No Wonder They Are Going Bankrupt

Ok, the high price of fuel aside, many airlines are having serious trouble making money and staying in business, and when you look at the crap they pull, it seems very simple to see why. If other companies treated customers like airlines do, they would be out of business overnight.

For example, US Air announced this week that coach passengers will now have to pay extra for an aisle or window seat, and other airlines are considering following along. United, along with a few other carriers will now charge for that second checked bag, and they lowered the weight limit of a checked bag from 70 to 50 pounds. But don’t think of carrying it on, new limits will be going into effect their soon as many try and get around the 1 bag limit. Better travel light!

Buying a ticket is so complicated today, there is no way to know how much your flight will actually cost you, or why. And using those frequent flier miles is almost impossible now, unless you want to double the number of miles you spend for a “standard” ticket. And even then, plan on going somewhere unpopular, because the good places are always “full” or sold out.

And the poor staff of the major airlines are always in a such bad mood these days. With salary cuts and having to deal with angry customers all the time, they are surly and nasty now most of the time. My last few calls to United for information were very unpleasant. Oh, and did I mention that because I called to fix a problem with my on-line ticket, I was charged another $35? Really!

Movies have disappeared on almost all flights except for international, as have meals of any kinds. And so have snacks too. No more peanuts for you! So has music too, but then again, most are carrying iPods now anyway, so not much loss. Oh, you can still buy a box of crap (they call it a meal) on many flights, but that is about all you can get, even on a 6 hour flight across the country. Nothing like a candy bar, cheese and crackers, chips, and a cookie to get you across the country, and all for $10! Many major airlines are now talking about charging you for that cheap, small glass of soda too.

Many airlines, to save fuel, have removed some of the air circulation and filtering equipment because it weighs too much. Expect to see things like magazines disappear too, as that all weighs too much and burns more fuel. That is, of course, unless they can get even more advertising on board. I wonder when they will start charging to use the bathroom? Or maybe they will just remove them. Have you noticed that the number of bathrooms has been reduced too as well?

And have you sat in a coach seat on United or American lately? To cram more people on the plane, they have moved the seats MUCH closer together (to add a few more rows), so now if the person in front of you reclines that tiny seat, you cannot see your tray table. My last flight on United was such an uncomfortable experience, I never want to fly them again. I was actually claustrophobic it was so tight!

And on my wife’s last flight, United bumped her out of her isle seat, and then charged her $59 more to get an isle seat back. TWICE (once each way.) And God forbid that you should want to change your flight, even by one day either way, fees for that start at $125 and go up fast. And should you need to cancel, most tickets on major airlines are not reusable, you just loose the money.

Damn, no wonder they are loosing money. Could they make it any more difficult and uncomfortable to fly? I for one no longer fly on major airlines unless I have to.

But there is one airline still making money and is comfortable to fly, and that is Southwest. And they seem to be doing this by breaking all the above “rules.” Ticket prices are very reasonable. They do not charge you a fee to change a ticket, and if you cancel, you have up to a year to use the ticket value on any flight. They let you check TWO bags for free. They have excellent leg room, and their staff and flight attendants are actually happy and pleasant. They still serve peanuts and drinks, and on flights longer than 3 hours, free snacks too. They let you use your frequent flier points on just about any flight. And there is no charge for any type of seat, ALL seats on the plane are open and available. Don’t let the “cattle call” seating scare you, it is actually easier and faster than any other airline. You should try them, and I think you will stop flying the big guys.

Come one United, US Airways, American, and Delta/Northwest. Get a clue. Stop treating your passengers like cargo. Those of us who fly coach will not be future business fliers if the experience is so bad we never want to come back. And we will not be back either if you keep kicking us in the head for trying to be your customer. Take a look at Southwest and get a clue: give fliers a good value, treat them with respect, stop charging for every little thing they do, and remember, you want us to come back again.

Remember when flying used to be fun?