What’s next — pay toilets in the skies?
Posted on July 11th, 2008 – 12:42 PMBy Troy Melhus
A few years back I seem to remember a commercial that spoofed airlines and checked bag limits. It featured a passenger dressed in multiple layers of clothes to avoid having to pack them into a suitcase.
I couldn’t find the commercial on YouTube, but I did find this video of a radio station contest to see who could wear the most layers of clothes.
I couldn’t help but think about that this week as I read the latest headlines.
Naturally — and oftentimes overlooked in an announcement like this — the biggest news here is that 2,500 families are going to be completely thrown a loop of a lifetime. The inconvenience of having to pay to check your bags pales in comparison to a family losing its income.
What’s more is that all of these announcements are going to severely affect customers.
This isn’t just cutting complimentary pretzels out of your flight.
First, the company will be eliminating a significant chunk of workers, and — not to sound too Hoffa here — their workload is just going to be transferred onto those workers who remain.
What exactly will that mean? Perhaps longer wait times on the phone when you make your reservations. Perhaps even more difficulty booking your frequent flier miles, in addition to essentially buying the ticket. Perhaps longer lines checking in, because even fewer gate agents will be there to assist customers. (Remember the days back when you didn’t have to actually check yourself in? I think you could still smoke on airplanes back then, too.)
And then, of course, there’s the ultimate absurdity. In today’s increasingly nickeled and dimed world, of course, it’s beyond absurd that we can no longer travel with luggage without having to pay an upcharge. Soon it’s going to be cheaper to ship our luggage than to travel with it.
But let’s move past the obvious: That is, that more and more people are going to bring overstuffed carry-on bags which will cramp, delay and further obstruct flights. And that you will likely see people like those in the above YouTube video.
These little upcharges, all in the name of high fuel prices, all come in addition to the various additional security costs and the fuel surcharges already being assessed.
You’re essentially buying a ticket to fly, and then being asked to pay for gas. Twice.
At this rate, pay toilets aren’t too far off.
Behavior like this, if you ask me, is precisely why customers are increasingly unhappy with the airlines.
I’ve been saying this for some time: just be up front. Scrap all the extra non-negotiable fees. (It’s not like we’re given the choice of opting out of security fees; likewise the absurdity of no-luggage travel).
Just set the ticket price and abide.
10 Responses to "What’s next — pay toilets in the skies?"
I say take the train!! Amtrak is a blast to ride.
The dishonesty of trying to keep fares artificially low while tacking on an absurd amount of mandatory fees is pretty disgusting. As is the fact that first class and elite-member status flyers (i.e. rich people) don’t have to pay the luggage fee. Would hate to inconvenience them. The sooner a few big US airlines fold, the better.
I say charge more for the first class ticket. But instead they will take from the poor and give to the rich. That is what America is about. Now if you go to Disney or any other family vacation that you have been saving for, you have to pay to bring luggage so for a family of four with five suitcase we are talking about $85.00 extra each way. THAT IS CRAZY!!!!
This problem is more complex than you would have us believe, Mr. Melhus. The reason that airlines cannot simply “raise fares”, which you are correct in saying is the real solution, is that the advent of internet booking sites essentially means that customers have instantaneous, real time fare information at their fingertips. This is good for the consumer because they can make an informed choice, and it is a monster created entirely by overzealous airlines attracted by the promise of lowering their overhead by offering their fares online. The problem for the airlines, of course, is that Orbitz, Expedia, and even their own websites have created a type of commodity-style market in which the consumer generally cares only about one thing - a lower fare. Again, the low fares are good for the consumers, but the only way the airlines can compete with each other is to stay at the top of the instant results for fare searches, which precludes any ability to increase the base fares of their tickets. For every minute that Airline A keeps their fare higher than Airline B, Airline A loses millions of dollars on lost revenue.
The solution should come in the form of either accepting that airfares have been artificially low for many years and the honeymoon is now over, or in some sort of industry-wide regulation barring airlines from charging things such as “fuel surcharges” and extra baggage fees.
However, as Skolviking says, we all have a choice. We can take the train. We can drive. Nobody has even been forced to purchase and airline ticket. If you really don’t like it, raise a few hundred million dollars and start your own airline. It’s not hard to start an airline; it is just really difficult to maintain one.
The solution should come in the form of either accepting that airfares have been artificially low for many years and the honeymoon is now over, or in some sort of indstry-wide regulation barring airlines from charging things such as “fuel surcharges” and extra baggage fees.
However, as Skolviking says, we all have a choice. We can take the train. We can drive. Nobody has even been forced to purchase and airline ticket. If you really don’t like it, raise a few hundred million dollars and start your own airline. It’s not hard to start an airline, it is just really difficult to maintain one.
Shhhhh ! Now I’m gonna have to blame you when they put the credit card slots in the toilets on the planes.
dd is right on point - need more for the service, then raise the fare $15, it’s bad enough that inflight food is for sale (and lousy food at that - trail mix or chocolate, but no sandwiches, burgers, or any hot food whatsoever - at any price - I’d pay $20 for a turkey dinner).
And consider the massive carryon bags that EVERYONE will be dragging on board with them (isn’t that bad enough already ?).
Websites that search for low fares should include the extra charges assuming each passenger will have one 49 Lb. bag to check.
Yeah, you’re right. Those #$%#mned airlines. We’d all be alot better off if they’d just go bankrupt, go out of business and let the government take care of their tens of thousands of employees. Who needs ‘em, anyway? What a bunch of thieves.
I do agree that being charged for a checked bag is pretty ridiculous. You will have luggage if you are going to fly, so it’s an easy way to squeeze an extra $15 out of a passenger. Just tack it onto the price of the ticket.
Keep in mind that most other forms of public transportation do not offer food and/or drink for free. This ’service’ is a relic from the days where air travel was a luxury. Deregulation paved the way for the rest of the population to travel at a reasonable rate. As prices come down and more people travel, the perks start to go away. Look at WalMart for example. It’s bare bones and cheap. If the public wants cheap services, they should come to expect a low-level of customer service, comfort, and satisfaction.
This is going to lead to one thing…more people with their stupid rolling carry-ons that they try to shove in the overhead compartment so they don’t have to check luggage. They slow everything down when entering and exiting the plane, take up way more than their alloted overhead compartment space and are simply selfish. Ugh.
Like someone else wrote I wish they’d just raise the price and quit nickel-diming us to death. What’s next? $50 for a barf bag? $100 for an arm-rest? $150 to use the oxygen masks in the event of a loss of cabin pressure? $200 per seat cushion in the event of a “water landing”?
Please view comment under “Trips for the brave.”
Kerri Westenberg has globe-trotted for National Geographic and other magazines. Now she zips around the region, on the lookout for travel news you can use.
Elizabeth Larsen lived in Salzburg, Austria, and has traveled throughout Europe and the Americas. She can say "diaper," "bottle" and "crib" in four languages.
Troy Melhus has heli-skied on glaciers, dived alongside Monk seals and raced for 24 hours on a mountain bike. All this, and he rarely spends more than $500 on a trip.
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