Air travel these days has gone from being somewhat of a royal treatment in the glory days to something that most people dread the process of due to all the complexities, varying levels of service, and unfortunate surprises from lost luggage to delays. One of the most recent (and likely largest) bugs in people’s craws about the airline industry is baggage fees. Most view this as the airlines attempting some extortion of travelers to make up for poor sales and crappy efficiency and the industry looks at it as a method of creating fairness as well as generating more revenue. The fact is, done right, à la carte flying done right could make for happy airlines and passengers.
The real key to this is that travelers don’t hate à la carte; in fact, I’d wager that most people really enjoy it. Today’s modern human likes options — that’s why McDonald’s has something on the order of 18 different meal options and some 35-40 foods to choose from. We like menus, we like picking out exactly what we want down to the color. (See: paint chips) People really enjoy things like Dell’s build-a-computer site where you can see exactly what options increase or decrease your purchase price based on how hefty you want to make your new machine. Most of us really enjoy being a bit picky in our own quirky ways and making it unique.
Choices give us a sense of control and power over a situation. We like that.
There are two aspects about the current process that really torque passengers into an angry foam: A) surprises and B) dealing with choices and money at the time of travel.
Let’s face it — travel’s not easy. Whether in a car or a plane, there’s plenty of hassles to deal with between you and your destination. Remembering what to pack, how to get there, timing for meeting people or getting to your meeting, hotel and car reservations, meals, kids…the list goes on and on. People really like getting things buttoned up beforehand and avoiding any issues on the day of travel because one thing piles on another and before you know it, you have a four-alarm fire and no water in sight.
So, along comes the airlines and tosses the ‘pay per piece of baggage’ wrench into the gears of the entire mechanism and fouls the whole damned thing up. Instead of being able to button yourself up before traveling you’re dealing with having to whip our your wallet and toss cash or a credit card at a frazzled check-in clerk in the hopes of making your luggage problem go away. You might have known about it ahead of time, but maybe you didn’t — perhaps you thought you were well underneath the weight limit and suddenly you’re above it and dying inside. And all of this comes on top of pushing the clock to get through security and on your plane in the first place. In short, it becomes your 7th level of hell in a hurry.
The Way it Should Be
À la carte has the great power to be the next revolutionary thing in air travel provided:
- you can handle all the planning and paying details at the time of booking the trip
- no unpleasant surprises greet you on Travel Day
Just imagine being able to choose all aspects of your trip for an adjustable fee! I can think of a great number of options that people would happily pay extra for (or be happy to sacrifice for a lower ticket price):
- Comfort – pillow(s), blanket(s), eye shades, hot towels, heat pads, earplugs
- Entertainment – movies, TV shows, Internet access, on-demand video, headphones
- Meals – how many, how fancy, vegetarian, vegan, kosher, snacks
- Drinks – all-inclusive, pay-per-drink, liquor only, top-shelf
- Luggage – per piece or per weight fees, international luggage waivers, delivery to the plane door, first off the plane, personal delivery from plane to you
- Seating – options for no surrounding children, frequent flyers only, sleeping-only seats, awake-only seating, first-on plane, last-on plane
- Assistance – help boarding, ticketing, security, customs (how many of us would pay to be expedited through?)
There are, obviously, many more options that could be had, but how great would it be to even have such choices to make? And all it requires is a custom bar code on your boarding pass that instantly indicates what you do and don’t get and some cheap hand scanners to make it all happen. In the end, a ticket buys you a seat on a metal tube flying from point A to point B; everything else about the experience you have a choice in and, if you choose, the option to get — for a price.
In the end, the travelers feel more in control of their experience and feel they get a better value for their money, and the airlines can better control costs, make some extra cash, and deliver an experience that matches their customers’ expectations.
What do you think? Would you gladly welcome the “À la carte” option the next time you take flight?
I would welcome an “a la carte” option, however I have a feeling it would be a nightmare for the airlines to orgainze, keep organized, etc. I can see a business man (or myself) who pays for certain options, only to be screwed up by an airline. Now, not only do I have the options I chose, I’m ticked off because I paid extra for them! It seems, these days, that airlines have enough problems staying afloat without having to hire extra people to keep all this straight. (even though I really do like your idea!)
.-= The Sister´s last blog ..Aunt Katy & Keston’s Great Adventures =-.
I like this idea.. but who would manage it? I just hate how expensive everything is getting.. and for less inclusions. It’s like companies are grasping at straws and charging for the smallest things, just because they can. And we’re passengers, cramped on a mostly uncomfortable flight for hours on end, so of course we’ll pay. Total monopoly.
@Aly and @The Sister — I agree that the management of it would be interesting and potentially problematic, but I think a combination of barcoded boarding passes and some handheld scanners + an ATTITUDE of service and following the new scheme and it’d work. Virgin has taken this approach with their airlines except you have to pull out your wallet at every turn, something I’d like to eliminate. But it works insomuch that you can a la carte a bunch of stuff with them. I’d just like to choose all of those options when I’m sitting at home at my computer vs. when I’m in “travel mode” and harried and tired.
But how many people would just be cheap and go with no add-ons?
@Julie: Quite possibly a lot! But if you did it right, the airlines could plan ahead and avoid cooking and preparing for all those, “bare bones” travelers. The cost savings would be reflected in lower ticket prices, meaning more people will fly, meaning more business.
It’s a simple matter of micro economics: If you price your product only at one level, or only a few levels that are widely separated, you alienate a great deal of customers you could otherwise capture. Sure, there’d be plenty of people who would say, “Ok, instead of ordering something fancy, I’ll be content to just GET THERE, amenities be damned”, but how many more people would go, “You know, I *was* going to drive or not go, but since a ticket from MCI->LAX is only $200 bare-bones, why wouldn’t I?” resulting in more traffic for the industry.