There was a time when flying was fun. It was a different time and a different world. A time when people dressed to fly. Wear your best clothes and for a short time be part of the affluent society who could afford to fly above the buses and trains. There was real silver with the dinner servings and linen napkins. Booze was free. My parents didn’t drink it in front of us kids but they took the small bottles home for later. When my father flew for business he usually took his pistol. No one checked and it was assumed that some of the businessmen on the airplane who were carrying valuable documents likely were armed. The others felt safer too.
I might as well be writing science fiction today. That was then, and today flying is a pain, and it’s not just the security issues. We pay for dirty aircraft, poor or non-existent food, schedules not kept, bags lost, and sometimes hours on the runway – the list could go on and on.
The real problem is that most airlines simply have poor business models. Their pricing stinks and their “competitive” strategies are worse. I understand discounts for early ticket purchase but surveys continually show disparity of pricing as a primary customer complaint. Travelers sitting three across could easily have paid $600, $1,600, and $200 for the same seats. No one likes to feel like a chump.
Conversely it has always seemed strange that a day-commute passenger and a vacation traveler with bags paid the same. Baggage takes staff, storage, logistics, and fuel. Baggage has always cost money that was not collected – or maybe the day-commute business flyer was just overcharged. Magically one airline recently figured it out and slapped a $50 charge on our second checked bag. That is poor customer relations.
We all realize that flying likely will not return to the glory days. But a better business model would sure help. Make it simple, keep it simple but most of all have a business plan that makes sense, pays your bills, keeps aircraft maintenance current, is easy to implement and can be explained on one advertising placard.
If I knew my ticket would be (for example) $279 within the same time zone, and go up $100 each zone crossed – that would make sense to me. If I have baggage to check at $20 per bag then I can make some packing decisions. A $10 ticket for a sandwich, chips and soda is fine, or $15 for pasta, salad, and a glass of wine – that works for me.
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