Originally Posted by
sxf24
I agree. Although we all dislike the "un-bundling" of the travel experience, there is no proof to show that it drives customers away. In fact, most analysts are critical of WN for leaving hundreds of millions of dollars on the table by not implementing some type of baggage fee. This is the wave of the future, though I would expect to see some "re-bundling" of full fare economy tickets, ala Business Select.
pjpoker Its been said before, but your going to pay it regardless. Higher fares, fees, whats the difference. At least most people here are educated enough to factor fees into their ticket price.
My issue isn't entirely with the fees themselves. I flew Air Asia this summer extensively and loved them - I don't mind pay-as-you go if the base fare is a value
and the fees themselves are reasonable. My problem with all of this is the airline industry's attempt to have it both ways. For instance, it's well known that the nicer the hotel the more expensive everything is (mini bar, that innocent-looking $7 bottle of water in the room, internet etc.). The airlines seem to be in some ways going after that model of charging high prices for absolutely everything, but yet they deliver a greyhound type product. For reasons too complicated to get into, I don't think an airline (at least a US-based airline) could possibly deliver a high-end hotel type experience... and most of us only seem willing to pay for a more-or-less greyhound experience. So if that's the market, why not cut the BS and just focus on the things people care about? Why pretend to be a premium airline, charge premium fees and fares, deliver a greyhound experience, and ultimately fail at both?