How big of a shirt do we need to show all the fees we pay too?
There are some pretty crazy fees for airlines now-a-days. From checking a bag, to getting a pillow. But these are some of the weirdest (and some dumbest) ones I have seen.
- Spirit Airlines was charging a $2.50 “natural occurrence interruption fee” to try to re-capture losses from weather. They also had an $8.50 “international service recovery fee” meant to get money for having international destinations. The US DOT gave them a $40,000.00 fine and made them take down the non-advertised fees.
- Allegiant Air charges a “convenience fee” of $13.50 for getting a ticket on their website. Which goes against the industry standard now of charging people to NOT book on the website.
- Ryaair charges about $7 per passenger for a “payment handling fee” no matter how you end up booking the ticket.
- United charges a $349 flat annual fee for frequent flyers (and companion) to fly in the Economy Plus in the front of the plane whenever possible.
- In the CRAZIEST fee I have seriously heard of (have always heard people joke about this), Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary says they are looking to charge for bathroom usage. “Eventually it’s going to happen. It’s just we can’t do it at the moment because we don’t have a mechanism for charging you,” he said. Although, mostly a well-crafted publicity stunt (yes, I know I am guilty of writing about it and furthering their agenda), but it shows that maybe someday, some airline will be silly enough to try this.
Let's Honk for JetBlue
There has been a lot of bad economic news for the airline industry for a long while now. But many individuals are starting to feel the pain of the suffering economy by losing their jobs.
To assist those unfortunate people who lose their jobs, JetBlue Airways is offering a full refund to anyone “who experiecnes involuntary full-time job loss prior to their trip.” This is quite helpful for those who planned a nice vacation before receiving a pink slip for sure (even though that is probably a time where they need a vacation the most).
The JetBlue Promise Program also allows people to be confident in purchasing new tickets, if their job is on the line. Of course there are the normal restrictions (must give 2 weeks notice, your flight must be booked from Feb 1 to June 1 2009, and you must lose your job on Feb 17th or later). All that being said, it is kind of nice an airline helping out someone who might need a nice vacation right about now!
Boeing 787 airplane ZA001 outside the final assembly hall in Everett, WA
If you have been following the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, you have probably been pretty frustrated with the delays. I always love the day when a new airliner is able to come out of the hanger, taxi out, and fly. Boeing says the Dreamliner is on target (well the newest target) to start deliveries in the first quarter of 2010. This sounds of good news, but deliveries were supposed to start in May 2008.
They have had delays from parts, production “glitches” and of course that 2-month strike. Then add to all of that the global economic downturn and people flying less, creating a smaller demand for new aircraft like the 787. Although the demand might be smaller, Boeing still has 878 orders from 57 different customers.
Air Canada Boeing 767-300
As a new year approaches, we say good bye to a hard year for the airline industry. Having to redefine itself with new fees, cut flights, and a few bankruptcies, we wonder what will 2009 bring the airline business?
Most economists think this recession will not be short-term. With people having less money, most likely that means they will have less trips and vacations. Companies will be looking at other non-flying meeting options and many government jobs have already put a freeze on non-essential travel.
Right now airlines are able to survive this recession because of the low price of oil. If airlines are able to cut costs, keep their fees, have low oil prices, and have the recession lift in 2009, it could be one of their best years. Of course, these are all a lot of “ifs” and already consumers are getting annoyed that fees are still up with oil prices down.
Another big obstacle that airlines might face are employee relations. As more and more airlines farm out their labor and force employees to re-negotiate their contracts — will more strikes loom and cause huge loses for airlines?
No matter what happens, I think the airline industry has proven itself and in one form or another it will not only survive, but thrive. We can only hope for the best!
Image: caribb
NY Stock Exchange
I have avoided making blogs about the poor economy and how poorly the airlines have been doing since I didn’t want to repeat myself. But there is some good economic news for the airlines (well some airlines) and why not have some positive things to share during this time of year?!
AIRLINE STOCKS ARE GOING UP!
The AP is reporting that with oil prices going down, airline stocks keep going up. Even Southwest whose fuel hedging has been hurting them a bit, is doing some airplane selling and re-leasing magic and their stocks went up as well!
Souce: AP via Forbes Image:Helico