Is that why passenger enplanements, revenue passenger miles, and available seat miles are all up over 2009 levels? Don't be so quick to conclude that the capacity issues on Amtrak and the rise of companies like Megabus are solely driven by trends in the airline industry, an industry that still carries the largest bulk of paying travelers. Let's not ignore the price of gas, which is the main culprit behind these recent shifts in consumer preferences. Amtrak ridership has been growing steadily for quite some time; the recent gas price spikes only amplifies an existing issue.
"Up over 2009 levels"? That is a Toyota level of PR spin that you don't see on this board. Toyota issued a bunch of press releases in January 2011 congratulating themselves on a 1.1% increase over 2009 sales. 2009 is when their sales plummeted due to the sudden acceleration PR disaster.
I don't understand what Toyota has to do with any of this. 2010 passenger enplanements, revenue passenger miles, and available seat miles are all higher than their respective 2009 levels on a monthly basis, except for ASMs in the first couple of months of 2010, and enplanements in February 2010. The data for months in 2011 is not yet available.
What I found funny is that when those extra charges rolled out, the ticket prices did not appear to reduce by a corresponding amount... or any amount for that matter. How is it that US Airways can get me from Pittsburgh PA to Frankfurt Germany in 14 hours for about $750 ... and that includes two meals and handling my luggage, yet it costs $350 for a 2.5 hour jaunt to Ft. Lauderdale and they won't even touch my bags or offer me more than a warm coke? Either U.S. Air is overcharging for the PIT - FLL flight and then attempting to charge me extra for luggage/legroom/early boarding, or they are losing vast amounts of money on the PIT-PHL-FRA flight that I do twice a year.
Even more egredious is the $900... $900... Air Canada tries to charge me for a ticket to get me from Pittsburgh to Toronto on a direct flight.... it's only a 5.5 hour drive yet flying takes longer than that due to security, customs, getting to YYZ, etc. Amtrak might take 9 hours to get you to Toronto from Pittsburgh via Cleveland, but they'd only charge you $120 for it round trip.
Furthermore, there is substantial reason to believe that the checked bag fee arose only because the TSA began banning liquids over 3 ounces in carry-on bags. The fee was introduced as yet another way for the airlines to abuse their passengers..... they do it because they can... and because people are too dumb to understand that buying liquid personal care items at their destination is far cheaper than paying for the checked bag fee.
The PIT-PHL-FRA vs PIT to FLL comparison is a simple example of supply and demand, nothing more. US Airways is not overcharging if it's filling its planes and/or turning a profit. Maybe for you, but apparently not for others. Air Canada charges you that much because A) they can, and B) those flights are offered as a connecting service. Don't like it? Either don't fly it, or connect somewhere. The same applies to if you were to try to book CAE-ATL on Delta. To the airline, the seat on a feeder flight is worth the full value of someone's flight itinerary. That is, when you book a seat on a regional/feeder flight by itself, the airline often times must upcharge you to recover what would otherwise be potential lost revenue since that seat isn't sold to someone who is going onto another flight, and who likely paid a higher fare. You may find it best to book two one-way itineraries on your Toronto trips and book through to another destination on the way up to Canada. By booking through to Vancouver on Air Canada and just not boarding the connecting flight in Toronto, the one way fare is $51 less than your flight to Toronto by itself. A similar practice yields a savings of $60 by booking through to Montreal.
To ignore the fact that fuel costs were almost 100% higher than the previous year at the time of the first bag fee in mid-2008 and suggest that the fees placed on checked bags were really a result of the unrelated TSA ban on liquids is pretty out there. The liquid ban began in August of 2006; the first checked bag fee didn't come until almost 2 years later from American. If your theory was true, don't you think the airlines would have maybe implemented that policy quicker? The baggage fee was a direct result of sky-high fuel prices at the time. United's COO said at the time, “With record-breaking fuel prices, we must pursue new revenue opportunities, while continuing to offer competitive fares, by tailoring our products and services around what our customers value most and are willing to pay for.” Why do you think that every airline has some kind of vendetta against their paying passengers on which they solely survive? The airlines had to pass that additional fuel cost onto the passenger. They didn't have a choice.
Likely story. Airlines don't price their fares based on an abuse factor. :lol: Aside from bag fees and the recent changes in airport security, tell me, how has airline service deteriorated to the point where they now "abuse" their customers?
bag fees, extra leg room fees (hear of "coach plus" yet? it gets you a vast 3 more inches of room), Other "premium seats", Zone 1 and 2 fees (which is just a way to get people who won't pay the checked bag fee to pay more since they'll get first dibs at overhead bins), termination off beverage service on many shorter flights, extra charge for pillows/blankets/etc.)
Your list includes items that are all non-essential to the actual service being purchased and subsequently provided: high-speed, consistent, safe air travel. Pillows, blankets, and drinks all have costs to the airline, and if you want one, you've got to pay for it. Besides, who needs a drink on a 25 minute flight anyway? The other fees are all ways for customers to personalize their flying experience to their liking. When I flew Southwest last month, I paid the $10 early bird check in fee because I value a window seat in front of the engine. The same goes for coach plus - there is a very real demand for that onboard product. If you want the extra inches of legroom, you've got to fork out for it. If you want to sit in standard pitch coach, you don't. Why is that "abuse?" The business model has changed. Deal with it.
I like the one where there is a "checked bag fee" but it's more expensive to do it at the airport... as if there was an extra cost to the airline for swiping your card at the kiosk instead of online.
Online check-in allows for a smoothing of the check-in process and decreased labor at the airport with an associated cost savings, plain and simple. If half the passengers or more on a plane are checking their bags in online, the airline can reduce their airport staff from 3 to 2, or 2 to 1.
Delta just added what I consider the first reasonable baggage fee I have seen, $5 gets you tracking of your bags. You are emailed the location of your bags as they pass through the system. Just like package tracking.
But why should you have to pay for that?
That's pretty neat. I hadn't heard that news yet. Why should you pay for it? Because on top of the technology costs undoubtedly involved in implementing this service, it allows the passengers who value this service to pay for it. Others, like myself, won't value such a service, meaning that I won't pay for it.
I can't imagine the responses on this board if/when Amtrak implements a bag fee.
