Airline fees continue, necessary evil

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Yes, you’ve heard about this all year, and you’ll probably hear about it for a while to come. Airlines are still looking for ways to pull every dollar they can out of your wallets, but the reality is that they have no choice. Seven of the nine largest airlines in the United States had a rough time in August, making these measures more important than passengers might realize.

The second bag, according to an article in USA Today, remains the most popular fee target for airlines. Continental Airlines, US Airways and American Airlines recently announced that they are going to charge for this, and Hawaiian Airlines is going to charge passengers for the first checked bag on flights between islands beginning September 14, 2009.

I understand charging for checked luggage (the money has to come from somewhere), and I honestly don’t see charging for a second bag as a bad idea. Frankly, it can be pretty frustrating to stand in line behind someone who’s fumbling with more luggage than he or she can move along. The first bag? That’s a bit different. This fee could cause passengers to push the envelope with carry-ons, which is likely to trigger arguments with gate agents and flight attendants, tie up the boarding process and result in hefty doses of frustration for everyone else on the plane.

I’m more a fan of Southwest‘s new policy, which will put passengers at the front of the line – even ahead of frequent fliers and those paying premium fares – for a fee of $10 each way. Since the airline doesn’t assign seating, this small sum offers the chance to get the best seats on the plane. I’m not crazy about the notion that it comes at the expense of frequent flier comfort (alienating your best customers is rarely a good idea), but the price is low enough that these passengers would probably pay it anyway. For this perk, I’d definitely pay more than $10.

There’s money in extra fees, as we’ve discussed on Gadling in the past. Some analysts predict that these charges could be good for more than $2 billion a year for an industry that could definitely use it. The airlines need to be careful, though, as going to far could lead to disgruntled (and lost) customers.

Passengers, however, should be realistic. Fares are cheap. To make ends meet, airlines have been cutting flights and services, generally making the experience incredibly uncomfortable.

In fact, taking this approach to the extreme might be a good idea. Airlines could offer dirt-cheap prices for passengers who want nothing more than to get from one place to another. Then, if you want to enhance your experience – with a meal, cocktail or better seat – you can pay a little more. This à la carte approach would empower passengers to create their own experiences, ultimately improving customer service and airline responsiveness. To an extent, it’s already happening, but to make the strategy work, it would have to become part of a cohesive offer.

That said, airlines would have to be careful with their general cuts. Fewer flights, less legroom and degraded customer service affect everybody, and there’s no way to work improvements in based on price (with the exception of flying in business or first class, which involves a considerable price gap). Finding a middle ground could change both the airline industry and passenger perception of the flying experience.

American Airlines cleared on racism charges

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Six Iraqi-American passengers sued American Airlines, claiming that racism drove the cancellation of their flight. The men were all residents of Michigan and were employed by a security contract firm and had been participating in training with members of the U.S. military. Their flight was canceled, they believe, because of their nationality.

U.S. District Judge Paul Borman decided that the captain’s decision to return the August 28, 2007 flight to the gate in Chicago wasn’t “arbitrary and capricious.” The flight crew was accused of racial profiling, but Borman’s opinion recognized that the crew was right to be alarmed by unusual behavior. One passenger covered his head with a blanket – “mummy-like” and “menacing” – while the flight attendant provided the safety briefing. Another passenger claimed to be traveling alone, though he’d been seen earlier in the terminal with a group.

“All of these unusual actions by the passengers reasonably concerned the flight attendants, and justified their calls to the pilot,” the judge decided. “Based on the facts as (the captain) knew them to be when he decided to return the airplane to the gate, this court holds that his decision was not arbitrary and capricious.”

Get double miles elite on American Airlines flights through December 15!

by Grant Martin on

They’ve done it again! Earlier this year, American Airlines launched a pomotion to double elite miles on all AA operated flights. These special miles are the gateway to elite status, where tiers of rewards such as upgrades, bonuses and free drinks await savvy travelers.

In the several months that followed the initial promotion, travelers booked all sorts of tickets to maximize miles and earn status, from “Mileage Runs” from Boston to Los Angeles to weekend trips to Rio De Janiero. Everyone reveled in the victory, as double elite qualifying miles promotions only come around once in a blue moon and almost certainly never more than once in a year…that is, until today.

Just this morning, AA just announced that they’re running the same promotion again through year’s end, so for those of us that didn’t quite get enough miles to make Platinum or Executive Platinum, there’s still time.

You can sign up for the promo at their website using code ELTRW.

Keep an ear tuned to your favorite airline for similar promotions — earlier this year all of the other legacy carriers followed suit after AA launched their promotion.

Airlines and social media: dialogue waiting to happen

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Social media means that airlines just have another place where they can be raked over the coals. We complain to ticket agents. We complain to gate agents. We complain to customer service reps. And now, we can complain to the world, thanks to the likes of Twitter. I, for example, follow @DeltaSucks, though there hasn’t been any action on it in several months. I don’t just listen, though. When I’m stuck in an airport, I tweet relentlessly, and I know I’m not alone.

So, what’s an airline to do about this? And Facebook? And YouTube?

The attack is coming on all fronts, and an industry that’s been beaten up so severely and so often has few options. For now, the response is limited to tweeting fare deals, but obviously, that does little to address the continued stream of negative exposure to which the airlines are subjected.

When in doubt, the philosophy on social media complaints appears to be silence. Continental and American Airlines wouldn’t comment on recent tweets from disgruntled fliers, according to a Reuters report. They are monitoring and claim to be responding, but that’s about all. Billy Sanez, who manages social media for American’s parent, AMR, believes that these platforms make it easier to open a dialogue with passengers … but where is that dialogue?

When I got pissed off at JetBlue a year ago, I wrote about it on my personal blog and heard nothing from JetBlue. But, I did hear from other passengers … one of whom was afraid to say too much because he was still in transit and didn’t want to risk angering the airline. This level of paranoia may be extreme, but the implication is clear: passengers could find even a small blog, but airlines are squandering a chance to really engage the people who pay their bills.

Christi Day, who takes care of Twitter and Facebook for Southwest Airlines, told Reuters, “The main thing that our customers need to know is that we hear them.” But, again, there is no discussion of what the airline is doing about it.

Customers finally have a voice, and as we saw with “United Breaks Guitars,” it can get pretty loud. While the airlines may be listening, we’re still waiting for the second half of “dialogue” to happen.

Drunk American Airlines pilot blames “strong European beer”

by Scott Carmichael on

The career of distinguished Amercian Airlines pilot Joseph Crites came to a screeching halt last May, when he was removed from his plane at Heathrow airport, a mere 15 minutes before departure, when local police smelled alcohol on his breath.

Staff on his Chicago bound flight had alerted the police, and an initial breathalyzer test showed a 37mg/100ml reading – when the maximum reading for being allowed to fly a plane is 9mg/100ml.

On Friday, Mr. Crites was sentenced in a UK court, and was handed a £1,500 fine, plus £300 in court costs. The normal sentence is jail time, but Mr. Crites had a spotless record, and the court received glowing references from his colleagues.

During the trial, the pilot put the blame on the “unknown European beers” he had consumed, and claimed they must have been “stronger than he normally drinks”.

He had his last drink before arriving back at his hotel at 11:30pm the night before, and it takes quite a decent amount of booze to reach his blood alcohol levels.

It is very sad to see such an impressive career come to an end over a couple of beers, but someone with his experience should have known better.

More stories of booze gone bad in the skies