Airline travel in the US is not a service industry. In a service industry companies are competitive and attempt to do what they can to attract and keep customers. A restaurant or Hotel that continually raised prices, gave poor service and didn’t care what their customers thought would be out of business pretty quick.
Imagine looking at a restaurant menu and seeing the price of a steak. Then in fine print you see additional charges for the silverware, water, napkins and a service fee if you and your partner want to sit at the same table. Chances are you wouldn’t come back.
Well the airlines are doing just that. For trips in the US there are charges for snacks, drinks and earphones. Extra charges apply if two people want to sit together. Economy seats have been replaced with “Economy Plus” so instead of 3 inches between you and the seat in front, you can get a whopping 5 inches of room.
There are charges for checked bags and even carry on bags. Carry on bags, are you freaking kidding me?
If you have a reservation question and want to talk to a real person then that costs extra because god forbid the airline should have to waste time talking to customers.
The sad fact is they know we can’t go to another airline because of crappy service and extra fees because they all do it.
Recently the Middle Seat had this one their website.
“The Middle Seat asked US Airways and consulting firm Oliver Wyman to crunch airline expenses down to the percentages that an individual passenger pays, taking a hard look at costs of running an airline. US Airways created a hypothetical flight of 100 passengers. Each one paid the average $146 fare for a domestic flight ($292 round-trip), plus $18 each in fees and add-ons.”
They even provided a nifty infographic showing how the poor airlines barely make a living.
After reading that I feel sorry for the poor airlines.
But wait just a minute. First of all they quote a hypothetical 100 passenger flight where these hypothetical people pay $292.00 round trip with a minimal $18 in fees and add-ons. According to Airliners Net which list dimensions of aircraft, a Boeing 707 has a capacity of Flight crew of three or four a 707-120 max seating for 179, or 110 in two classes (44 first and 66 economy) and a 707-320B – Max seating for 219, or 189 single class at 81cm (32in) pitch, or 147 in two classes. Even a Boeing 717, which is small, has a Flight crew of two typical two class seating for 106 passengers at five abreast in main cabin and single class seating for 117.
As far as the $292.00 round trip price, they must have gotten lucky and found a fire sale somewhere. Kayak reports that the average round trip domestic ticket this summer will cost $431. I don’t know about you but I tend to believe the guys selling the tickets and not the airline PR guys. Kayak even has a breakdown by airlines what some of the additional charges are.
So where is the money going? Mismanagement, Union imposed salaries, company executives that have high salaries and no accountability to make their company run properly. Let me pause here. I don’t care if the CEO makes 10 million a year. If he is running a competitive business that caters to the customers, puts out a good product that runs on time, doesn’t nickel and dime me to death and earns a profit for his shareholders then by all means he or she is worth it. But to run a failing company that doesn’t make any profits and continues to put out substandard service and condescending employees. Well then I have no sympathy for them.
Every year US Airlines rank on the bottom for customer service, on time flights and customer satisfaction and the rates keep increasing. If you haven’t had the chance, take a trip on Singapore Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Hainan Airlines, Qatar Airways and Malaysia Airlines. What do they have in common? All are ranked 5 stars by SKYTRAX.
What do Air Canada, American Airlines, Delta, United and even US Airways (which provided the data used earlier) have in common? They are all ranked 3 stars.
Maybe some of these airlines should send their CEO’s and managers to some of the successful airlines and have them learn a few things about customer service and running a successful airline.
I completely agree. I’ve recently moved to Australia after living and traveling through the US for the last couple of years and I can’t believe the poor customer service and fees I experienced while flying domestically. They don’t care about the customers at all, and the worst part is that everyone expects such poor service and exorbitant fees since they’ve had it for so long.
I recently flew Hawaiian Airlines from Honolulu to Sydney, and even on a 10 and a half hour flight they had no free movies (you had to pay $7.99 for each one), and the seats were some of the most uncomfortable I’ve ever flown. I’m done giving my business to airlines in the United States, and from now on I’ll stick to Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, and even British Airways, and Qantas.
I agree I rarely use a US carrier when traveling from the States to an overseas destination. Until consumers start voting with their pocketbooks and only using those airlines that deserve the business things probably won’t change. Thanks for the comment.
You’ve hit the nail on the head! Poor service, high fares and frequent delays for every US carrier that I’ve flown. I’ve had occasion to fly Qantas, Air NZ, Cathay Pacific and Air Pacific. Much better service offered on all.
I agree the US carriers have gotten to where they are cattle cars in the freight business, not a service industry.
Yep, you’ve nailed it! Flying in the states was a nightmare compared to what I’ve been working with in Oceana. And the freakin PR firms won’t even tell us the truth! Well, they’re not really supposed to. But you know what I mean.
If I travel from the States to a foreign destination I always look at non-US carriers which is a shame. They have steadily gone downhill and there doesn’t seem to be much light at the end of the tunnel.
I was shocked when I spent a bit of time in the US and had to get domestic flights there. I felt like I was on an dodgy budget airline everytime – even if it was in theory a flaghsip carrier like AA. Maybe I’ve been spoilt by the Asian carriers (even the budget ones there seem better than the US ones).
Agree, Most of the Asian carriers are far superior