Mind you, it’s hard to say how much foreign airlines’ brilliance …
Mind you, it’s hard to say how much foreign airlines’ brilliance actually stems from competition and how much stems from their protection from economic reality. Most of these airlines are propped up by their governments because, hey, you’re not a real country if you don’t have a national airline.
In Asia, you often get great service at a low price. But most of these airlines providing great service are monopolies in their local markets and often subsidised heavily by their governments. I really wonder how sustainable they would be without protection - their prices would soar, and I really wonder how many of us would want to pay thousands of dollars for a plane ticket.