Better late than never. American Airlines has finally arrived at the same party as everyone else. You know, the one where there will be a cover charge at the door for that second piece of checked luggage?
It’s an understandable move, considering that it’s been reported that the airline is losing $3.3 million per day. Of course, that’s still only on domestic flights and, certain frequent fliers, first and business class travelers are exempt.
For now.
But what’s next?
Some people seem to have some very good (and hilarious) ideas about what we could soon expect. Already, we find that (depending on the carrier) travelers now can wind up paying extra for everything from food to curbside check-in to bulkhead seats that offer extra legroom.
The second bag fee does seem to be forcing many passengers to pack lighter and perhaps that’s not such a bad thing after all. Do you really need to pack seven pairs of shoes, a dozen neckties, four suits and your golf clubs for that three day mini-vacation?
Getting the attention of passengers by hitting them where it hurts most — their wallets — is certainly the best way to ensure that cargo loads will be lighter, thus saving fuel…thus, lowering the cost of air travel.
Right?
So, when exactly will we begin to see the savings?
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My question is why anyone would expect to see any savings when the airlines are still losing so much money? There are so many articles complaining about every fee and fare hike, but that’s the way it is going to be until the bottom line turns black again.
PS, I don’t work for any air carrier. I fly 70,000 + miles a year, many at my personal expense.
There is a simple solution to elimination of all the add-on charges: The airline industry needs to start managing their operations at the level of their executive compensation. Too much of their time seems to be spent on alienating customers, employees, vendors and regulating agencies. The make fares and other rules confusing to allow them to take advantage of customers. They foster an adversarial relationship with their unions. They negotiate with their suppliers in a style that Wal-Mart would envy. They attempt to skirt safety rules established by the government. Sounds like a third world country, doesn’t it? They are spending so much time protecting their little kingdoms that they are forgetting to DO their jobs. Things will never change until an enlightened leader takes charge and brings all the players together into a cohesive team with the purpose of providing good value to their customers. Bottom line: Well run companies do not lose money!