An announcement came across my computer screen noting the important things that American Airlines is doing with this much needed influx of cash that we all thought was necessary just to keep the airline afloat. AA is sponsoring sports teams — yes, those cash-strapped teams that actually pay their players more than the airline executives get.
Just read in USAToday that baggage fees aren’t going away. Well, we didn’t expect them to, did we, in spite of the decrease in the cost of fuel? They quoted an article in the Sun-Sentinel that said American, for example, brought in “$108 million in baggage fees for the first three months of the year, the most of any airline. Last year, the airline brought in only $32.9 million in first quarter. Several other airlines showed increases of more than 1,000% over the same period.”
“ ‘Baggage fees are lifelines for the airlines,’ George Hobica, president of Airfarewatchdog.com, says to the paper. ‘I don’t see them getting rid of them any time soon.’ Indeed, executives at several U.S. carriers now say that while fees were initially added as a way to offset last year’s spiking fuel costs, they have now become an essential part of a revamped business model,” USAToday went on to report
Almost at the same time, American Airlines has announced that they are getting ready to add baggage fees to some international flights as well as domestic flights. They announced a charge of $50 for the second-checked-bag. American said the fees would apply on routes to, from, or through India, as well as the Belgium, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Switzerland starting September 14. The first bag is still free.
According to NYSportsJournalism.com [http://nysportsjournalism.squarespace.com/american-air-nfl8209/], “American Airlines has signed a three-year deal with the New England Patriots making the carrier the official airline and an official sponsor of the NFL team.” This includes a sponsorship of the New England Revolution, which also plays in Gillette Stadium, plus the St. Louis Rams and the Dallas Cowboys.
Well, excuse me. Now I definitely won’t complain when I pay my $40 ($20 each way) to have my clothes accompany me on a trip. This is going to help pay to “fly many of the players who comprise the Patriots’ 50th Anniversary Team for a ceremony in their honor at the Patriots’ regular season opener against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 14” and “to support the Patriots game in London at Wembley Stadium against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 25 as part of the NFL’s International Series.” Well, yay – go, team, go!
While this is all marketing and designed to attract a certain segment of the population to American Airlines or to heighten the awareness for others of the places American serves, I’m wondering if not having the fees and increasing customer service might, in fact, have the same effect. What do you think?
Photo: Paul Keleher/Flickr Creative Common
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
In truth, immediately i didn’t understand the essence. But after re-reading all at once became clear.
While this is all marketing and designed to attract a certain segment of the population to American Airlines or to heighten the awareness for others of the places American serves, I’m wondering if not having the fees and increasing customer service might, in fact, have the same effect. What do you think?
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Doesnt “advertising and marketing” pay the owners of this site? Or should they make this a PAY SITE and have the customer pay for the privilege of reading articles? Or should they do it for free?
Those Marketing dollars will bring in millions of dollars in Revenue. The old saying, you have to spend money to make it. Sponsoring a team, or say, a Nascar driver is huge in benefits. Fans will pay huge to support their teams via their sponsors.
In retrospect, American Airlines does give back to the community:
http://www.nflalumninoca.org/Membership.html
http://www.icaf.org/news/newsfiles/200809100001.html
http://www.jimmyfund.org/abo/press/pressreleases/2009/american-airlines-rallies-for-the-jimmy-fund.html
http://auction01.charitybuzz.com/area.do?id=842
http://miledonor.com/news/?art_key=58
http://www.torringtonrotary.org/pdf/09golfbrochure.pdf
I can’t wait to see what happens when fuel prices go up again! They’ll find some other excuse to raise prices on all fronts.
HEY! Are there any airline execs out there listening??? When you decide to care about me more than your bottom line, you will have a lifetime customer! Make it so! Get ‘er done!
I don’t see any connection between baggage fees and signing on to sponsor sports teams. This is marketing, not charity – they obviously believe the advertising value of the association is economically profitable or they wouldn’t do it. So you’re saying that since they have instituted baggage fees they shouldn’t be doing advertising anymore? I don’t get it.
Frankly, these two aspects of AA’s operations are completely unrelated and it appears that the author simply wanted an opportunity to complain about baggage charges.
As someone who rarely checked bags even before airlines starting charging for it, I was delighted when fees were introduced that allowed me to stop subsidizing those people who can’t pack efficiently. This is partly in jest, in that I recognize that traveling families have different needs than I do, but the point remains.
Baggage charges are not a “hidden cost”. They represent the “unhiding” of a cost that we’ve always paid. If airlines didn’t charge for baggage, they would have to charge even more for seats, meaning that those of us who know how to pack would be stuck footing the bill for everyone else.
I only wish there were a more effective mechanism to charge for carry-on bags as well, and that airlines would enforce and define clearly the 1 carry-on + personal item rule.
Why is it that other airlines like Southwest can fly your baggage with you at no charge and still make a profit, and be the number 1 domestic passenger carrier. Yet these other money grubbing carriers with over paid workers with unions that syphon companies dry for b.s. rights don’t care about you. Southwest makes their passengers feel wanted and enjoy a great flight. While the others treat you with disrespect and like you are annoying them. The majors nickel and dime you to death, and don’t do anything to enhance their service except leave you on the tarmac. They do this with the huge money the lobby in D.C.. If they could only think outside the box and use some of this money to enhance their product rather that cover it up with hush money in Congress to let them keep doing us wrong. Personally, I don’t care who is sponsoring a team. I am no more loyal to a product, unless it’s the right price, and does the job it represents. However, I am a true sports fan of my teams (which is also a product), and don’t flip flop when they are losing.
I hate naming rights as well as the idea of an ‘official’ this or that of any company or organization. If you are going to be the official airline of some organization, it would mean something to me if there was an unbiased analysis that determined you were the best. But since it’s only a marketing gimmick, I will go out of my way to NOT use your product or service. Already AA has the naming rights to a theater in Times Square. And if I looked harder, I am sure I would see their name on a field or stadium or event.
And if you are a fan of whatever team, do you buy products JUST BECAUSE a company is the sponsor (or more accurately, the john) of the stadium? Think about it. You are saying that even if that john made the worst razors or was the worst bank, you’d still buy their stuff.
It’s another story if you were already banking with the john of the mets, and they paid the money for the naming rights. I wouldn’t expect you to drop ‘em just because of it. But if they changed the terms of your banking account and you decided to leave, would you go to the john that names the nyc marathon? I won’t.
As for baggage fees paying for it all, it’s like all of our government accounts, one big fund. Money goes in, money goes to supporters. No one ever said that baggage fees were explicitly going to pay for just the fuel.