How to nickle and dime your customers to death

"a buck here, a buck there" <brothercanyou@spareabuck.aa> wrote in
message news:fio8q1hngfuesrb3ljua7n2svo9ou7auu2@news...
>
> Fly like eagle, sip like sparrow at $1 a can
> Complimentary soda, snack canceled; coffee, water still free on
> American Eagle; psst, wanna buy a pillow and blanket--only $5?

The low-cost airlines in Europe charge extra for "everything" and get
away with it. AMR is probably using Eagle to experiment with what the
US public with tolerate.

a buck here, a buck there wrote:
> Fly like eagle, sip like sparrow at $1 a can
> Complimentary soda, snack canceled; coffee, water still free on
> American Eagle; psst, wanna buy a pillow and blanket--only $5?

<snip>

All the cost cutting works fine on long-haul flights, as long as all the
airlines do the same thing, since there aren't any real alternatives.

But on shorter flights, the most profitable flights for the airlines,
they need to be careful. Already, it's just about not worth it to fly
from San Francisco to L.A. in terms of the amount of time you'll save
over driving, by the time you factor in the time getting to the airport,
the 90 minutes you have to be at the airport before the flight, the time
spent parking and getting to the terminal, and the time at the
destination getting your baggage, getting to the car rental place on the
bus, etc. A 60 minute flight works out to about four hours by the time
you're through, assuming no delays, and you can drive it in six hours,
for a lot less money, without the need for a rental car.

GeoffP wrote:
> U, Talk nice now! Last time I was in Britain I saw just as many fat people
> as I see in North America. In fact last time I flew from Britain to Canada,
> I was seated next to one of the largest people I have ever seen on a plane,
> he was from Yorkshire...Go figure.
> Geoff.


True, they're catching up. Must be all the McD's, KFC's and Burger Kings
opening up this side of the pond.
It's still funny how airlines can get away with charging a passenger for
excess baggage, when that passenger and his luggage together weigh less
than some other slob who isn't getting charged.



U

Ulick Magee <UlickAtMailDotCom@feckoff.invalid> wrote:

> It's still funny how airlines can get away with charging a passenger
> for excess baggage, when that passenger and his luggage together
> weigh less than some other slob who isn't getting charged.

Yeah, bout time they started to charge on the
total weight with a free total weight allowance.

Not easy to do tho when they'd have to have new scales for
the worst of the hippos that would break the current scales.

SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:
> a buck here, a buck there wrote:
>> Fly like eagle, sip like sparrow at $1 a can
>> Complimentary soda, snack canceled; coffee, water still free on
>> American Eagle; psst, wanna buy a pillow and blanket--only $5?
>
> <snip>
>
> All the cost cutting works fine on long-haul flights, as long as all
> the airlines do the same thing, since there aren't any real
> alternatives.
> But on shorter flights, the most profitable flights for the airlines,
> they need to be careful. Already, it's just about not worth it to fly
> from San Francisco to L.A. in terms of the amount of time you'll save
> over driving, by the time you factor in the time getting to the
> airport, the 90 minutes you have to be at the airport before the
> flight, the time spent parking and getting to the terminal, and the
> time at the destination getting your baggage, getting to the car
> rental place on the bus, etc. A 60 minute flight works out to about
> four hours by the time you're through, assuming no delays, and you
> can drive it in six hours, for a lot less money, without the need for
> a rental car.

Cant see many if any changing which way they get between those
places based on whether they have to pay extra for the misc .

> My thought is that if Greyhound operated a
> "luxury" bus...

Perhaps there could be small market for that on some short routes if it
was properly done, but not if Greyhound operated it as their image is
totally at odds with the idea of luxury travel. Most upscale consumers
would not even want to set foot in a Greyhound terminal.

Maybe it could work if a company more associated with luxury ran it,
and if they built spiffy new terminals in nice sections of town. But I
suspect that if was economically viable, some company would have done
it already.

James

x-no-archive: yes


Robert J Carpenter wrote:


>AMR is probably using Eagle to experiment with what the
> US public with tolerate.

Exactly!!!!! And while they're playing their games on the public, the
bargain carriers are climbing further up the ladder.

Ulick Magee wrote:
> GeoffP wrote:
>> U, Talk nice now! Last time I was in Britain I saw just as many fat people
>> as I see in North America. In fact last time I flew from Britain to Canada,
>> I was seated next to one of the largest people I have ever seen on a plane,
>> he was from Yorkshire...Go figure.
>> Geoff.
>
>
> True, they're catching up. Must be all the McD's, KFC's and Burger Kings
> opening up this side of the pond.
> It's still funny how airlines can get away with charging a passenger for
> excess baggage, when that passenger and his luggage together weigh less
> than some other slob who isn't getting charged.

Airlines here in the US have had that policy on the books for awhile
(charging 2 seats for large customers), but haven't started enforcing
it... until recently. Folks here didn't like the idea of being pulled
aside and weighed before being allowed to purchase "only" one ticket.
Embarrassing and undignified.

There's fat everywhere, even without the fast food.

-Holly, trimmed the crossposting fat

Clark W. Griswold, Jr. wrote:

> The largest drawback is when you have checked luggage. You must leave the secure
> area at DAL, get your bag off the belt, get in line to recheck your bag and
> reclear security to the gate.
>
> Not only is this a hassle, it precludes any connections less than 90 minutes or
> so. Furthermore - any delays on the first flight do not protect you for a later
> connection - you have to pay any difference in fare.

Actually I did have the problem of a delayed flight, but SW didn't
charge any extra for the next flight. I had no checked luggage so there
wasn't a problem there either. But it was a hassle to not be able to
take a non-stop flight.

AllEmailDeletedImmediately wrote:

> "a buck here, a buck there" <brothercanyou@spareabuck.aa> wrote in message
> news:fio8q1hngfuesrb3ljua7n2svo9ou7auu2@news...
>
>>Fly like eagle, sip like sparrow at $1 a can
>>Complimentary soda, snack canceled; coffee, water still free on
>>American Eagle; psst, wanna buy a pillow and blanket--only $5?
>
> they've never been free, just included in the cost. now, they're breaking
> it down and letting you decide if you want the stuff instead of charging all
> for them.

Except, of course, they're not lowering their prices if you don't.

--
Evelyn C. Leeper
Complaint is the largest tribute heaven receives,
and the sincerest part of our devotion. --Jonathan Swift