Customer service slams airlines in overweight passenger policy enforcement

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Airline rules for passengers who take up more than one seat are neither new nor surprising. Forget about passenger comfort (the airlines already have, of course), it’s a financial issue. A passenger who takes up more than one seat is consuming a scarce resource (in the economic sense): seat 42A on Flight ABC123 on July 29, 2010 can only be sold once. If it doesn’t bring in any revenue, it never will. So, charging bigger passengers extra is a prudent financial move. Yet, this is only part of the problem.

Goodwill on the planes, in an effort to make overweight passengers more comfortable and avoid embarrassing situations, is resulting in uneven policy enforcement, which costs the airlines cash and makes instances of seemingly unfair treatment even worse.

And, the prevailing attitude in the marketplace seems to support this thinking. Even passengers affected by this policy are on board with it, so to speak, as one passenger noted in a letter to USA Today’s “Traveler’s Aide”. The problem is enforcement, which tends to be a tad uneven. The passenger noted in his letter:

The flight attendant had moved another large man to the outside seat in that row so there was a space between us. The agent told me I could either pay for a second seat or get off and wait for the next flight to New Orleans. I opted to pay and go home. The gate person embarrassed me and asked for my credit card, but didn’t require the same from the other large passenger.

The passenger was upset with how the Southwest flight attendant handled the situation. Of course, this airline is no stranger to high-profile gaffes with big passengers. Some passengers are able to get away with spilling into a second seat, while others are stuck shelling out for an extra ticket. And some simply don’t bother, and they invariably are seated right next to you. For the airlines, the challenge is in figuring out who should have to buy an extra seat. According to USA Today, “That means Southwest agents end up eyeballing those arriving passengers and guessing whether they comfortably fit into seats-without actually seeing them seated.” An overweight passenger may slip through the cracks on one flight but could have to pry open his wallet on another.

And, there is a bit of awkwardness involved:

“Without question, approaching a customer with unique seating needs who is unaware of (or has ignored) the policy is incredibly difficult,” says Southwest representative Christi Day. “However, with the use of discretion, tact, and genuine concern for customer comfort, approaching those with a clear need for additional seating is critical for ensuring that another customer is not subjected to an uncomfortable flight.”

Perhaps the greatest problem for the airlines – and I can’t believe I’m actually writing this – is that they’ve been too eager to accommodate. Customer service … good customer service … leads the airlines to give away an extra seat instead of charging when possible, or at least trying to misjudge in favor of the passenger. Or, maybe they just don’t want horror stories winding up in the hands of travel bloggers. Whatever the motivation, trying to help passengers is what leads to uneven enforcement. The inequity, of course, makes the slip-ups look worse than they are.

The solution is simple: stop the goodwill. When in doubt, charge for a second seat. It’s really that simple.

[photo by Willie Lunchmeat via Flickr]

Top five reasons you’ll pay more for flights

by Tom Johansmeyer on

It looks like flight deals are a thing of the past. The airline sector is starting to recover, as evidenced by an aggregate $1.3 billion in earnings for the six largest U.S. carriers last quarter, and more profits are said to be on the horizon. Of course, we’re still in the early stages, and those earnings do pale in comparison to the $22.7 billion in losses sustained in 2008 and 2009. So, the airlines are making up for lost time and taking advantage of a swing in the economy … that means you’re going to pay for it.

Good news for the airlines, of course, translates to a thinner wallet for you, but it indicates that you’re at least willing to handle the higher cost, since airlines tend to be price-takers rather than price setters.

Why are you going to pay more for flights? Here are the top five reasons:

1. Extra fees no longer “extra”: they’re part of the package now. Airlines raked in $13.5 billion from fees in 2009, a 43 percent spike year over year. They aren’t going away. As the industry recovers, this will help keep fares higher.

According to the Associated Press:

United and American led the way on “ancillary revenue,” including fees, at about $1.8 billion apiece last year, according to IdeaWorks. United Airlines President John Tague calls fees “an unequivocal success,” and suggests his airline could still double the amount it’s bringing in with baggage fees.

2. The market supports higher prices: airlines charge what they can get, as it is a consumer-driven market. So far, consumers are responding favorably to price increases, with fares up an average of 18 percent this summer.

3. Airlines to hold the line this fall: demand is expected to decline through the end of summer, and the airline will try to keep from offering deep discounts. In fact, many are offering deals to get passengers interested but are able to convert into higher-priced seats.

4. Shared armrests the norm: the planes are full. Delta filled close to 90 percent of its seats last month, with Continental at 87 percent and American at 86 percent. This means there are more fares covering the cost of the flight, which delivers favorable financial results.

5. Temptation to add flights resisted: rather than bring more planes out to handle this increase in demand, the airlines seem to be fighting the urge, because bookings are sluggish and the economic recovery is tenuous.

[photo by Ma1974 via Flickr]

Top five reasons passengers are getting nastier

by Tom Johansmeyer on

As much as passengers complain about airline employees (and we do), we give them reason to complain about us. And, we complain about each other. There’s clearly no risk of a love-fest breaking out in the gate area, and if you look closely, you can see how the situation will only get worse. There are all kinds of conditions set to make air travel miserable (well … more so), and that means everyone involved will wind up getting a little nastier. Here are the top five reasons why:

1. We have no space, and there will be more of us on the plane: the lack of legroom isn’t exactly new, but everything around it is going to get worse. In the wake of the financial crisis, airlines cut flights to shave expenses and boost revenue per available seat-mile (RASM). This means the odds of having an empty next to you have dropped.

2. There will be more of us in the air, too: the economy is turning the corner, and businesses are starting to spend some money again. Look for more business travelers on the road, which will make flights even more crowded.3. We’re thinking about value: because of economic conditions (including high unemployment), we’re now acutely aware of what every dollar we spend means. A reclining passenger translates to the erosion of a purchase – “That’s my space!” We want as much for our money as possible. So do the people next to us, in front of us and behind us. Elbow room is a zero-sum game: there will be losers.

Want to make the situation worse? The coming increase in passengers will likely bring with it an increase in fares. So, an economic recovery means we’ll effectively be paying more for less. I don’t know who fails to crack a smile over that!

4. Let’s not forget about the service: beyond economic conditions and market drivers (e.g., RASM), there is another airline factor at play. We need to be realistic, here: this industry has a long-standing reputation for delivering abysmal service. Passengers know this and expect an uncomfortable experience, so they get primed for it. Remedying this will take concerted effort by airlines – and it will require years of unrequited love.

5. There’s no shortage of blame, and it’s everywhere: airline employees think passengers are unreasonable, demanding and often inappropriate. Passengers think airline employees feel (and act like they’re) entitled, self-obsessed and controlling to an unwarranted degree. Our zeal to point fingers only makes the situation worse for everyone. Passengers are getting nastier because we expect the worst, and crews expect nastier passengers. We’d all rather win than fix the situation.

[photo by Pink Sherbet Photography via Flickr]

Congress says airline fees, basic math obscure deals

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Deal-hunting used to be relatively simple. You’d fire up your computer, hit a few aggregators and online travel agencies, maybe a few airline sites. Then, you’d pick your ticket and pull the trigger. The lowest number wins, right?

Wrong … at least according to Congess.

Down in Washington, the folks who’d rather not be distracted by continued high unemployment or wars in two countries dispatched investigators to dig into the wave of new fees introduced over the past few years make it hard to figure out where the best deal is. Your cheap ride seems great, of course, until you want to grab a pillow and check a bag … or not check a bag, depending on the airline.

According to USA Today:

Since 2007, many airlines have been charging for services that were traditionally included in the price of a ticket. That’s improved airline bottom lines in a tough economy but raised the ire of travelers who find themselves nickeled and dimed to substantially higher costs.

The mathematical gymnastics involved – e.g., adding a bag-checking fee to the ticket price – are more common in Europe, where easyJet and Ryanair have forced passengers to do addition for years.

While Congressional investigators don’t think passengers can do the math for themselves, it’s clear that the airlines have figured it out: 10 U.S. airlines raked in $7.8 billion in ancillary fees last year. Delta led the pack with $1.6 billion.

Airlines rejoice at return of business travelers

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Business travelers are giving the airline industry a reason to be hopeful … which is strange. Usually, those guys are such a drag. Trust me; I was one of them for a while. Business travelers aren’t much fun at parties or anywhere else. Nonetheless, their presence on planes means more cash in the till for the airline industry, following two years of economic mayhem (and years of management that is what it is).

At a recent meeting of the International Air Transport Association, 700 industry leaders seem to have decided that the biz is headed in the right direction, though they remain cautious. Translation:

Cautious optimism means most airlines expect to make money this year after a couple of years of staggering losses, precipitated by the oil price run-up in 2008 and the global recession in 2009. A profitable airline industry could also be good news for business travelers as airlines restore the capacity they removed from the network during the last two disastrous years, putting many more seats on sale and offering a wider array of flight options on many routes.

According to IATA, the industry lost $80 billion in the last two years, four times the amount it dropped following the terror attacks of 9/11. Yet, the corner appears to have been turned. Originally, IATA predicted a $5.6 billion loss for the airline industry in 2010, but it has since changed the forecast to a $2.5 billion aggregate profit. This really only amounts to a margin of 0.5 percent (on revenues of $545 billion), which is basically irrelevant in light of the last two years’ losses, but at least it provides a glimmer of hope.
The suits are the reason for this mild form of airline economic bliss:

The rapid turnaround has been led by business travel. During the combined oil/economic crisis, business travel took the greatest hit with passengers traveling in international first and business class down by as much as 25% in May 2009 from the previous year. In contrast, the number of passengers traveling in international economy class was only 10% lower at its bottom point in March 2009 vs. the previous year.

Now that business travelers are back on planes, many problems are creeping toward resolution. Asia and Middle East are leading the recovery, but Europe is expected to lag, with an aggregate loss of $2.8 billion despite a forecasted passenger traffic increase of 2.9 percent.

You may not be crazy about all those cell phone-toting pricks lingering at the gate … but the airlines sure are.