This is my opinion, take it as you see fit.
Our industry''s revenue generating process is broken and should be discarded. The first place we should make drastic changes is in our pricing policies. The fare system in place today can only be called ridiculous. Tue Wed fares with Sat stayovers at $98.00 round trip vs. $1900.00 walk up fares for the same flight. Where is the sense in that? Wearing a red hat on Tuesdays may get you a lower fare, but be advised you cannot change anything unless you want to pay $100.00 for the privilege. Does that make any sense to anyone? I bet 99% think as I do and the whole system needs to be scraped like the garbage it really is. Crandall (AA) had the right idea and the guts to try it. Have 4 or 5 fares for a route- that’s it! What could be simpler? Think of the man-hours, the phone calls, the confusion and the COST a simple fare structure will do away with. I know the nay Sayers are chomping at the bit to kill such an idea, but hear me out. The lines would be shorter and move much faster. Passengers would be far less confused about what they get for their money and on our side the hassles would be 90% less and the stress would be 99% less for both sides of the aisle.
Look at this simple illustration of what it could be like going from ALB to MIA in coach. First class would carry a $50.00 each way premium and be for fare 1-3 only. FOOD would be served on any flight over 1 hour.
1. Business fare- Walk up: $275.00 each way
2. Business fare- 7 day advance $220.00 each way
3. Leisure fare - 14 day advance $175.00 each way
4. Leisure fare - 21 day advance $150.00 each way
5. Leisure fare - 30+ day advance $125.00 each way
What are the rules you ask? Simple - I like the KISS principal myself.
Rules:
1. Totally refundable for 1 year- voucher after 1 yr.
2. Changeable without penalty - No name changes permitted.
3. Purchase dates written in stone - no waivers.
4. Standby permitted anytime during the ticketed day if fare class is full.
5. DM rules remain in effect.
6. Stopover rules remain in effect (hidden cities, short checking etc.)
This is where the nay Sayers will go nuts I''m sure. But think of it this way. Imagine the shear relief of all passengers knowing it was not a use it or loose it ticket. Knowing that if they screw up the dates, all is not lost. I dare say we at USAirways would have full planes galore with folks paying real money for a real ticket and not taking advantage of the business passenger as it works now. Let us remember one thing, the business passenger has been paying the family vacations way for decades. Lets give everyone a break. How comforting would it be to our passengers knowing they get all the frills of US (seat assignments, DM, FOOD, drinks, interlining bags, and all the rest) without having to follow stupid and insane rules? Imagine what our public image would be like and the number of complaints vs. compliments. All the regular rules not listed above would apply such as the INVOL policy, etc. The only thing that changes is the cost structure. The above fares are for example only, I don''t live in either place so I''m can''t say what is a fare price, but I suspect we have folks in Crystal City who could.
What about the no shows?? Glad you asked. Since ALL fares allow standby or change at NO cost, I suspect our now show factor would not be an issue. When one doesn’t show, one does to replace them. If our goal is to put butts in the seat, then let''s give them a reason to sit there and NOT hassle them. Air travel is hard enough as it is without insane rules making it worse. I suspect the load factors would rise and the work for all would be so much nicer. When the employees AND passengers are happy, money flows in by the boatload.
Since we would have fewer and shorter lines and calls to rates etc, the obvious question is, do we need all the folks we have now? The answer is YES, most deffinatly YES. They may not answer as many calls from agents, but they would instead answer far more calls from passengers making reservations. The gate and counter agents would have MORE people to process at a faster and simpler rate. FA and Pilots would fly MORE planes that are fuller and mechanics and cleaners would service more planes. What does it mean? It means we do not cut but EXPAND!!!!!! More planes and more jobs and NO reason to cut salaries or keep sucking it up for 6.5 more years. Let the company take the high road and open contracts before 6.5 yrs and reward us for our hard work instead of slamming the door on careers because of the lack of paying passengers. The above will bring them to us in droves
For once I would like to see US make the first move instead of following all the time. Do I want us to be a SW clone? NO. Do I want my company to make it? YES. Let''s take the bull by the horns and pray someone who can make it change reads this and other suggestions and LISTENS.
I may have missed a few points, but the concept is sound I believe. Thank you for your time.
22 PM TomBascom wrote:[/P]
