Many analysts feel that fees will never go away and that the airline companies have finally hit upon the gold mine that has eluded them since commercial air travel became a reality. As things stand now, this is probably true but things could change.
Take checked baggage fees. Here is a quote from a recent WSJ article on airline profitability
Southwest Chairman and Chief Executive Gary Kelly told Wall Street analysts on a conference call Friday that he had no plans to start charging baggage fees because the no-fee policy on first and second checked bags was helping Southwest gain market-share. He, for one, hoped other airlines keep raising their fees for checking luggage.Full WSJ Article
Since the supply/demand curve applies to everything, checked baggage is no exception. Undoubtedly, some people take less luggage in an attempt to avoid checking any or some bags. The end result is probably to somewhat lower a plane's total load and thereby create fuel savings. On the other hand, much of the luggage which people would have checked had checking been free, now lands up in the cabin to the chagrin of all passengers and no real weight advantage for the airlines. And with the cutback in food service and charges for the elementary comforts of life (blankets, pillows) these items will now need to be carried on board in addition to the extra bags that ordinarily would have been checked.
So where do we go from here? Air travel has become so unpleasant that even business travelers try to avoid it if they can. Admittedly, the airlines will take care of the business traveler and find some way to shield him from the nickel and diming as well as the discomfort. But they still need the hapless occasional traveler to help defray the fixed cost of the trip. and bear in mind, with the economy in the tank and the airlines having adjusted their flight frequencies to where the decreased passenger load has been brought into balance with available capacity, there is no incentive for the airlines to increase the comfort of air travelers.
I wonder what will happen when the total demand for air travel improves along with the economy. More planes will have to be brought back into service and those planes will have to be filled. Unless the airlines are happy with their reduced schedules, they will have to entice travellers to again brave the friendly skies. This will be in the form of elimination of fees, lower prices and greater cabin amenities.
Here's another article from USA Today
3 comments:
Not that I travel that much, but Laguardia seems to be one airport where the NY security guys make you try to fit your carry on bag in the carry-on bag tester holder. It makes sense, because they make sure that you don't go through security with an oversized bag and then try to get on a plane. Which is better for the passengers, though not as good for airlines who are gate checking bags for free.
I read an article recently, in which the flight attendants were talking about boarding being the worst part of their jobs since the institution of checked bags fees. They are referees and must deal with people bringing everything on board, and fighting for overhead space, and worse for them, they only get paid for time in the air. So the worst, busiest, most contentious part of their job is essentially being done for free.
Last week I was on a flight for the first time in two years and i definitely noticed that it took a much longer time than usual to board the plane. Besides for bringing large pieces of carry on, people try to stuff the equivalent of one large suitcase into five different medium sized bags. Then the entire plane has to wait for them to find individual space for each bag, and then, when leaving, for them to collect each piece from the various spaces into which they were crammed. Oh yeah, have i mentioned how hard it is to get down that narrow aisle with more than two items of carry-on? sheesh.
For the life of me, I cannot understand why the airlines do not do a better job of enforcing the carry-on baggage size limits. First and foremost, doing so would result in more checked baggage, and increased fees. Secondly, and far less important from the airlines' perspective, the overabundance of carry-on luggage has caused a greater deterioration in the flying experience than even the "enhanced" security screening process.
Without fail, every time I fly, I witness the same thing just prior to boarding the plane. Many passengers, toting enormous carry-on baggage, jockeying for position with their fellow travelers, to try and get onto the aircraft as early as possible, in order to ensure that there will be sufficient space in the overhead bins for their luggage.
While the eventual rebound in the economy will help the airlines, I'm not sure that the rebound in air travel will reach quite the level that the increase in overall GDP would indicate. The flying experience is bound to remain unpleasant, and continued technological advances make the "virtual meeting" an ever more viable option. Even if these meetings replace only 5%-10% of in-person meetings, it will be enough to make a dent in the airlines' profitability.
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