CBC Sunday Morning - From Air Passenger Bill to Monte Brewer
Mar 3, 2008, 1:13 pm
#16
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: YOW
Programs: Aeroplan
Posts: 968
Fair point. I'll make some of my own:
1. People would book seats on the earlier flights because the later would be sold out if "everyone" was booking the later flights. Or, in an ideal world, the earlier flight would be canceled due to low numbers, they'd put a larger plane on for the later flight and then they'd only be running one plane and making more money for themselves (one crew, one set of landing fees, etc. etc.)
2. AC is missing out on the goodwill/customer service component. If I get to the airport early and they have an empty seat and I get home early, I feel good about the airline.
3. The more passengers that are at their destination, the fewer passengers who need to be rebooked when weather or mechanical happens. Of my 7 flights this year, 5 have been delayed by hours due to mechanical or weather (mainly mechanical.) If my travel is a fair sample (and I didn't fly through ORD once!) then there must be some real $$$ to be save by Air Canada if they deliver passengers who are at the airport, ready to go, early, instead of making them sit around while problems mount and then having to figure out how to reroute them.
4. It would save AC money at the lounges (I'm not sitting in there eating/drinking/taking up space waiting for a flight when an empty seat could have taken me away.)
5. Even if it is fair to charge for changes, why is the fee $150 on my $283 flight this week and only $40 on my flight $156 flight in May? (Perhaps because AC has several flights I could change to on this week's route but only offer one flight a day on the route in May, therefore they can offer a cheaper change fee simply because there are no flights to change to.) Both are Tango Plus fares.
1. People would book seats on the earlier flights because the later would be sold out if "everyone" was booking the later flights. Or, in an ideal world, the earlier flight would be canceled due to low numbers, they'd put a larger plane on for the later flight and then they'd only be running one plane and making more money for themselves (one crew, one set of landing fees, etc. etc.)
2. AC is missing out on the goodwill/customer service component. If I get to the airport early and they have an empty seat and I get home early, I feel good about the airline.
3. The more passengers that are at their destination, the fewer passengers who need to be rebooked when weather or mechanical happens. Of my 7 flights this year, 5 have been delayed by hours due to mechanical or weather (mainly mechanical.) If my travel is a fair sample (and I didn't fly through ORD once!) then there must be some real $$$ to be save by Air Canada if they deliver passengers who are at the airport, ready to go, early, instead of making them sit around while problems mount and then having to figure out how to reroute them.
4. It would save AC money at the lounges (I'm not sitting in there eating/drinking/taking up space waiting for a flight when an empty seat could have taken me away.)
5. Even if it is fair to charge for changes, why is the fee $150 on my $283 flight this week and only $40 on my flight $156 flight in May? (Perhaps because AC has several flights I could change to on this week's route but only offer one flight a day on the route in May, therefore they can offer a cheaper change fee simply because there are no flights to change to.) Both are Tango Plus fares.
Mar 3, 2008, 2:12 pm
#17
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: YUL
Programs: AC 25K
Posts: 245
Fair point. I'll make some of my own:
1. People would book seats on the earlier flights because the later would be sold out if "everyone" was booking the later flights. Or, in an ideal world, the earlier flight would be canceled due to low numbers, they'd put a larger plane on for the later flight and then they'd only be running one plane and making more money for themselves (one crew, one set of landing fees, etc. etc.)
2. AC is missing out on the goodwill/customer service component. If I get to the airport early and they have an empty seat and I get home early, I feel good about the airline.
3. The more passengers that are at their destination, the fewer passengers who need to be rebooked when weather or mechanical happens. Of my 7 flights this year, 5 have been delayed by hours due to mechanical or weather (mainly mechanical.) If my travel is a fair sample (and I didn't fly through ORD once!) then there must be some real $$$ to be save by Air Canada if they deliver passengers who are at the airport, ready to go, early, instead of making them sit around while problems mount and then having to figure out how to reroute them.
4. It would save AC money at the lounges (I'm not sitting in there eating/drinking/taking up space waiting for a flight when an empty seat could have taken me away.)
5. Even if it is fair to charge for changes, why is the fee $150 on my $283 flight this week and only $40 on my flight $156 flight in May? (Perhaps because AC has several flights I could change to on this week's route but only offer one flight a day on the route in May, therefore they can offer a cheaper change fee simply because there are no flights to change to.) Both are Tango Plus fares.
1. People would book seats on the earlier flights because the later would be sold out if "everyone" was booking the later flights. Or, in an ideal world, the earlier flight would be canceled due to low numbers, they'd put a larger plane on for the later flight and then they'd only be running one plane and making more money for themselves (one crew, one set of landing fees, etc. etc.)
2. AC is missing out on the goodwill/customer service component. If I get to the airport early and they have an empty seat and I get home early, I feel good about the airline.
3. The more passengers that are at their destination, the fewer passengers who need to be rebooked when weather or mechanical happens. Of my 7 flights this year, 5 have been delayed by hours due to mechanical or weather (mainly mechanical.) If my travel is a fair sample (and I didn't fly through ORD once!) then there must be some real $$$ to be save by Air Canada if they deliver passengers who are at the airport, ready to go, early, instead of making them sit around while problems mount and then having to figure out how to reroute them.
4. It would save AC money at the lounges (I'm not sitting in there eating/drinking/taking up space waiting for a flight when an empty seat could have taken me away.)
5. Even if it is fair to charge for changes, why is the fee $150 on my $283 flight this week and only $40 on my flight $156 flight in May? (Perhaps because AC has several flights I could change to on this week's route but only offer one flight a day on the route in May, therefore they can offer a cheaper change fee simply because there are no flights to change to.) Both are Tango Plus fares.
Maybe AC have done this, maybe they haven't. Sometimes I doubt it (and we shouldn't give them any ideas). Anyway, since this is a bit off topic maybe we should start a new thread titled "Reverse Engineering AC's Revenue Management Model"
Mar 3, 2008, 10:32 pm
#18
Join Date: May 2006
Location: YVR
Programs: AC, BW, National
Posts: 268
I'll jump in ..... cowabunga!
And while they talked about the software AC had to maximize revenues and how an airline seat is perishable and worth nothing when the gate closes; they didn't address the fact that AC will let a seat go empty if a passenger confirmed on a later flight is standing at the gate willing to fly earlier but unwilling to pay the change fee. If they are interested in maximizes profits, I'd think they'd fill the empty seat leaving in a few minutes and hope to sell the later seat at full price with a last minute traveler.
So they will do it, just when you don't appear eager.
..... SC