Comments on: Dear Airline Industry, Being “Least Awful” Won’t Save You

By: Private Jet Service

Private Jet Service — Tue, 05 May 2009 06:49:37 +0000

If you can afford it I really think the answer to this is looking into a private jet service. Not only do you not have to deal with long lines but you will only have to stop where you want to go, not where the airlines can pick up more passengers.

By: Mr Landlord

Mr Landlord — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 23:42:52 +0000

The issue with the airlines is similar to that of the auto makers. They no longer are truly competing. Instead they are actually relying on eachother. If indeed one airline went out of business it would be worse for all the other airlines, not better. Therefore, the basic principals of competition don’t really exist anymore because none of them want any of the others to go under.

What must happen, and of course the US Government won’t let it happen, is one of them needs to completely go under. The industry needs to feel the pain, and only then will they learn their lessons and straiten up.

One man’s opinion.

By: David Locke

David Locke — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:46:09 +0000

If you could pay more, and with today’s economics you can’t, or is it just me, why not fly a charter.

By: David Locke

David Locke — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:44:12 +0000

Two flights ago, I went to a wonderful deli and bought my own food. My diet would have prohibited airline food. Then, came the security prohibitions.

My last flight was leaving after midnight. I went to the airport after work, parked, and on arriving at the terminal found my gate wasn’t going to open until 9:30 pm. I had not eaten supper. I didn’t have my ticket, so I couldn’t get into the terminal, even if I could have ditched my bags. Once I got my ticket, the food operations were closing up, and the only food left was awful.

I drive. That way I don’t have to stay overnight, eat bad food, or put up with the other indignities that air travel has become. In a lot of cases, I can drive there quicker than I can fly. Try flying from Austin, Texas to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Driving is the way to go.

And, I FedEx my bags. They always arrive.

By: Shari Mathias

Shari Mathias — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:38:05 +0000

I absolutely agree with the idea that competition in its current state won’t rescue a virtually non-differentiated airline industry (and certainly not one competing on “least awful”), but also interesting is the fact that there is little if any competition from alternative methods of transportation to mix into the equation (perhaps trains in some sense on the East Coast but even then that’s limited).

By: Brian Bond

Brian Bond — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:33:16 +0000

Came across some published results on a recent survey, courtesy of the Center for Media Research, showing just how consumers are reacting to these changes. I think the most interesting not is the lack of confidence for positive change in the future. Its an uphill battle for these brands lets hope they find a way to win back trust and confidence.

By: Dr. Pete

Dr. Pete — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:11:55 +0000

I’d pay $20/flight not to be threatened with arrest just because I have to use the bathroom during mild turbulence. The airlines have gone well beyond just lacking customer service; they’ve used the TSA (IMO) to beat consumers into submission and treat us like virtual prisoners once we get on the plane. Even when we pay $1,000+ for a flight and get lousy service, we’re all afraid to complain, especially during the flight.

By: Ted S

Ted S — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 05:26:19 +0000

Good post and well said…

Given the price hikes it’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out as airlines keep raising fees and find more and more things to charge for because we all know it’s not over. It’s definitely becoming more difficult to gauge costs when you factor in different food, drink, baggage, seat and other fees. Thus far I haven’t seen any website really factor in the extra fees, I assume they’ll have to start adding options for “bags checked” or something as there’s certainly no reason why you have to pay these fees or check anything. Once one of the travel sites gets it down they’ll definitely have an edge up the airlines at computing the true all-in cost.

That said, airlines may have an opportunity to get more infrequent fliers into their flier programs as there’s now a whole lot more reason to be an “elite” flier (i.e. not paying fees for everything ever) which should make for some interesting marketing campaigns.

By: Steven R. Watts

Steven R. Watts — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 23:36:21 +0000

@ Kevin–

It’s also a factor of changing perceptions due to TSA / Government regulations. The security “policies” have made flying such an unbelievable hassle to begin with, it exacerbates the price / service issue even more.

It’s not just “I want to spend $100 dollars less because it’s cheaper,” it’s, “It’s going to be an insane hassle getting in and out of the damn airport anyway, why pay 60/75/100 dollars more so I can get a marginally better experience for the three hours I’m on the plane?”

By: Kevin Stecko

Kevin Stecko — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:30:10 +0000

The problem is not the airlines, it is the consumer. Very few people are willing to pay $100 extra to be treated like a human being for 3 hours. Put another way, many people are willing to be treated like less than a human for 3 hours if it means they save $100.

By: Robert Gorell

Robert Gorell — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:59:16 +0000

Interesting to see that United recently discontinued Ted, its no-frills discount airline (no relation to the TED conference linked to in the post). JetBlue seems to be bucking some of these trends. Although its "Happy Jetting" campaign has received mixed reviews, it's pretty clear that at least they're trying to differentiate themselves in the marketplace by not removing basic services. They even made this interactive timeline of the rise and fall of airline customer service to illustrate how "jetting" with them is somehow different from "flying" (a term that's been tainted thanks to other airlines). Still, one has to wonder how different "jetting" actually is when, according to that site Brian linked to, JetBlue charges up to $30 extra for decent leg room.