We recently bought stock in Southwest Airlines. Boy they just do things right. Avoiding baggage fees. Lower costs. And most of all its the people who work for them. Just fly with some one else and you will know what I mean. The New York Times article from last week tries it best to balance and find fault with the airline. But even the problems don't seem like they are insurmountable.
My favorite quote:
But here, too, Southwest sensed an opportunity to showcase its difference. While baggage fees generated roughly $1.7 billion for the industry in the first half of the year, Southwest drew the line. It made its “Bags Fly Free” policy a centerpiece of its advertising and marketing campaign.
“A lot of people have been trying to pickpocket and nickel-and-dime their customers,” says Kevin Krone, the company’s head of marketing. “We don’t think it’s right.”
The policy turned out to be a good business move.
Southwest’s revenue rose by $1.6 billion in the first nine months of 2010, compared with that period in 2007, even as its capacity declined by 1 percent. Part of that growth in sales, Southwest believes, came from new customers fleeing bag fees. Mr. Kelly calls his rivals’ approach “a gift.”
The policy yielded another advantage. It allowed Southwest to subtly shift the focus away from its fares. Although it still offers low fares to many destinations, Southwest doesn’t always have the lowest fares every day on every flight, says Bob McAdoo, an airline analyst at Avondale Partners.
Click the above link to read more.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Roughing it
From the Consumerist:
Like something from a '70s disaster movie, 3,300 passengers on board the Carnival Splendor found themselves stuck out to sea off the coast of Mexico after a fire in the engine room.
Click the above link to read more.
Like something from a '70s disaster movie, 3,300 passengers on board the Carnival Splendor found themselves stuck out to sea off the coast of Mexico after a fire in the engine room.
Click the above link to read more.
Sticker Shock
From the New York Times online:
...and others have been discovering in recent months, airfares in most of the world are on the rise as the global economy picks up and demand for air travel climbs, particularly for business trips. Airlines, meanwhile, have been reluctant to add more flights to meet that growing demand. That is increasing pressure on ticket prices and making for packed planes and longer standby lines as the year-end travel season approaches.
This has been a boon, of course, for an industry that is expected to roar back into profit this year, to the tune of $8.9 billion. That comes after airlines collectively lost nearly $26 billion during the previous two years, according to the International Air Transport Association, an airline industry group. Many of the world’s leading airlines are reporting that the three-month period ended Sept. 30 was one of their most profitable quarters in years.
The degree of sticker shock varies significantly by region and by class of seat, with fares on some routes still at or below those of a year ago, despite some large increases in traffic.
Click the above link to read more.
...and others have been discovering in recent months, airfares in most of the world are on the rise as the global economy picks up and demand for air travel climbs, particularly for business trips. Airlines, meanwhile, have been reluctant to add more flights to meet that growing demand. That is increasing pressure on ticket prices and making for packed planes and longer standby lines as the year-end travel season approaches.
This has been a boon, of course, for an industry that is expected to roar back into profit this year, to the tune of $8.9 billion. That comes after airlines collectively lost nearly $26 billion during the previous two years, according to the International Air Transport Association, an airline industry group. Many of the world’s leading airlines are reporting that the three-month period ended Sept. 30 was one of their most profitable quarters in years.
The degree of sticker shock varies significantly by region and by class of seat, with fares on some routes still at or below those of a year ago, despite some large increases in traffic.
Click the above link to read more.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Las Vegas Top Secret Tourist Trips
Looking for a free shave while in Vegas? Cheap booze? Looking for a temporary casino? A free room tour of the Bellagio? Free coupons to dozens of Vegas restaurants?
Click the above link to the stripbroadcast.com. More secrets than you care to know.
Click the above link to the stripbroadcast.com. More secrets than you care to know.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
When is the cheapest time to book a flight?
The answer is eight weeks ahead of time. In the afternoon. Science solves one life's mystery.
Click the above link to read more from Lifehacker.
Click the above link to read more from Lifehacker.
Monday, August 02, 2010
Spirit Airlines: Cheap Airfare, but at What Cost?
From ABC News:
So to get a better idea about Spirit, I bought a ticket between New York and Myrtle Beach, S.C. and prepared for the worst. The first thing you notice when boarding are ads for timeshares, casinos and the airline's credit card plastered everywhere inside the cabin.Then there is the legroom. Or, I should say, the lack of legroom. I'm 5-foot-4 and my knees were touching the seat in front of me. And that was before the supersized gentleman one row up decided to lean back. Too bad I wasn't on one of Spirit's new jets -- the seats on those don't recline at all
Click the above link to read more.
So to get a better idea about Spirit, I bought a ticket between New York and Myrtle Beach, S.C. and prepared for the worst. The first thing you notice when boarding are ads for timeshares, casinos and the airline's credit card plastered everywhere inside the cabin.Then there is the legroom. Or, I should say, the lack of legroom. I'm 5-foot-4 and my knees were touching the seat in front of me. And that was before the supersized gentleman one row up decided to lean back. Too bad I wasn't on one of Spirit's new jets -- the seats on those don't recline at all
Click the above link to read more.
Monday, July 12, 2010
20 Reasons to Hate the Airlines
From Time.com:
How much is it worth to you to cut in line at the airport? You can find out this summer, as several airlines have begun charging passengers a fee (between $10 and $30, depending on the airline) for the privilege of being first in line to board, ahead of that family of four with seven carry-ons. It's just the latest in the airlines' long campaign to boost their bottom line by quietly upping fees, cutting back on services and finding new ways of charging customers for things they used to get for free. Indeed, ever since the 1978 deregulation of the airline industry, the history of air travel has been one long, painful chronicle of nickel-and-diming the consumer to distraction. Here's a brief history, in 20 chapters.
How much is it worth to you to cut in line at the airport? You can find out this summer, as several airlines have begun charging passengers a fee (between $10 and $30, depending on the airline) for the privilege of being first in line to board, ahead of that family of four with seven carry-ons. It's just the latest in the airlines' long campaign to boost their bottom line by quietly upping fees, cutting back on services and finding new ways of charging customers for things they used to get for free. Indeed, ever since the 1978 deregulation of the airline industry, the history of air travel has been one long, painful chronicle of nickel-and-diming the consumer to distraction. Here's a brief history, in 20 chapters.
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