and out of Chicago only (rather than using a Chicago plane for a later flight between a different pair of cities). So if Chicago has a problem, only flights to/from Chicago are affected, while the rest of the airline network keeps running.
"Chicago" is a good strategy for British SMEs that depend on exports and imports. Given the uncertainty of Britain's trading arrangements post-Brexit, companies can segregate their British operations from their European/global business: the British subsidiary will cover only the UK market while the EU subsidiary will cover everywhere else. Ironically, the EU subsidiaries may end up reaping a Brexit bonus in growth and expansion as they would be operating in an unchanged (and preferential) trading framework not only with the rest of the EU but also with the rest of the world. While the segregated UK operations will need to wait and see what the future Arctic weather holds in store.
 |
| Airport in winter (Source: Wikipedia) |
(This article is part of a daily series, with 143 more Brexit Metaphors to follow until Brexit day, March 29, 2019.)
Brexit is as chic as Chicago in the winter.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great recipe for a successful #Brexit.
Nothing mob-related.