Cranky on the Web (November 18 – 22)

Nov 23, 2013

More Reading on This Topic: Iberia, Seats

In the Trenches: Preventing Mistakes – Intuit Small Business Blog
We made some mistakes in the business, and that led me to want to take steps from preventing them from happening again.

Is This the Future of Airplane Seat Fees? Iberia Changes the Game – Conde Nast Daily Traveler
Iberia has rolled out an LCC-like seat fee program that is pretty tough to avoid. Is this the future?

Speaking out against cell service on planes – CNN
I was the one not speaking about against it.

Cellphones on a plane? Please don’t phone home – USA Today
Asked why I wasn’t concerned about cell phones on airplanes, I talked about the cost issue.

Brett

5 responses to “Cranky on the Web (November 18 – 22)”

Consumer Mike

Nov 23, 2013 at 11:26 am

The purchase of stuggling IBERIA by the Brits did not make many people smile in Spain. Since the purchase the Brits have not really done any favors to turn around IBERIA. On the contrary, they have followed – to some extent – what Ichan did to TWA, pillaging the profitable parts of the Spanish line, such as taking profitable routes and giving them to BA, minimal investing, etc. AND now this “kiss of death” new fee. As a loyal IBERIA frequent Flyer I can promise that me and my family will not be booking on IB, nor will my friends. This absurd fee may be the last straw for many travelers.

Reply
1. CF
  
  Nov 25, 2013 at 11:13 am
  
  Consumer Mike – The purchase of Iberia by BA (and merged into the parent IAG) is probably the one thing that has kept Iberia from ending up like Alitalia. Iberia is a mess, and IAG has forced the airline to deal with its problems. Were it some highly profitable, incredible airline before, then you’d have a stronger argument. But Iberia was in terrible shape, and it wasn’t investing at all. It still had old business class seats and even still had only overhead screens on much of its long haul fleet. That is changing quickly. I think Iberia is in much better shape today.
  
  Reply
David SF eastbay

Nov 23, 2013 at 12:17 pm

The IB story was interesting and shows why must airlines/airplanes be so different then any other business.

You buy a ticket to see a movie and sit where you like and not for row AA seat 14 and that’s fine with people. But for airlines a lot of people hate Southwest and their sit where you like and would rather have a row/seat location in advance (but don’t want to pay for it). So what’s the difference?

Since you must be in a seat to fly, the old fashion way of doing it should be what is still done today with the exception of you can’t have a seat assignment until you purchase the ticket. You would think airlines would want every seat assigned in advance to save issues at checkin/boarding to move things along faster and not deal with families trying to save money by doing free airport seating and getting split up and having to delay the flight while they try and move people around to seat children with parents.

Reply
1. Consumer Mike
  
  Nov 23, 2013 at 2:07 pm
  
  David, I understand where you are coming from. However, what you describe is already a fact on most airlines – You want a better/larger/longer seat, you pay to sit like a humam being. What I was trying to say is that if I want to sit next to my wife, or you want to sit near your children, why are you forced to pay another “FEE” in the normal econo area? I personally view this as not acceptable.
  
  AND, as for Southwest, we NEVER fly them because of the cattle call method of boarding. After reading the multitude of complaints on Crankys Blog about their (SW) extra fee for priority boarding previlages, this is just another strike against what used to be a lower cost airline which now charges more than some legacy airlines on certain routes..
  
  Reply
2. James
  
  Nov 25, 2013 at 3:08 am
  
  In Australia and Singapore cinemas are booking tickets for specific seats these days. Amongst other things, this encourages you to book online beforehand so you can get a good seat.
  
  Reply