File this one in the "justifying ourselves" category. The latest US Airways employee newsletter includes a box that lays out the cost of in-flight soft drinks compared with beverage costs elsewhere.
That's right. Since hardly anyone will give you a Coke for free, US Airways said, let's see how we stack up. What did this hugely unscientific survey reveal? That Charlotte's dominant carrier is firmly in the middle of the pack. Wow. And here I thought it would end up on top. Shocker.
Here are the results of "a little investigating" by US Airways:
Company ... ounces in drink ... cost per ounce
Aer Lingus ... 11 ... 68 cents
The Ritz Carlton ... 10 ... 50 cents
Scandinavian Airlines ... 11 ... 41 cents
Spirit Airlines ... 12 ... 25 cents
AMC Theaters ... 16 19 cents
US Airways ... 12 ... 17 cents
Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport ... 20 ... 13 cents
Hilton Hotels ... 20 ... 10 cents
Circle K ... 20 ... 8 cents
Subway ... 21 ... 8 cents
Walmart ... 12 ... 2 cents
First, something tells me Doug Parker and Scott Kirby weren't the ones making all these beverage runs. Wonder which lucky US Airways employee showed up for work and was told, "So, here's what we need you to do today ... "
Second, if you didn't get my meaning from "hugely unscientific survey," I'm not putting a lot of stock in this. Hey, nobody's happy about US Airways charging for drinks. Some people understand it, some people complain. Rather than tell your employees something like "See, it's not a bad deal compared to other places," US Airways probably should stick with "You gotta do what you gotta do." I mean, do you really expect flight attendants to tell a passenger, "Sure, it's $2, but you should see Aer Lingus!" Um, no.
On the plus side, US Airways is moving toward a system that should cut down on troublesome cash exchanges on planes. ("Break another $20? Geez.") In an earlier employee newsletter, the airline said it recently finished testing handheld devices that will allow payment by credit card.
The goal is to have those ready to go early next year ... just in time to charge for more stuff, apparently. US Airways said it's looking at pillow and blanket kits similar to what JetBlue recently announced. No word yet on whether you can pay another $5 to have a flight attendant sing you a lullaby.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
30 comments:
Moral of the story, just drive when possible. Hey you can get a big gulp soda for less than $2.
Next up: pay toilets?
Why do they have to develop a new system to charge for drinks etc. Wouldn't it be easier to just add a screen on the website. When you book a ticket, it comes up and asks: How many bags will you check?, How many Cokes do u want? Do you want a meal? You could select what you want and pay for it all at one time! Wow, image something that made it easy! And they don't have to pay for a portable credit card reader!
Good point. Then again, I may think I want a Coke when booking my flight or checking in the night before, but depending on what kind of day I have before takeoff, I might need a beer ...
I don't understand why they are suffering the bad publicity at all. Why didn't they just hike the airfare enough to cover the one bag and assume everyone wants a soda? Seems much easier on the public relations end.
I'll stick to buying the 20 oz soda bottle at the airport for the same price. Heck, I'll buy two! Never know with all those delays.
With the gas prices on the decline, I wonder if they'll ever cut those "extra" costs?
So I'm a little confused. They are going to charge people $2 for a coke because they are losing money. The thought is that we'll cut down on the free stuff and make a bit of a profit here. However how is implementing a new technology to allow credit cards going to help? Of course users will be allowed to pay easier, which might increase the chance that a customer will buy a drink on the flight, but does it really help cut costs? I think the cost of this system is going to far out number the amount of money made from selling cokes on flights. However I don't have the numbers on me, so I could be wrong. Just my thoughts.
How do you justify comparing yourself against a hotel cost????
Why not just up the price of a ticket by $20 and be done with it instead of nickle and diming everyone to death?
This could be an opportunity for a savvy traveller to bring a 24 pack on the plane as carry on luggage, and undercut the air carrier. If a case goes on sale for $6 ($0.25/can), and you sell it for $1.00/can, you could pick up an extra $18 in profit per trip (assuming you sell all 24 cans) - just a thought...
The last flight I was on I added up the "take" based on who bought what and how many. USAIR made a whopping 6 bucks -- but the attendant goodwill they lost was "priceless." How much did the credit card reader/system cost them? Ridiculous.
4:17: You can't "carry on" a 24-pack 'cause they won't let you have liquids! So you either have to pay an outrageous amount before you board or after -- they know you are trapped.
Its unfortunate that Southwest doesn't service Charlotte because its a far superior airline. First, they arrive and leave on-time much more often than US Airways does. Second, you don't have flight attendants pitching you credit cards. Third, there is no blaring inflight "entertainment" pitching you to buy things from the airline. Fourth, they haven't cut their service or started nickle and diming you for basic services in air travel. The role of the flight attendant has changed to that of a sales person. No wonder traveling is not enjoyable anymore.
If you add the cost of beverages to tickets, then you'll get people complaining that they won't be ordering a drink and its not fair. No matter what...people will always complain about something. If you don't like it, drive. We don't get free soda's in hotels, so why would airlines be any different. You can say the same point that hotels should add the price of drinks to their bill so we get free drinks. Think about it. At the end of the day, the airlines are providing a service and flying should be viewed as a luxery. This story is so old...get over it. Most of the people who are complaining hardly fly. I fly about 4 times a week for work and when talking to other frequent flyers...this never comes up. Most of the time we are laughing at the people who don't fly much and are complaining the loudest about everything. Suck it up and buy your bottled soda after security and save yourself 25 cents.
just a thought for the guy that travels 4 times a week and compares this to a hotel, you are missing the point. since when does a hotel hold you hostage in your room for 3-5 hrs? And you did get breakfast, which far outweighs the cost of one soda!! this cost is for families that try to travel on a budget, add $100-$200 extra for bags, 8 bucks or more for soda $20 for pillows and blankets. it is ludicrous. I also travel like you and so know that you will not see the charge, cause you, like me are in the front of the plane
I'm going to be unpopular here...but I like the charge. The flight attendants spend less time in the aisles and I don't have to hear them chatter...plus less people getting up /down to use the lavatory.
You pay for a beer after you pay a cover charge at a bar (generally) so who cares about $2 for a soda that you could have bought BEFORE you got on the plane anyway.
If you want free food/free drinks "pay" for them by sitting in first class ;) Otherwise sit back, relax and be glad you can fly so cheaply.
-signed a frequent flyer.
wa wa wa,,,maybe the flying public would like me to take another pay cut.not gonna happen..bring on southwest,,,we love the compitation,,look at all the press & kudo's the other(so called) low cost carriers got when they came to charlotte..how many are still here..don't like usairways,,,,take a stroll down concourse A...you won't be missed..when was the last time you went to a panther game,bobcat game, or knights game & got a free coke,h20 or food.don't like it,,,load up the kids,,,fill up your gas tank & drive,,,,bring your own food,,,drinks,,,and have a ball,& while your at it,,,clean up your own mess.
If you're looking for something to be outraged about, perhaps you should do a price comparison of the fees attached to unaccompanied minors. US Airways charges $100 each way... which adds an extra, and outrageous, $200 on top of already exorbitant airfare.
I guess it's not important to not take advantage of divorced parents trying to help their kids spend time with their other parent.
These airlines are corrupt to the core. And we just keep taking it...
right on...just take your garbage with you when you leave the aircraft.i 'm not at work to clean up your messy seat,,,your kids goldfish crackers or you peanut shells,please don't forget the diapers....do you have a seat back pocket at home ,where you put this stuff..????take grayhound...you'll probably love it!!and fit right in.
Anonymous, who posted at 9:31, is clearly an imbecile. Sir, if you're going to try to use polysyllabics, clearly for the first time, please at least try using words that are spelled properly. Goodness, you must be one of the prize results of CMS.
$100.00 each way....what's wrong with that...i'd pay it to know my kid is watched after,,,given a free soda,or 2,sometimes moved to first class,,,given free head phones on long flights, along with a free meal.what's the problem.
In reality I think US Air is extremely intelligent. While we are arguing over the semantics of PR associated with charging for drinks, pillows, extra bags, etc. what we really overlook is the fact that they remain one of the worst airlines in the industry. Customer service has always been horrendous at all levels of service: phone, ticketing counter, check-in counter and even the flight! While we debate whether drink prices should be included in ticketing, US Air gets to continue avoided the real issue.....CUSTOMER SERVICE. Ironically enough, customers seem content to pay for good service and the delivery of products for which they purchased, neither of which US Air knows how to do.
As a BMOC, US Airways gets big publicity on every move. There's a fact all the airlines are missing though. They are losing passengers with these fees. The surcharges are accelerating their own demise.
My local gas prices have dropped about $0.50 from a high of a little over $4.00. That's about 12.5%. Yet I haven't heard anything about backing off these fees or reducing the fares. Think they are ever going to go down? Think again.
We are watching an entire industry commit suicide right now. And the scary part is that it is an industry that technology can actually replace for the most part. You can't replace the private travel, but you can make it so expensive that the private traveller cannot afford it. But conventions and business meetings will rapidly move towards virtualization. And that's the airlines' meat & potatoes. Bye-bye, and get used to it.
If they're going to start charging fees, I would gladly pay a hefty sum for one US Airways flight that actually left on time.
I've hated US Airways since they took over Charlotte Airport,after buying good old Piedmont Airlines.Pack a meal,and put it in your carry-on,along with an empty water bottle.After security,fill the bottle at a water fountain.I'm convinced US Airways pays a guy to come up with ways to harass us.And they pay him well.
what really is interesting in all these posts are the mistakes in spelling.
Fist off, can we stop with the clever "what's next? Pay toilets?" quips after every blog? It wasn't funny the first 50 times it was posted.
Secondly, people seem to think that flying is a right not a privilege. Airlines are private corporations that can do and charge anything they want. They have the right to try to survive. They don't OWE you anything. Free market remember? Have you economic guru's posting on here ever looked at the financials of any airline? If you did you would realize that your ticket should probably cost about $2000 to go anywhere. I know your Mommy told you that you are special and deserve whatever you want whenever you want it, but too bad, times have changed. Stay home.
I think a vending machine would be the best and cheapest route to go. Every plane should have one.
What is REALLY interesting with these ala carte beverage charges (which I support) is suddenly NOW there are many people that ARE NOT Thirsty and incredibly, Multitudes of people are TIRED and take a nap. And do YOU think the airline cares WHETHER YOU Purchase a Beverage??.....They don't....they are actually hoping that YOU DON'T. EXPECT NOTHING FROM NO ONE......AND YOU WILL NOT BE DISSAPPOINTED!
Post a Comment