USA320Pilot
Veteran
- May 18, 2003
- 8,175
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The Heaviest Baggage Fee Collector: US Airways Stands Out
- Thread starter USA320Pilot
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fudgerunyard
Advanced
- Apr 20, 2009
- 113
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Not sure i'd brag about being the biggest nickel and dimers out there, but i can see how LCC might collect the enormous amount of baggage fees due to their typical "clientele"...LOL!!!
freedom
Veteran
- Feb 15, 2006
- 3,244
- 274
Does customer service really matter ? i mean there is a bottom level, a floor if you will ... but beyond that , does it matter ? a person shows up at the airport , checks in , goes throught the security checkpoint , boards the plane , sits for 3 hours , gets up and leaves the plane and that's the end of it ....unless they go to pick up their bag ....
How much fluff do we really need to add to this process ?
Let me use an example ... there's this store at the scottsdale fashion mall called SNATCH ... i happened to wander into the store for whatever reason and started looking around ... i stopped in my tracks when i saw this T shirt that had a price tag of 359 dollars on it ... i thought it might be a misprint and maybe they ment 30 dollars and 59 cents or three dollars and fifty nine cents .... but no , they were selling this T shirt with some glitter and an artisty imiage on it for about three hundred and fifty dollars ...
Do we really want to end up anything like that store ?
What i'm saying is that i think our level of service is just fine .. we don't need more glitter , let's just focus on trying to turn into a low cost airline ..
How much fluff do we really need to add to this process ?
Let me use an example ... there's this store at the scottsdale fashion mall called SNATCH ... i happened to wander into the store for whatever reason and started looking around ... i stopped in my tracks when i saw this T shirt that had a price tag of 359 dollars on it ... i thought it might be a misprint and maybe they ment 30 dollars and 59 cents or three dollars and fifty nine cents .... but no , they were selling this T shirt with some glitter and an artisty imiage on it for about three hundred and fifty dollars ...
Do we really want to end up anything like that store ?
What i'm saying is that i think our level of service is just fine .. we don't need more glitter , let's just focus on trying to turn into a low cost airline ..
AgMedallion
Advanced
- Aug 31, 2002
- 220
- 0
My daughter (as do I) fly AA virtually 100% of the time. But she had to fly US recently (on someone else's dime). She was totally PO'd not only because of a $15 checked bag fee but the fact that the TA made her take stuff out of the checked bag and stuff it in her carry-on. Not because of any overweight problems in either piece, but apparently the Dash 8s are oh so delicate in their weight and balance requirements. I guess the shift of 5 lbs made the difference between the plane crashing vs getting to PHL in one piece. Yeah, right. Probably just a little power trip for the clueless agent. I hope she's happy that she made my daughter even more determined to avoid US in the future. But I suppose she can't make the connection between good customer service and job security. :down:
It would appear your daughter is an elite with AA and, like US and the other airlines charging bag fees, doesn't get charged for this service. So, that's an apples to apples comparison.
As for shifting weight from a checked bag to a carry on...the agent might have been asking all the passengers to do this to collectively shift the weight and balance per the Captain's request. I've been on AA Eagle flights where they had passengers move to the rear of the plane to balance out the weight. Same concept...
jerseyfinn
Senior
OK, AA collects $108 mil, DL $103 mil, and US $94 mil in baggage fees in 1Q 2009. My math says that AA collects some 13% more in fees than US. So how does US "stand out"?
The metric the article uses is an 1100% increase in fees collected compared to 1Q 2008 ( from $7.5 mil ). Might this coincide with when US introduces the fees? Methinks that guy that wrote the article should take charge of TARP and the stimulus legislation as they too run on hyperbole & distortion of facts and could use an "infusion" of additional irrelevance.
As to the elite paradigm. That too is old news. Your elites are who and what they are today and not yesterday. More insightful is what infrequent flyers now contribute to the big airlines in baggage fees and why FFer folks want/need to develop an elite relationship with one or more airlines to avoid the fees. Call it a subsidy, but a damned smart one by any airline who is trying to run a FF program of even minimal substance. I'm happy to take this "handout" as the non-elites ( who have always been clueless about how to pack and how to fly ) jam the cabins with still more crammed-full overhead bids which add to boarding chaos.
Barry
The metric the article uses is an 1100% increase in fees collected compared to 1Q 2008 ( from $7.5 mil ). Might this coincide with when US introduces the fees? Methinks that guy that wrote the article should take charge of TARP and the stimulus legislation as they too run on hyperbole & distortion of facts and could use an "infusion" of additional irrelevance.
As to the elite paradigm. That too is old news. Your elites are who and what they are today and not yesterday. More insightful is what infrequent flyers now contribute to the big airlines in baggage fees and why FFer folks want/need to develop an elite relationship with one or more airlines to avoid the fees. Call it a subsidy, but a damned smart one by any airline who is trying to run a FF program of even minimal substance. I'm happy to take this "handout" as the non-elites ( who have always been clueless about how to pack and how to fly ) jam the cabins with still more crammed-full overhead bids which add to boarding chaos.
Barry
vantheman63
Senior
Heck...I'd shop in that store, just because of it's name....
Kinda like the time I was in Beaver Creek, CO and I went to Beaver Liquors...and overpaid for a bottle of rum...but how can you not want to go to that store?
And I think US can be a little better at being clever....if I'm not mistaken, Spirit has been so successful with their MILF sale, they keep running it every quarter.
(Get your minds out of the gutter people....Many Islands, Low Fares.)
Dog Wonder
Veteran
I went out of my way to get hooch at Hoosier Buddy Liquors.
longing4piedmont
Veteran
- May 19, 2003
- 1,291
- 6
Here is how they do it......
AA 1Q Enplanements : 4,680.7
DL 1Q Enplanements: 2,579.0
US 1Q Enplanements: 1,653.3
Pax in 1,000's
Yes, AA collected 13% more fees, but the carried 3X more traffic in 1Q of 2009. DL collected 10% more in fees while carrying 50% more traffic. When you look at CO it gets even worse.
Or, another way of looking at it as an average baggage fee per passenger.. (total bag fees/passengers emplaned)
US $56.85
DL $39.93
AA $23.07
Yup...US is reaping over 100% more than AA and about 50% more than DL on a per passenger basis. That should send LCC's stock soaring.
Impressive...in a time when airlines are not able to raise prices, you have an airline that has managed to collect nearly $57 more per passenger.
US $56.85
DL $39.93
AA $23.07
Yup...US is reaping over 100% more than AA and about 50% more than DL on a per passenger basis. That should send LCC's stock soaring.
Impressive...in a time when airlines are not able to raise prices, you have an airline that has managed to collect nearly $57 more per passenger.
Dog Wonder
Veteran
Until the law of diminishing returns kicks in.
