1st Class Seats Removed from 757''s

[TomBascom]

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On 5/25/2003 7:13:45 AM deelmakur wrote:

I have been flying on commercial aircraft for many years. It wasn''t so long ago that coach seating had decent pitch. Flying in the front never occurred to many of us. Now comes the creation of "scrunch class", "thrombosis city", call it what you will. It is uncomfortable. Airlines seem to have the attitude many customers just want to game them for premium seats, and that there is no money to be made on serial upgraders. Perhaps they are right, but when you are operating a system where you require connections in many markets, while competitors go nonstop, it''s probably useful to offer a little extra. In truth, we are not a bunch of wannabe''s looking for status. Just a lttle space.
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Bingo!

 

[insp89]

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On 5/25/2003 8:09:59 AM TomBascom wrote:

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On 5/25/2003 7:13:45 AM deelmakur wrote:

I have been flying on commercial aircraft for many years. It wasn''t so long ago that coach seating had decent pitch. Flying in the front never occurred to many of us. Now comes the creation of "scrunch class", "thrombosis city", call it what you will. It is uncomfortable. Airlines seem to have the attitude many customers just want to game them for premium seats, and that there is no money to be made on serial upgraders. Perhaps they are right, but when you are operating a system where you require connections in many markets, while competitors go nonstop, it''s probably useful to offer a little extra. In truth, we are not a bunch of wannabe''s looking for status. Just a lttle space.
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Bingo!

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The traveling public has made it crystal clear that all they are concerned about is a CHEAP fare. It still amazes me people want -a little extra- while at the same time expect to fly for -a little less-.....

 

[TomBascom]

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On 5/25/2003 3:37:40 PM insp89 wrote:
The traveling public has made it crystal clear that all they are concerned about is a CHEAP fare. It still amazes me people want -a little extra- while at the same time expect to fly for -a little less-.....
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The traveling public has done no such thing. And if you''re an employee of US Airways you better hope that we never do because if it happens you''re toast.

Product differentiation, such as it is, is all that is keeping this airline afloat. It sure as heck isn''t the cheap fares.

 

[USFlyer]

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On 5/25/2003 5:25:30 PM TomBascom wrote:

The traveling public has done no such thing. And if you''re an employee of US Airways you better hope that we never do because if it happens you''re toast.

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The traveling public has indeed done this. Just look around -- people rarely care what airline they fly these days. It''s the lowest fare, lowest fare and lowest fare.

 

[mbmbbost]

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On 5/25/2003 3:37:40 PM insp89 wrote:
The traveling public has made it crystal clear that all they are concerned about is a CHEAP fare. It still amazes me people want -a little extra- while at the same time expect to fly for -a little less-.....

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I don''t think ALL the public is ready to fly Southwest style. And a lot, like me, wouldn''t mind paying a little more for a little extra space and service. We just don''t want to be gouged whenever the airlines have an opportunity to do so.

 

[deelmakur]

I find that being logical in what is essentially an illogical business is usually a zero sum game. On the other hand, I would like to offer this comment. Whether the customer wants premium benefits associated with his/her cheap fare is irrelevant. These aren''t bids for tickets. They are formal tariffs, which we don''t have much to say about. Nobody is screwing the airline. We pay what you ask, and we (a) don''t occupy a better seat you didn''t offer us, nor (B) are we getting seats you could have sold for more to someone else. Everytime I feel a slight tinge of guilt for getting such a chair at the price I paid, I discover I am sitting with somebody who got bumped, bought a "buddy pass", or is using some kind of bullshit upgrade like a 0007. Likely it''s that realization which has brought the cutting edge thinkers in Crystal City to go about building the world''s largest commuter carrier. As I fly regularly on the system, I''m struck by the remarkable enthusiasm shown by the average inflight employee, despite the tremendous loss of jobs and benefits I also note the somewhat inescapable reality that as they cut everything from food to glassware, to routes, to planes, to flights, each successive quarter, while trumpeting better than expected results, if you look at the real numbers, continues to show the place bleeding cash. Good that they pull those big seats. It will remove that whole process as an excuse for the problems which have befallen this enterprise. Madness,they say, is doing the same things over and over. Attacking longtime customers over their loyalty program benefits seems to have resulted in less business from some of them. Reliance on onerous change fees, and the rules associated with them, have caused longtime customers to scale back advance purchases, lest they get stuck with worthless tickets. That has to have contributed to less advance cash in the till. If you pull premium seats, you probably should make sure competitors do, too. They don''t always. The list goes on. If I were a less enlightened thinker, I might be given to conclude that some management decisions are taken without the benefit of analyzing effect. The people who make swords, for example, make them sharp on both edges. As a result, the more successul users are usually careful when the thing comes back.

 

[TomBascom]

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On 5/25/2003 8:00:53 PM USFlyer wrote:

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On 5/25/2003 5:25:30 PM TomBascom wrote:

The traveling public has done no such thing. And if you''re an employee of US Airways you better hope that we never do because if it happens you''re toast.

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The traveling public has indeed done this. Just look around -- people rarely care what airline they fly these days. It''s the lowest fare, lowest fare and lowest fare.

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My mistake. I''m looking forward to the refund check. I should be able to payoff the mortgage...

Now if you''d like to talk about reality consider this -- who is telling you that it''s all about the lowest fare? Management? And you believe them why? Because of their superb track record at running the business?

Maybe you aren''t getting this "lowest fare, don''t care" BS from management -- maybe you''re getting it from the myth of SWA? Once again -- why should you believe it? Who benefits?

Or perhaps you''re getting it from your own personal experience buying tickets?