tracon

that the Air Canada pizza loses it's toppings. Nothing left now but a topping of generic cheese. No tomato paste, no pepperoni, no mushrooms.

Unless of course you want to be nickled and dimed for all your toppings. Blanket & pillow $2, meal $5-7, seat selection $15.

Generic cheese = IFE

Not that we needed another thread on this topic, I just wanted to word it a little differently.

mtacchi

I have 6 cheese pizzas to eat today. 2 will be deluxe..the other 4..well not so deluxe..

Shareholder

Are you some kinda Commie or something?! The whole point of the new AC world is "choice". Why pay for what you don't use? Why pay for pizza toppings that AC dictates you should eat? Afterall, go to Dominoes and you get to choose your toppings. Same thing now on AC, a stripped down pizza so you can bring your own additions to sprinkle on top.

Just like pillows and blankets on domestic flights. Seldom if ever use them, and they just sit their in the bin. Yet I'm paying to keep 'em clean and taking up valuable overhead space and weight. Those who use 'em should pay the cost of providing 'em. Same with all that extra heavy luggage people check in with. Students with their school libraries and a semester of dirty clothing... Families delivering Christmas presents and gifts when they visit relatives.

And meals, we all complained about 'em when AC served them for "free". Now we can pay rock bottom fares and not have to worry about being assaulted by all that stange stuff on the platter.

So I am all for providing user-pay choice on AC. That's true capitalism: none of the imposed services that we all have to pay for, but only a few ever use. If I want that, I'll go Fat Cat Class...or at least pay a bit more for an upgradeable fare that will get me a chance at the AeroLotto...

[And before anyone posts about my temperment this morning and what I've been drinkin, I have been drinking Ferrari's YORKSHIRE GOLD English tea. ]

shore9

AC's arguement is that they are not including these things in the ticket prices. So does that mean that all T and T+ fares will decrease by about 10 dollars? I really doubt it, just another cash grab as far as I see, and a sad attempt to get money from some already very high revenue pax. I hope they rethink this one and don't try to charge SE's 2 dollars for a pillow, the aggrivation caused over 2 dollars for a pillow can mean a lot more than a 2 dollar loss down the road in revenue.

Gaz

What flights is seat selection $15 for, just domestic?

YOWkid

When flying on Tango fares.

patty canuck

I find myself agreeing with you on this one

T and T+ fares wont decrease with these new cost-cutting implements ... and even if they do, I doubt they'll let us know that it is happening because we don't have access (and not saying that we should) to a $ for $ breakdown in our ticket price. I would gather that current legislation wouldn't let us know anyway.

As well, when an E or SE - people who obviously generate $$$$ for AC - are forced to get pillows at any price being non-complimentary, the issue becomes an actual ethical one or more so a basic principle violation (ie. this is someone who obviously has been loyal and we are rubbing salt in the wound for making them pay for some comfort). Not all, but some E and SE may take this personally - for those who do have options in flying (like those who travel cross-border a lot), at least they can switch to UA or US. Every status person counts as each does generate a lot - even a few who see this as an insult can hit the AC pocket book - who says that the business of, for example, 10 SEs is not wanted?

This pillow-and-blankie thing probably could be better handled if for say they allowed free pillows for NA flights, for example, under 2-3 hours or overnighters/red-eyes from West to East. I would have no problem with that because at least you can justify distribution by saying - are you really going to sleep on a flight under 2 hours where the descent and ascent make up an hour of non-productive sleep anyway?

East-West AC

Free pillows and blankets are provisioned on red eye flights.

makin'miles

And even Tango fares aren't always great deals. While you can get a round-trip Tango fare from YOW-YYC/YEG for $500 all-in (a very good deal), you can also pay more than a $1000.00 (not quite so good, particularly when you get 50% non-status miles, no free seat-selection, and get nickled and dimed for everything else).

I agree; it's a cash grab but, hey, it's a free market.

tcook052

Umm, thanks parnel, err I mean SH.

Ah, that explains it.

taupo

that if you work in the banking/finance sector, you have started a new year. All the good you did last year is past and long forgotten. Your targets, stretch targets have all been stretched to punish you for doing so well the previous year.

parnel

[QUOTE=tcook052]He hangs out with good people and just came back from Ireland which is the most capitalist Country around these days.

parnel

Ah that's why they are raising mortgage rates

Shareholder

[QUOTE=parnel]
Actually, I head over on Thursday. And it's not the capitalist fervour of Ireland I am looking forward to, but rather enjoying a pub in Europe without having to have my lungs filling with noxious fumes from endless cigaret smoking!

As for the original topic, if this continues to generate surplus cash for ACE, then by all means keep charging for pillows and seat selection and all the other frills. Afterall, why shouldn't companies make money in the airline business? There's lots of domestic competition today for those most desirous of cheap fares between major cities. I've seen a few $1,000 returns on WESTJET too, when AC had lots of cheaper seats, so you can't base such statements on the handful of cases where flights are pretty much sold out and only high fare buckets are open.

parnel

[QUOTE=Shareholder]Yea the complaints are from those bottom feeders who think airlines are charities.