Here’s the thing: in order for fees to work, there needs be something worth paying to avoid. That necessitates, at some level, a strategy that can be described as “calculated misery.” Basic service, without fees, must be sufficiently degraded in order to make people want to pay to escape it. And that’s where the suffering begins.
That’s just awful.
The always-excellent Megan McArdle begs to differ: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-01-06/hate-to-fly-these-days-its-consumers-fault-too
My money is on Megan.
Calculated Misery – like offering an iPhone 6 with 16 Gb of memory. Or 12 Gb.
Just wait until they start charging you $50 to use the lavatory.
Yep, the New Yorker article is tempting to believe, as McArdle points out, but Wu’s claim doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
This is the same argument as planned obsolescence/batteries not included. Some people don’t want the added stuff, others do. It’s a business, one with the goal of making profit.
Wu’s article is, to put it politely, complete horsepucky. Customers have no one but themselves to blame. You know what the most profitable airline in the US is? Spirit Airlines. The most miserable, smallest, fee-adding airline in the world. Last in service, #1 in profits and growth. Customers are getting what they want, good and hard. If people wanted better service for a price, Virgin and Jet Blue would be rolling in dough and Spirit would be limping along. In the real world, the opposite is true.
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2014/12/cheap_airlines_why_americans_will_suffer_worse_service_on_flights_in_order.html
I travel more than most people, average around 3-4 flights per week. You might think everything is hunky dory for people for people like me since I have status. Not really.
The only thing status gets you is pre-boarding which helps you avoid the Battle of Helm’s Deep which is the current boarding practice by airlines. Other than that, you really don’t get much more than the average traveler. Business aren’t willing to pay for upgrades so it has to come out of your pocket. The seats are definitely smaller, the food that you pay for is worse, lineups are longer, yadda, yadda, yadda.
My tips: If you’re traveling in the US you need TSA Pre. Full stop. If you can pay to proboard then pay for it. Scout out the airports ahead of time to figure out your food options. Pee before you get on the plane. Select seats or checkin in as soon as you can since flights are stuffed these days and you don’t want the middle seat.
Other than that, flying is only slightly better than Greyhound. Choose your airline by staff attitude since what they offer is pretty similar. The staff at United are dispirited unhappy bunch – avoid them like the plague. I like Alaska (live in BC), WestJet, Virgin, etc. I’ve had good experiences with American lately where they used to be abusive 5 years ago. Delta is hit and miss. Internationally Emirates if you can.