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US airlines are pushing to remove protections for passengers and add more fees

travelandtourworld.com

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Re: US airlines are pushing to remove protections for passengers and add more fees

#161

Post by Bhilai »

DangitBobby wrote: post #27
eadmund wrote: post #17

> [Elimination of] Automatic Refunds for Cancellations Does this mean when the passenger cancels or when the airline cancels? If it’s when the passenger chooses to cancel, this seems fine and fair: he paid for a flight; he chose not to take it. If it’s the latter, then it seems very unfair. > Transparency of Fees This seems patently unfair. Folks should know what they’re going to be paying ahead of time. > Family Sea…

> If you want to sit together, pay for that privilege. Agreed. I think they leave too much money on the table. Use of window shades and lavatories could be behind a subscription service as well, with Sky Comfort+ affording you the privilege of multiple lavatory visits for those who have chosen the luxury IBS lifestyle. I'll let you know if I think of anything else those pesky airline passengers take for granted.

Agreed. There should be a fee for speaking too. Some passengers are really chatty. In today's world where free speech is already being curbed, Airlines should charge a free-speech fee for passengers who plan to converse.

Separately there should be a fee for opening/closing the AC vent and using the overhead lights.

Re: US airlines are pushing to remove protections for passengers and add more fees

#162

Post by imgabe »

Aurornis wrote: post #135
xenator wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

> Every time I paid by cache on oil stations. Sometimes my car was half empty, sometimes it was almost full, but I expected long run. And every time amount I need to pay was completely unpredictable. How is this any different than filling up a car in any other country? Gas stations post their prices outside. You should get a feel for how many gallons are going into the tank when it’s half full or mostly full. The pum…

> paying by the gallon only happens in the United States

It does. In other countries they pay by the liter and it's also much more expensive unless you're in the middle east.

Re: US airlines are pushing to remove protections for passengers and add more fees

#164

Post by cdrini »

Forgeties79 wrote: post #106
cdrini wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would be reasonable, but I think I could take it or leave it. Planes fill up more than hotels would be my guess, so they'd need a buffer window of like a month? At which point the difference between having and not having cancellation protection seems negligible to me.

I think we’re making a lot of assumptions here. For all we know one to two weeks could make a lot of sense. I understand airlines are very feast or famine and often operate on very thin margins, but at this point I’m willing to pay a little more for the experience to not be so categorically and consistently miserable

I think for me my main gripe with air travel is how hard it is to predict the price and how high the prices are. It takes me like a day of research to book a flight due to how careful I have to be to confirm what luggage I'm allowed/etc. And it's incredibly easy for me to get burned because aggregator sites like Google flights can't tell you eg how much a carry-on would cost, so I have to try to determine if the cheaper flight is _actually_ cheaper, etc etc. And I'm tired of having family have to pay crazy hundred dollar + fees for an extra carry on because the eco light ticket (although the ticket just says eco on it) doesn't actually include a personal item, that's only part of the eco ticket, and since you're at the counter that's going to be $100 fee for you to carry a purse onto the plane. -_- Shout out Condor.

Otherwise I find everything ok. The flights are fine -- packed but it is what it is there's high demand. I could do with/without the food if it reduced the price, I can pack my own. But otherwise I find them fine.

What makes air travel miserable for you?

Re: US airlines are pushing to remove protections for passengers and add more fees

#165

Post by jdlshore »

Y_Y wrote: post #90
tclancy wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US flights (99% of what I have experienced) definitely can get into three figures for anything other than "middle seat, way back". They know there's at least a built-in audience of taller people who will spring for legroom on any flight over an hour. And now that I am old and tall, an aisle seat and legroom are incredibly valuable to me (don't tell 'em, ok?).

Oddly there is no such premium for wide people. I understand (somewhat) price discriminating based on the quantity of space required by the passenger (for comfort or from physical necessity), but then why does this apply to one dimension and not the other. I'm not even talking about pay-by-weight as was famously tried between pacific islands. Nobody wants to have someone spilling over the armrest into their seat, and…

Most airlines require very wide people to buy an extra seat. The requirement is that they have to be able to lower the armrest.

Re: US airlines are pushing to remove protections for passengers and add more fees

#166

Post by thieving_magpie »

eadmund wrote: post #77
spartas wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Also, nothing is worse than the folks who didn’t pay up ahead of time who bug one, ‘may we switch seats so we can sit together?’ Some of us parents ask that question for your benefit, not ours. Do you want to sit next to my three-year-old?

> Do you want to sit next to my three-year-old? Not particularly, no. What I want is for you to purchase the seats your family needs ahead of time, not ask me for them for free. I know that travelling with kids is really tough. I sincerely sympathize! But it’s not a surprise that a kid needs a seat next to his parents. They know when they bought the ticket that he’ll be coming along, because they’re buying the ticket…

Then don't whine when you're sitting next to a 3 year old that has all the same justifications you do for sitting there. I don't appreciate social pressure to make your flight as comfortable as possible at my financial inconvenience.

In all seriousness I understand your point but I think it's worth considering that you're also applying social pressure.

Re: US airlines are pushing to remove protections for passengers and add more fees

#167

Post by ghaff »

nemomarx wrote: post #87
hopelite wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Related to that; I am curious in what airlines think they will get or what motivates them to prioritize being deceptive, sneaky, dishonest, manipulative, lying, con-artists, i.e., just abusive all around? If everyone is required to provide "all in pricing" then there is no competitive advantage in being a bigger, better fraud; so must it be concluded that they think they have a competitive advantage at being the bett…

First principle is that customers will choose whoever has the cheapest flights in general, and airlines that try to market on having an inclusive price without surprise fees suffer anyway because the real cost is closer to fees. The second is price discrimination - think current McDonald's prices. Soaking people who can afford it and letting people who are very frugal navigate your confusing system and membership etc…

I'll just amend to say that many on this forum are probably not super price-sensitive. But, within the broader population, many people are going to be more or less unconditionally looking to shave $100 off their family vacation. Which encourages a lot of a la carte nickel and diming over all-in charges.

Re: US airlines are pushing to remove protections for passengers and add more fees

#168

Post by cats_4_freedom »

Spooky23 wrote: post #93
hopelite wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Related to that; I am curious in what airlines think they will get or what motivates them to prioritize being deceptive, sneaky, dishonest, manipulative, lying, con-artists, i.e., just abusive all around? If everyone is required to provide "all in pricing" then there is no competitive advantage in being a bigger, better fraud; so must it be concluded that they think they have a competitive advantage at being the bett…

It’s really easy: it’s all about revenue maximization. Honestly, people fly too much. I’m 6’5 with a 24” shoulder - flying economy is painful for me and the poor soul stuck next to me. I don’t need to fly for business and am fortunate to have a lot of PTO. So, I fly first class, business class, or not at all. If the cost is too much, i drive. There’s virtually no east coast trip that is more unpleasant to me via car.…

[flagged]

Re: US airlines are pushing to remove protections for passengers and add more fees

#169

Post by carefulfungi »

wartywhoa23 wrote: post #143
Mistletoe wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve seen the movie Brazil and I wish more people had so they would have voted better.

[flagged]

Everyday I think to myself, "Biden and Trump sure do govern exactly the same - I can hardly tell anything changed!"

Re: US airlines are pushing to remove protections for passengers and add more fees

#170

Post by xur17 »

lumost wrote: post #112
hedora wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Checked luggage charges are mostly about price discrimination and not cost savings. They also free up the cargo hold so they can transport mail. Speaking of which, did you know the TSA screening area is a farce?

I’ve always wondered if it would be cheaper to just have everyone check their bags and eliminate the overhead bin. I wouldn’t be surprised if airline boarding was sped up by 2-3x this way.

A lot of airlines have started doing this by "gate checking" bags.
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