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Quotes of the Day
From Maria Walter, United Airline's director of merchandising, on the barrage of innovative, second generation fees coming soon to a flight near you:
[Walter] told conference attendees that the airline wants passengers to see the new offers as "options," not as fees. "Options are different than fees," she said.
Walter was speaking at the Ancillary Revenue Airline Conference, an entire event dedicated to brainstorming newer, subtler, and more annoying fees. And then there's this, from legendary LA talk show host Michael Jackson, on what the triumph of "vitriolic, unsympathetic, bombastic" talk radio means about America:
That we're amazing. That we can put up with all of that and more! It's the best country in the world.
I admire Jackson's optimism. I don't really share it, but I admire it.
For a glance at the future
For a glance at the future try traveling on Allegiant Air. After you pick the flight (with base price) they ask you to pick a seat assignment for an additional 10-15 dollars (per segment if you have a layover). Checked bags are priced on a sliding scale (15-35 dollars per segment) depending on when you pay for it. And they seem to conveniently fail to process the fee when you initially purchase the ticket.
Next year they'll probably be charging a seat belt fee, reading light fee, window fee, aisle fee, oxygen fee . . .
And one of my 'favorites'
And one of my 'favorites' from the credit card industry - a fee fee. An extra fee to handle the processing of the other fees.
Tripp
Shhhh !
Please don't give them a list of ideas.
Probably not the wisest
Probably not the wisest course of action. The airlines should have just raised prices and been done with it. "Fees" piss people off and the guy in the street will just travel less. Business is getting better and better at long distance video conferencing and as more communication becomes web-based it will continue to reduce the need to waste precious dollars and time traveling.
For example, Second Life has seen an uptick in their corporate product as business customers are finding ways to hold virtual meetings on their platform instead of flying people out. The harder and more expensive you make travel, the more incentive you provide for alternative solutions to fill the gap.
Personally, I've already stopped any air travel that isn't mission critical.
Here's a thought - can I
Here's a thought - can I have the option of being stripped, drugged, and shipped in a tube like a corpse? It would be, arguably, less demeaning, certainly cheaper, and more honest than the current method of moving bodies from place to place.
I know people like that have to exist. I just wonder how they sleep. I hope it isn't with the same scrip aids I use for flying, because that's addictive if you fly too much. Or have to be a marketing consultant.
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