Us Airways Implements Service Fees

[700UW]

Next thing you know they will put a coin box on the lav door and charge to use the lavatory. Maybe charge per sheet of toliet paper too!

 

[ELP_WN_Psgr]

If you start charging for toilet tissue, you'll also have to have the FAs monitor the lavatory door to make sure folks don't try and sneak in with a copy of the inflight magazine, or worse yet....Skymall.

 

[ktflyhome]

Well 700, we are implenting selling snacks on flights to
AZ. Besides that, I just think it is really sad that we do this to our customers and have such idiotic people making such idiotic decisions. I really makes me sad.

 

[PITbull]

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 7, 2004 -- US Airways has introduced a service fee for customers who desire personalized reservations ticketing assistance. The fee applies for tickets for domestic U.S. travel purchased by calling US Airways’ toll-free reservations or visiting US Airways’ airport ticket counters, and is effective Sept. 9, 2004.

See link:

http://www.usairways.com/about/press/nw_04_0907.htm

[post="176761"][/post]​

We will now see bookings drop substantially. Not everyone has a computer, and there are many folks out there that have never even turned on a computer. U will only be able to have revenue from the section of the public that has internet and has a computer.

Bad move, once again.

Much better move would be if the company incentivized using internet and kiosk machines by offering a $10 discount etc...

 

[tadjr]

Also kind of hits those passengers who dont have a credit card for online booking and usually pay cash for things, unless they can figure out how to get the money through the computer screen.

 

[PITbull]

Also kind of hits those passengers who dont have a credit card for online booking and usually pay cash for things, unless they can figure out how to get the money through the computer screen.

[post="177412"][/post]​

There are folks out there that have BK on their record and can't even get a credit card.

 

[JS]

You have NO IDEA how this action just cooks my goose. I am madder than a boiled owl!

This type of activity is exactly the reason that LCC's got there foot in the door in the first place. While I DO NOT like SWA's product per se, I Do like the more customer friendly approach when it comes to fare rules and fees.

Seems to me that this latest customer unfriendly "Gotcha" is proof positive that the legacy carrier should be called "Dinosaur Carriers". We all know what happened to the Dinosaurs?

[post="177388"][/post]​

PineyBob, how would you know that you don't like Southwest's product if you haven't even tried them?

KCFlyer, you will be happy to know that I flew on Southwest last week. It wasn't a long or connecting flight (ONT-LAS), but it was kinda fun walking through the cattle chutes.

The flight was half full, so I could have been the last person to board and I still would have had my choice of empty rows in the back. For $29+tax one way it was cheaper than driving. The flight was 30 minutes late because of a mechanical delay earlier in the day. However, it was only 30 minutes because they brought out a spare plane rather than cancelling or waiting a long time to fix it.

PineyBob, PLEASE take a Southwest flight so you will actually have personal experience to compare. I promise you there is a good chance you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[JS]

Good Point!!! I had thought of that. Charging people who are incapable of using the Internet due to physical/mental disability could be interpreted as violation of the ADA.

[post="177084"][/post]​

for crying out loud...

The ADA is abused enough as it is. Charging a service fee is hardly discriminatory. Bad business idea, yes, but illegal? No way.

 

[JS]

When SWA offers me the same thing the Lakewood Blueclaws do for an $8.00 ticket I will fly SWA.

Until I can buy a ticket with a seat assignment SWA will not get penny one, PERIOD! END OF STORY CASE CLOSED!

I'm NOT playing their moronic boarding card BS.

That is my buying criteria and I apologize to no one. Just like I don't shop at Wal-Mart because I don't like their business practices. I spend my Companies and MY MONEY the same as if it all were my own and everytime I've priced SWA they have been higher than US.

Also my last few trips involved places like BZN, FAR, FSD, GSO, CLT, and shortly MOL. You might note that SWA flys to exactly NONE of those places. I have to use the UA Code share. And the highest fair to those cities was $545.00 to BZN and that was only because it was a circle trip that involved LAX.

For the type of travel I do SWA CAN'T meet my requirements, assigned seat wise, upgrade wise or otherwise. Get over it!

[post="177428"][/post]​

I fly to dinky places, too. The week before my ONT-LAS Southwest flight I flew on Delta from SLC to EKO. Elko, NV -- not even a taxi stand at that airport.

No one is suggesting you fly Southwest for 100% of your trips. I usually fly Delta because Delta flies to lots of places, rewards me with SkyMiles to lots of other places, and gives me free upgrades to First Class.

Regarding the open seating, I'm just as picky. I want a window seat in the last row of First Class on planes with two rows (otherwise towards the back), alternating between port and starboard on a connecting itinerary, and if First Class is not available, I want a window seat behind the wing (but not the last row), also alternating between port and starboard on a connecting itinerary.

I am not making this up; this is really what I do when I pull up the seat map. I can't imagine being more picky with seat assignments than that, so all I can say is just try Southwest once just to say you've tried it.

Just try them the next time you need to fly somewhere Southwest flies out of PHL and it's the same price as US (you can't use the excuse that BWI is too far from PHL anymore). Pretend that a WN ticket is a joint and cave to the peer pressure!

 

[GadgetFreak]

Boiled owl. Hell, I cant stop laughing. How did you know what boiled owl tasted like....

But to the fees. This is typical, although it seems like other legacy carriers are doing it too. Something like 75% of the population has computers now. I doubt the ones who dont do a lot of flying. Since other carriers are doing it as well I suspect it wont matter much. I think a much bigger problem with ticket sales, orders of magnitude bigger is the uncertain future of US. I have one ticket in the queue at the moment, but I cant imagine I will buy any more in the future until I get a better view of where things stand. I couldnt recommend to others that they buy a ticket either. If they really declare Ch11 and get a lot of bad press regarding liquidation it seems to me it that sales will disappear. This fee business is a tempest in a teapot. When travel agents, corporate sales offices and the like get nervous about the future of the carrier you will see a real drop.

 

[reznc]

We are all ready discounting ff award trips on the net, they can only be on U, no Alliance partners and must be round trip, i.e no open jaw, no stopovers.

However, I do recollect CCYGuy saying way back that there was to major improvements in Aug/Sep and to look out for my job, that people would be able to do all sorts of wonderful things, e.g. look up their ff number if they couldnt remember it, change and reissue tickets.

So we introduce a charge and constantly have to listen to a barrage all day long about how our page is down. I realise our web page help desk is located in FL and they may be having a rough time at the moment, but it is not operated from there!

I appreciate all the other legacy carriers are doing it, UA charges the most at $15, but why now, why not when they all jumped on board? We have enough on our plates with the hurricanes and the media bashing us daily which only serves to inflame the infrequent flyers. Is this just another measure to wear us down?

 

[ClueByFour]

We will now see bookings drop substantially. Not everyone has a computer, and there are many folks out there that have never even turned on a computer. U will only be able to have revenue from the section of the public that has internet and has a computer.

Bad move, once again.

Much better move would be if the company incentivized using internet and kiosk machines by offering a $10 discount etc...

[post="177410"][/post]​

Bingo .

"The beatings will continue until morale improves." I can only conclude that BBB was beat up early and often as a child on the playground, since he does not understand the difference between a carrot and a stick, and why it's best to use the former approach when dealing with those who buy your product.

 

[diogenes]

I'm waiting to hear how the fallout from this will get blamed on the nasty ol' unions - as U management, according to certain posters, never screws the pooch.

 

[TravelGirl21]

Lets start implementing new charges for the ticket counter when checking in... 1st question free....2nd is $5.00 and so on... yet really stupid questions $25.00 Lets just charge the hell out of the public.....next the kiosk will answer any questions you may have because there won't be any agents (human ones) what is happening to this industry..... its becoming a very sad state of affairs...... Sometimes I am really am embarrassed to be an employee with this company......

 

[tadjr]

Well at least I got some of my questions answered today in DRS. No charge for Chairmen for any tickets. No charge for tickets requiring something be exchanged (RTFCs or Vouchers), no charge for non rev tickets, no charge for reissues or tickets purchased at the kiosks.
Only charge is for first time issued tickets that do not have to be ticketed at the airport ie. anything that can be booked online basically.
There were some other *s involved, but didnt have time to digest and write them down.