$7 for a Complimentary Blanket and Pillow? It’s Time for Airlines to Get a Grip
August 12, 2008 by Kristen King
Filed under Business
(www.bizchicksrule.com) — Airlines are nickle and diming travelers to death, and it’s getting beyond ridiculous.
In a bad economy, the worst way I can think of to improve your revenues is to charge customer for Every. Little. Thing. To some extent, airlines have unlimited control over their passengers: If you need to get from point A to point B, sometimes flying is your only option. So, companies are now taking advantage of that power by charging as much as $100 for additional baggage in addition to doing away with complimentary meals, beverages, and snacks; free in-flight movies; and even the crappy, germ-filled blanket and pillow they used to give you for free if you wanted to get more comfortable in the air.
Some of the worst offenders:
- Cut-price JetBlue airline on Monday announced a seven-dollar blanket and pillow charge on flights longer than two hours, the latest in a series of surcharges US airlines are introducing to offset a slump in the business. (source)
- Northwest Airlines Corp. will add fuel surcharges of up to $80 for many domestic round-trip tickets. (source)
- No one has to tell the nation’s beleaguered airlines that they have an image problem. So why has American Airlines decided to charge already unhappy passengers $15 each way for a single checked bag, as it announced Wednesday? "Desperate times beget desperate measures, and this is in the Hail Mary category," says Rick Seaney, CEO of consumer airline ticket research site Farecompare.com. (source)
- American Airlines is charging troops for their extra baggage, a practice that forces soldiers heading for a war zone in Iraq to try to get reimbursement from the military. …American, which recently charged two soldiers from Texas $100 and $300 for their extra duffel bags, said it gives the military a break on the cost for excess luggage and that the soldiers who incur the fees are reimbursed. (source)
The last thing any company should want to do is to create a base of overcharged, indignant passengers who will run screaming the moment they have another option. I get that airlines are suffering in the current economy, but we all are. Now they’re just killing any goodwill they may have had by charging customers through the nose for basic travel necessities, and enough is enough.
What do you think airlines can do to recover from the horrible image-damaging choices they’ve made in recent months? And how will their errors affect how you do business?
Contents © Copyright 2008 Kristen King
Tags: womens business blog, women in business, women and business, jetblue, american airlines, northwest, airline surcharges, airline fees, cost of air travel, biz chicks rule, kristen king
Here’s what I’m doing.
1 – Flying Southwest Airlines.
2 – Flying Frontier Airlines.
:)
Here’s what I’m doing:
1. No checked bag.
2. Carrying on my own damn blanket.
3. Taking the train.
It’s utterly ridiculous to pass on every single charge. We pay our fare, which should include the price of fuel, blanket washings (IF they wash them at all), airline attendant service, pilot service, and oh, that bag of mixed nuts. Here’s what I say: either raise the price of the ticket or stop screwing with the passengers lest we take our business elsewhere.
Amtrak doesn’t hassle you, the seats are comfy, and you have a lovely ride through some of the nicest (and admittedly not so nice) parts of the country. And they’re cheaper.
The last time I flew, I took Virgin America. I only wish it went to more places.
I would rather pay up front than be nickel & dimed. And the baggage surcharges? Ridiculous.