Way back in July I reported that American Airlines had a $240 million loss in the 2nd quarter and Delta reported a loss of $168 million in the 2nd quarter, but the CEO of American had told a crowd of corporate travel agents at that time that he expected their airline would return to being an industry leader by the end of the year. Well, we’re getting close to the end of the year and I haven’t heard them crowing about that yet!!
One of the ways that the airlines have been able to show profit is not through the fares that they are collecting, but through the fees that they are charging. In 2011, those two airlines really made some hay with ancillary fees: American reported collecting $2 billion, Delta reported $2.5 billion. Without those fees, they would have been totally in the tank.
A question I frequently get is “do you think they will ever do away with these irritating fees they are charging?” And my answer is; “not in the current environment”. They are making too much money with this practice to go to any other model.
The fee I hate the most is having to pay a premium to get an aisle or window seat. We used to be able to reserve a seat at time of reservation, but nowadays, about the only seats available to reserve at time of reservation are the middle seats in a 3-seat row. For illustration, I was booking a couple to Honolulu several days ago for a trip next summer, and the only seats that I could assign at the time were 4 seats in the middle of the airplane on the 42nd row. All the other aisle and window seats were blocked for sale at an additional fee. My rant about that is that the consumer has already paid handsomely for a seat on their airplane, and they should not have to pay an additional fee for a particular aisle or window seat, especially if they are making reservations on that airplane 6 months in advance. . plus they had to purchase those tickets 24 hours after making the reservations.
Of course the other nuisance fee is the baggage fee, but it has been in place for over 3 years now, and probably according to the airline’s plan, folks are getting used to it; it’s just becoming common expectation when traveling on an airline.
Someone else asked me since the jet fuel has been going down, are they going to be reducing their air fares. I stifled a smile, responding that if that ever happened I would be a monkey’s uncle. Really, I think we are hooked as far as the ancillary fees, and my prediction is that we haven’t seen the last of them. I’m guessing that the restrooms are next!!
The airlines have made themselves necessary in our culture though, so as long as they are here, some travel agents are willing to help the concerned traveler find the best fare at the best time that fit their pocketbooks. The Travel Factory is one of those agencies, so give us a call when you want to go somewhere. We are positioned between Rosas and Chick-Fil-A at the Plaza at Park Central; or 325-698-1421 or 800-760-4040.
Website is available anytime: www.thetravelfactoryabilene.com.