Vagabound, Skype is a great way to go unless said person requires a hug or conference table stare down.
Air New Zealand studied their passengers, according to a recent ATW magazine article, and found out that:
- 29% of their passengers cannot entertain themselves, they want the airline to entertain them.
- 26% of their passengers want their own piece of the airplane and to be left alone. The are highly involved in the flight, it is on a selfish basis- it's all about them. (Frequent Flyers)
- 18% of their passengers are very difficult to please and see the flight as no different than a bus trip.
- 17% see the flight as a necessary part of their trip but not the trip itself, they simply want a quiet cabin.
- 10% think the flight is as crucial to their trip experience as where they are are going, they're into the romance of travel.
Basically 61% want a seat thats comfortable and they want to go from A-B or A-B-C in peace. And of that group is the frequent flyers who make up a large majority of the income.
So, we give them the basic bus fare and if they want more we charge them.
People complain about the cost to change a ticket, but why? You kept them from selling it to someone else and now you want to change it, for free. If you want tickets you can change for free get refundable tickets.
So to me we're really like banks, people deposit money into a bank and want to write checks and move money around and pay bills online and have an easy to use website with lots and lots of security on it, they want someone to answer the phone 24/7 and tellers between 7-7, they want lots of ATMs and no cost overdrafts... and all must be free. Obviously, its not possible, especially when you deposit $500. So here come the fees and then when you take it too far here come the complaints and the Holy Congress from Mt Olypmus, a group of people who've probably never run a cash register fwiw and yet still would be fine if 2/3 of your ticket were taxes and ticket prices were capped at $200 RT, coast-to-coast.
Really there is a balance to be struck between improving the quality of the service through fees and over doing the fees. If I had a choice between $11 movie tickets plus $8 for a small coke and small popcorn versus $16 for a ticket plus coke and popcorn, believe it or not I want the $11 ticket. The coke's going to be flat and popcorn less then tasty. Let me go to dinner somewhere nice before I walk into the theatre.
But like banks, the cost to provide the product is more than the income made thanks to competition. So if prices are going to be held down then pull an Allegiant/Ryan Air and charge the cheapest tickets around for basic service and tack on the rest. And given their 90% load factors, it works.
Allegiant Fees on recent flight:
* Seats are limited. Fares are one-way and not available on all flights. Must be purchased by December 16, 2009 for travel completed by May 31, 2010. Offer not available Dec. 22-31, 2009; Jan. 1-4, 2010; Feb. 12-15, 2010; March 31, 2010 and April 1-2, 11-12 and 18, 2010. Seven-day advance purchase required. Prices do not include PFC, segment tax or Sept. 11 security fee of up to $10.60 per segment. A segment is one take-off and one landing. A convenience fee of $14 per passenger will apply when booked on allegiantair.com. A convenience fee of $14 per passenger, plus $10 per segment, will apply when purchased through Allegiant Air call centers. Purchases made at any Allegiant Air Airport Ticket Office will not incur a convenience or call-center fee. When purchased at the time of booking, a first checked bag fee of $15-$20 per bag and second checked bag fee of $25 will apply per person, per segment. If purchased at flight check-in, a fee of $35 per checked bag, per person, per segment will apply for the first two bags checked. Additional higher fees will apply for three or more checked bags. Fare rules, routes and schedules are subject to change without notice. Restrictions apply.
Ryan Air: (I'm converting lbs to dollars in my head, fwiw, be nice)
online check-in -$7.50, mastercard prepaid debit card - free, Administration Fee - Per passenger/ Per One Way Flight This fee relates to costs associated with Ryanair's booking system and processing payments - $7.50, Priority Boarding Fee* - Per passenger/ Per One Way Flight $6, Infant Fee - Per Infant/Per One Way flight (must be under 2 years for both outbound and return flight) - $30, Checked Baggage Fees* - (Each passenger is permitted to check-in up to 2 bags with a maximum weight of 15kg per bag) - $22/first bag and $50+ for second bag, Infant Equipment* (car/booster/travel cot) Fee charged per Item/ Per One Way Flight (1 pushchair carried free of charge). A maximum weight of 20kg per item - $15, Sports Equipment* Fee charged per Item/ Per One Way Flight A maximum weight of 20kg per item- $60, Musical Instrument* Fee charged per Item/ Per One Way Flight A maximum weight of 20kg per item - $60, flight change fees per passenger/per one way flight $38, name change fee per passenger $150.
God help you if you're flying on Ryan Air with an infant it looks like.