on 12 January 2010
Delta Air Lines and Continental Airlines both raised their fees for first and second checked bags to $25 and $35, respectively, while offering discounts of a sort to travelers who check in online.
Other airlines may soon be matching or raising fees.
With all of the inconvenience that travelers went through post-Christmas after the Northwest Airlines terrorism incident, the bag fee hikes add insult to injury, so to speak. And, that’s especially true since there have been restrictions on, and more inspections of, carry-on luggage.
What a simple experience it is to fly these days.
Just take a look at a portion of Continental’s bag-fee grid, which follows:
This is how major airlines add value to the travel experience during these already-stressful times.
There has been speculation that Southwest Airlines may abandon ship and begin charging for first-checked bags.
I don’t believe that JetBlue — another holdout — will be far behind.
After all, JetBlue is transitioning to a new reservations platform with all kinds of opportunities for new ancillary revenue — including, possibly, checked-bag fees.
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Despite the intense pressure southwest must be feeling from Wall Street, it would be a mistake for Southwest to back off on the bag fee issue – especially because of the significant media positioning.
Example – My 81 year-old mother-in-law knows the Southwest policy and insisted on flying on them from MCO-MKE even though she was not even checking a bag… She refused to consider comparable non-stops available on Midwest and AirTran unless they were priced well below Southwest.
That degree of loyalty is remarkable – especially since she had never flown Southwest previously. I think Southwest has struck a chord with the traveling public that is tired of being on the losing end of the “heads – we win, tails – you lose” relationship with the airlines.
I completely agree. Besides the assuredly public relations backlash/ridicule — particularly in social media circles — raising fares or fees has not been the M.O. for the LCC. The mantra has always been a Wal-Mart-like focus on improving operational efficiencies and reducing costs.
And regarding the loyalty-factor that Robert alluded to, Southwest has built that loyalty on the back of the experience they provide travelers, not just low prices. Sort of an upstart-mentality. Following the pack in raising fees that infuriate travelers (either because they’ve been made to pay them or because of the impact on boarding and comfort because everybody is bringing their luggage on the plane) could change travelers perceptions of the airlines. It would be easy to argue the economics of the situation, but it would ring hollow to loyal travelers and seem as if the company is losing the very soul that attracted them to the carrier for so long.
Glenn – loved the “upstart mentality” line… I continually find it amazing that I engage in discussions where clients have lost focus on product experience & service delivery due to sudden infatuation with a new technologies or social media channels.
The key is to efficiently provide a quality consumer experience at a reasonable price. Consumers want simplicity, transparency and authenticity in their brand relationships. Southwest built its brand on those pillars and I can only hope that Southwest will continue to differentiate itself from the competition by maintaining its unique selling proposition.
It’s not very often the TSA rules work in favor of airline ancillary revenues. No more carry-on, oh and by the way, we’re charging you more to check your bag. My predictions for 2010:
1. Airline customer satisfaction will show a marked decline this year as customers feel nickle and dimed to death for things they cannot control.
2. Airlines will see an increase in ancillary revenues directly related to increased baggage fees.
I suppose in hindsight these predictions are not really predictions but more like stating the obvious.
Yes, I’m rooting for Southwest and JetBlue to be steadfast and to refrain from the first bag fees. As I’ve pointed out elsewhere, though, Southwest has upped plenty of fees for other services. And, JetBlue’s transition to Sabre as a host, and they hinted as much, makes me think that lots of changes re. ancillary revenues are in store.
Yes, Stephen, the TSA rules are working in the airlines’ favor on bag fees. Maybe they should do the patriotic thing, under the current security circumstances, and roll them back. I’m obviously a dreamer.