What incenses travellers more than anything these days is that the advertised price of an air fare they have purchased online can double when it comes to the final amount charged. A friend flew from Frankfurt to London with Lufthansa: the fare was $15 – plus $133 ‘taxes’!
Just as we have become reconciled to a raft of taxes – as wide-ranging as the US Animal & Plant Health Inspection Tax, the Sydney Noise Tax and the Canadian Airport Improvement Tax – here come the airlines with extra charges for all manner of things, from checked baggage, onboard meals and beverages, even soft drinks and water, to changing tickets, and (caveat emptor) hanging on for hours on the help-line.
Airlines have been moving towards à la carte, pay-for-all-the-extras pricing for some time, adding charges for everything from meals to window seats – following the budget carriers’ lead, believing that this is the magic bullet for restoring profitability. Travellers can now find that the final cost of a flight is three times more than the initial price of the ticket.
But à la carte can work well for travellers (provided it is transparent and offers them choice). After all, why pay for meals and drinks that you do not need (subsidising that fellow passenger who eats and drinks everything in sight), or for checking bags when you only have light hand luggage?
US carriers (except Southwest Airlines) now typically charge $15 or $25 for the first checked bag; $25 and $50 for the second bag, and $100 each for the third, fourth and fifth bags, and have reduced the maximum weight from 32 kilogrammes to 23 kilogrammes in economy.
At Air Canada’s website, you can choose from four basic fare levels. The top tickets, Latitude and Executive Class, are all refundable and come with priority check-in, food, drinks and all the frills. The cheapest fare, Tango, requires extra fees for meals, advance seat selection, flight changes and access to the airport access; Tango passengers can save $3 if they forgo frequent flier miles, or do not check a bag.
Air Canada’s à la carte pricing model is being followed by other carriers. American Airlines, for example, has announced it will fully implement à la carte pricing this year, offering a few basic fares, giving travellers the option of paying for additional services.
Ryanair now plans to remove all check-in desks from airports by 1 October 2009, forcing passengers to check in online. And don’t expect lenience if you are overweight: Ryanair allows only 15 kilogrammes of checked baggage per passenger (compared to EasyJet’s 20 kilogrammes), has increased its excess baggage charge to $20 per kilo, and will charge $7 per passenger per flight for bookings. Now CEO Michael O’Leary says he expects to introduce charges of $74 per bag this year, with a view to getting rid of hold baggage.
Perhaps O’Leary is simply flying another kite, to maintain his position as the man so many love to hate.
This is open season for satirists and soothsayers. The notion of having first class, business class, and economy might disappear in favour of à la carte travel, whereby travellers would pay a basic fare, depending on their choice of seat, for transportation, and pay extra for meals, drinks, in-flight perks, entertainment options, baggage, lounges, fast-track security, curb-side check-in, and door-to-door limo transfers.
Well, there’s nothing new under the sun. Some 30 years ago, the Canadian carrier Wardair (long since subsumed by Air Canada) offered quality at reasonable prices with a single standard of cuisine and service throughout the plane and a ‘Big Seat’ option. No matter how much you paid for your ticket, you could trade up to a Big Seat in the front of the cabin for around CA$50.
Now that’s a template for the future.
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