Please explain how we have hurt it. Buy a ticket from JFK-SJU and let me know how much the round trip is. I can guarantee you its not $199 and you'll actually be treated like a real, live, human being...not a PNR on a ticket stub stuck in a 5 1/2 ft tall CRJ. By the way, I love some Blue Moon!

 

OMG! Pass the popcorn. This is going to get good.

On a serious note, I once saw a pair of French hunters pay $2200 in excess baggage charges to ship a bunch of moose meat they shot from FAI to Paris. And that was long BEFORE the excess charges were in place.

 

I believe you are justifiably perplexed that fares are ridiculously low, but are you sure you're pointing the finger at the party who deserves the blame? It seems to me the airline which sets the fare should be held responsible. When they lower fares to attract business, and they eventually can't collect enough dollars to offset the cost of operating the flight, is it the customer's fault?



When will we start seeing fees for takeoffs and landings? Sure, you paid the fare for the flight, but that doesn't include the transition from the ground to the air and back. Unless enough passengers pony up the $8 takeoff fee, we're just going to sit here on the taxiway. Landing? That'll be another $12, unless you want a smooth landing, and that will be $15. Wait, the standard fare provides for standard weather for landings -- the visibility today is less than a mile, and the ceiling is 200' -- somebody's gonna hafta pay the sub-VFR landing fee -- $34 for coach, $45 for First.


I've got an idea -- why don't airlines sell tickets for what it costs to operate the flight, with all of the services flying entails -- making the reservation, printing the boarding pass, checking the bags, eating a meal ... and we'll all pay the ticket price, and pilots can start getting paid like pilots again.

Or, just keep on dreaming up more fees. Don't forget to bring some quarters with you to insert in the Lav door to gain entry. More quarters to flush, and yet more for the soap and water to clean up afterwards. $3 to return to the seat you occupied just a few moments ago, please.

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Happyville where the local time is now 11:35. We've arrived 4 minutes ahead of schedule, so we won't be able to open the boarding door until our scheduled arrival time. Unless, of course, you are willing to pay the $32.50 early arrival fee. Please have exact change available.







.

 

Gentlemen.

That was TonyC,
from the top rope

 

Man, am I late to the game. Regardless, I just had to highlight this remarkable example of the customer service that will see the airlines through their tough times just one more time.

Perhaps Eagledriver does not understand the need to convince people to utilize air travel when the choice is at their discretion or perhaps he feels the customer does not realize their obligation to support his employer and his career - either way I am sure he will be an invaluable asset to his organization.

 

Bingo! There is alot more to this job than just shutting the door and pushingback.

 

Out of curiosity, has SWA seen a bump in sales from people who are "too fed up" with the influx of new fees? Unless its something signifigant, something tells me that this is a point that passengers merely like to complain about but will still flock to the lowest bidder.

 

I have to disagree...There is no reason Eagledriver should have to plead with a customer to please please come fly on my airline for incredibly low prices just so the load factor can go up. God knows they aren't making money on most of these flights. The prices of airline tickets are the last thing passengers should be complaining about. I dont care who they are. You pay some ridiculously low price. You expect stellar customer service from the agents and the flight attendant, you think United Airlines is a subsiderary of United Van Lines, so you bring your whole house to the airport in 7 extra large bags, and complain when you are charged extra fees. You complain when you dont get a gourmet meal in coach. You complain when the flight is delayed for whatever reason. I for one am sick of the complaining from airline passengers. Why dont you complain about the fees that are tacked on for "airport security, lets have 30 TSA agents working one security line in Bozeman, MT fee." Certainly I can understand the frustration of Eagledriver.

 

I don't know why the airlines don't just charge $$ per mile. I don't know what the actual cost would be, but it would be easier if it were $0.10 per mile or whatever and just chagre what it costs. The fees are just dumb.

 

No one has found the true reasons for the fees.


Customers sort cheapest flight first. They rarely even notice if there is a 22 minute connection, or 4 hour sit. They want cheap. Ten bucks (although you might spend several hundred on the rental car and $50 on your parking spot) is $10.

Airlines know this and they do everything they can to be the cheapest at the top of the sort. That is what sells. Then they try to make the money back on fees.

So, on a trans continental round trip which costs the airline about $660 to provide, the choices are:
US Air / America West $267
Delta $269
United $272
Frontier $280

and each of these carriers hopes that they can recoup the loss through fees, on top of fees. They are "unbundling their services."

I met a lady on a $90 fare that was paying $500 to fly her dog in the cargo compartment. She was F U R I O U S! Of course $500 is silly, so is the $90.

If you notice JetBlue and Southwest don't list on these travel pricing consolidator sites. They also have mostly rejected the concept of cheap fares and make it up with fares that punish the passengers.

But, what are the airlines to do? That's what the customers buy. Based on their spending patterns, the fees are what they PREFER. Go figure.