Airlines charging extra for everything is good for consumers, report says (poll) – Cleveland Plain Dealer
This article looked at a study showing that fees are good or travelers. I was asked to comment and of course I agree.
In the Trenches: Preparing for Vacation – Intuit Small Business Blog
I’m not taking a break anytime soon, but I’m working toward that goal in a few months.
4 comments on “Cranky on the Web (April 30 – May 4)”
that is a bunch of crap airline tickets and the horrendous amount of taxes that go with each ticket seems to me to be enough to spend our hard earned $$$$$ on
Airliines charging extra is not always good for the consumer. People are having to pay to check a bag, but you aren’t paying for a guarantee you bag will arrive and/or arrive safely. You are not paying a bag fee and being handed an insurance policy on it.
Anyone old enough to have traveled during a time when everything you pay for now came with the price of the ticket will never think having to pay extra for the same thing is good. People who have come of age when airlines charge extra for everything may feel differently, since they havent known airline travel any other way.
One of the BIGGEST EXPENSES for an airline has TRIPLED in the past ten years. That’s fuel. Whine all you want, but flying is still reasonable. What you cant get over is, that it isnt cheap. Now, the airlines allow you to decide how much you want to spend on your travel experience. Dont check a bag, bring your own food, etc..etc.
These fuel costs are staggering to each airline in this country. Some paying half a billion dollars annually. That’s huge!!! They have to price their product in a way that keeps you coming back, keeping flights full, price the product too high and many resort to driving, a train, a bus. That’s the major problem airlines face, pricing their product to make a razor thin profit and keep the traveling public returning to the skies.
TBH, it’s a tough pill to swallow when they’ve unbundled things that were previously bundled. However, when they add new things to pay for that were previously unavailable (e.g., elite security / check-in lines for non-elites, extra legrooms seats to non-elites) I actually see that as value added. Instead of having to fly extra to get some of those perks, I can just pay for what I need when I want it.