The carrier is also stepping up its efforts in working with third party distribution channels such a

A decision by US-based, wanna-be ultra low cost carrier Frontier Airlines to charge passengers that opt to book travel outside of the carrier's website up to $100 for carry-on baggage car coupon discount dollar rent is the latest move by an airline to stoke the already intense flames of passenger indignation ignited by their frustration over fees that continually diminish the passenger experience, most notably for the infrequent traveller. While Frontier is the latest carrier to fuel the fires of passenger angst through unpopular fees, its moves also illustrate the widening gap between treatment of higher yielding frequent travellers and customers that travel by air every one to three years.
Frontier's motivation with the changes ushered in just in time for the busy summer travel season in the Northern Hemisphere is to drive traffic to its own website, which is a much cheaper distribution mechanism. But the carrier in no uncertain terms also declared that its most loyal customers "have made it very clear that finding overhead bin space for carry-on bags has become unacceptably difficult. In response, Frontier will be introducing a charge for carry-on bags for customers buying 'Basic' fares through third party sites".
It is only logical that Frontier and other airlines would cater to regular travellers who frequently open their wallets to pay for airline tickets. car coupon discount dollar rent But it is almost inevitable that during the summer high season, headlines will crop up highlighting the plight of some unaware customer who felt bushwhacked car coupon discount dollar rent by a fee lopped onto his or her ticket price.
Given the ample media scrutiny leveled car coupon discount dollar rent on the airline industry, it would seem carriers might have a keen interest in avoiding news reports that seek to intensify the perception they are cold and uncaring by attempting to ensure passengers are educated car coupon discount dollar rent about various fees and how product unbundling is crucial in sustaining the nascent profitability most US carriers are now enjoying.
But director of the US-based Consumer car coupon discount dollar rent Travel Alliance Charlie Leocha car coupon discount dollar rent believes that airlines shun educating passengers about various fees to give the impression they are still charging lower fares. He declares carriers then use a "bait and switch" manuovere car coupon discount dollar rent with add-on fees including baggage charges.
During car coupon discount dollar rent the last couple of years the US government has made some attempts to protect the uneducated passenger by requiring airlines and ticket agents to disclose all mandatory taxes and fees in published airfares and ensure customers are aware of baggage fees when they are purchasing tickets.
car coupon discount dollar rent But insofar as expending effort explaining the evolution of fees to the less frequent travller, long-time aviation consultant Robert Mann concludes that type of education is largely cost prohibitive. "The idea of trying to inform the truly infrequent customer is beyond what airlines can do cost effectively," he says.
Additionally, if airlines opted to improve their communication to a customer base spending less than the top tier elites, they are "essentially broadcasting a bad message", concludes Mann, which is "you get screwed" unless you buy direct from the carrier's website.
Instead airlines look to make information available through their partners, primarily companies that share their co-branded credit cards. Most card holders are exempt from baggage and other fees, which results in firms such as American Express having an ability to make a positive pitch about fees and other charges and the exemptions that card holders enjoy, explains Mann. He does credit the US DoT for advising passengers to be aware of certain types of fees during their journeys in press releases issued by the agency.
The Consumer Travel Alliance's Leocha offers a more succinct conclusion as to why airlines opt not to educate passengers about fees and other changes in their business model: "Airlines fight talking car coupon discount dollar rent to passengers."
Behind the headlines of mounting passenger annoyance over additional fees, there are carriers who are bolstering their efforts to educate passengers about product options at the point of sale. American Airlines believes its new fare bundles unveiled earlier this year – Choice, Choice Essential and Choice Plus – allow for more transparency in communicating the different product attributes of each tier to passengers.
As all the major US legacy carriers followed car coupon discount dollar rent United's lead in raising change fees earlier in the year to roughly car coupon discount dollar rent $200 for domestic itineraries, American placed messages on its website regarding the changes in fees, says carrier car coupon discount dollar rent managing director car coupon discount dollar rent of digital marketing Rick Elieson. At the time he spoke to the APEX Editor s Blog, American was conducting a phased roll-out of the update as it worked to coin the right language for the message. But Elieson stresses that American is attempting to communicate the changes early in the passenger's decision making car coupon discount dollar rent process as customers determine the best fare class for their needs.
Even as American works to determine the best methods car coupon discount dollar rent of communicating all the elements included in each of its fare bundles, Elieson acknowledges the carrier's efforts to improve passenger car coupon discount dollar rent awareness are a work in progress. He cites a customer letter he recently received inquiring about dispensation after the passenger was unable to travel on a booked car coupon discount dollar rent trip, and concludes that passenger's "life could have been made easier" if he or she had a knowledge of the varying levels of flexibility that accompanies each Choice product.
From the onset of Spirit Airlines ushering in the ultra low cost business model in the US during 2007, the carrier has been at the forefront of product unbundling as a means to charge the lowest fares possible. Spirit was the first carrier to charge for checked luggage and carry-on bags, and has caused its fair share of passenger consternation for additional charges it has introduced including fees for printing boarding passes by a check-in agent.
Spirit's entire business model rests on the premise that the lowest fare remains the main driver among its target passenger base – leisure car coupon discount dollar rent customers and the visiting, friends and relatives (VFR) segment. Even as its unconventional methods of charging for everything outside of the base fare still draws ire from some customers, that angst is
"Whenever you are different you get more scrutiny," explains a Spirit spokeswoman, car coupon discount dollar rent who adds the carrier's business model is not always understood. Similar to American, Spirit is bolstering its efforts to improve passenger understanding of add-on options during the booking process. The carrier's spokeswoman states Spirit aims to make passengers well aware of their options. "We don't want you to be surprised when you get to the airport," she explains. Among the actions Spirit is taking to improve passenger awareness is providing car coupon discount dollar rent airport car coupon discount dollar rent personnel with additional training to enhance customer relations.
As customers travel through Spirit's booking path on the carrier's website, the airline attempts to communicate various options including bag fees, and notifies customers they can save money by opting to pay at the time of booking rather than at the airport. Some of the enhancements Spirit is developing include car coupon discount dollar rent working with different colours on pop-up menus to alert customers to their options, and improving the language used in notifications to make them more conversational.
The carrier is also stepping up its efforts in working with third party distribution channels such as Expedia and Orbitz to ensure passengers car coupon discount dollar rent have a clearer understanding of certain fees. The carrier's spokeswoman notes Spirit does not have as much control of how items are presented in the online travel agent (OTA) environment, and as such a higher number of customer complaints are generated from those sites.
Despite some carriers recognising the importance of improving passenger communication, the reality that often the moves airlines make to strengthen their bottom lines makes customers feel as if their experience is diminished. Social media seems like a natural outlet to alert passengers to various fee structures or other changes in their business schemes, but Mann concludes Twitter or Facebook are not sites where you want to communicate bad news, citing change fees as an example.
Instead its seems many carriers use social media to play defence, often using Twitter and Facebook to respond to inquiries and complaints, says Mann. In essence, those venues are the equivalent of writing a letter during the 1980s to an airline's customer relations department, car coupon discount dollar rent he explains.
For American social media is not a checkbox where "you communicate every fare increase", car coupon discount dollar rent says carrier director of social media communications Jonathan Pierce. Communicating some fee changes or other price adjustments in real time on Twitter may not be ideal, he explains, as user monitoring habits on the mircosite vary. But he does believe American's approach to social media does entail many proactive aspects including communicating day of travel weather issues including waivers. The carrier makes the assumption that customers "connect to a social network more frequently" on the day of travel, says Pierce. car coupon discount dollar rent But in terms of communicating changes to fee structures or other aspects car coupon discount dollar rent that may affect future travel, Pierce says "social media is not the right vehicle for that".
With such sweeping changes to the three emerging airline business models – ultra low cost, hybrid and full-service network carriers – the need to educate passengers about the various distinctions among those models is becoming more intense. Even airlines falling within those brackets recognise that some level of communication about various business model changes is necessary, no one carrier seems to be taking a commanding lead in ensuring passenger angst amongst infrequent travellers is kept at bay. As Frontier's latest moves illustrate, it seems for now airlines will retain their near singular focus on "throwing their money where the money is", says Mann – the high margin traveller.
Lori Ranson has spent mor