buzzpat

The entire debate about ticket prices amazes me...people are *****ing about gas being $4.00 a gallon but they pay much more than that (do the math) for a bottle of water on their way to the jet. Our industry's problem is that we have little margin for profit, we've encouraged our customers to believe that they can fly from point A to B for pennies on the dollar, our unions have let us down as a profession and now we have to explain to passenger Joe Schmoe that a $25 dollar increase in ticket price to fly from Atlanta to Baltimore is justified and he ain't buying it. No other industry could (and would) stoop to that. We've done it to ourselves. Actually, the business model (and I'm including SWA, Jet Blue, etc, here) has gravitated to this. This nation has the best trained pilots, the safest aircraft, great maintenance, has endured 9/11 and the TSA hangover, and we still chase our tails. Jeeezzz.

ImEbee

I don't think anything could be farther from the truth. The ONLY thing passengers look at today is the price of the ticket. They are not going to do the math and decide if the price of the ticket is worth checking or not checking the bag. How many times have you heard a passenger say they will never fly that airline again knowing they will still buy the ceapest ticket regardless? How many passengers after arriving have no idea what airline they just arrived on or are leaving on? The sticker price is what they look at. Fankly, I think its a good thing. As aa73 said, the passengers will get used to it. Baggage fees etc. will just be an accepted expense, much like paying $5-10 extra dollars by eating at the airport rather than on the way. Things will stay this way until oil comes down (not likely). Just remember, passengers got over the elimination of meals, they will eventually get used to this

Riddler

It's sad when Grayhound is cheaper than a major airline.

On another note, TSA is going to love all those extra carry on bags, and people will be even more frustrated by the time they get through security.

deltabound

Judging by how rapidly they're disappearing, I think the answer is probably:

"100 dollar bills".

swedespeed

If you are talking about RyanAir and likes yes, but the difference is if you fly on the more "old school" carriers like BA, LH and AF you sure don't pay a stinky euro or two for a coke. Heck, you don't even pay for a GT on a 50 minute short inter Euro trip in economy class.

I travel frequently on AA across the pond and the meal I got on my last trip was depressing. Five tiny pieces of chicken joined by a scoop of mashed potatoes. I would have rather paid an extra 5 or 10 dollars on top of the $1300 it already cost me to get a somewhat filling meal.

My .02 cents

SS

DYNASTY HVY

Old chinese saying or someones saying !!
One gets what one pays for .
The days of service and the like are finished and the only real thing these carriers have left to charge for are the lav,s
I laugh whenever i read a newspaper column about travel and ppl complain about service and all I want to say is look around you and the ppl you see are partly responsible for the lack of service you are getting .
BTW what constitutes service ?




Fly it like you stole it

Phuz

Why would you PAY an airline to lose your bag?

DYNASTY HVY

Thats a good point !

Radials Rule

I would only agree if that sentence was specific to US legacies. Korean, Thai, Air France etc all have excellent cabin service, food, etc and as far as service goes, it is a race to the top. With US based legacies, it's nickel and dime the customers in the race to the bottom of the service curve.

185flier

do you get free drinks and food at the movies or the ball game
lets charge for anything we can