Delta & Northwest … better service is on the way

As a Northwest frequent flyer, I have been receiving periodic electronic mail assuring me that I will not notice any negative changes or impact to my status as an elite member after the merger … and I believe them.  Why would the merger negatively impact my status, when the airline can do that anytime.  Read the fine print for your frequent flyer program.  The airline can change the rules anytime they want too.

I believe Northwest when they say that I will not lose my miles or status as an elite member and that I will continue to enjoy the high level of service as a loyal customer.  This makes sense for many reasons.  The reason that frequent flyer programs are effective is that we expect to accrue some benefit.  I certainly do.  Federal regulators would also be skittish about future mergers if passengers were completely abused.  The airline would also risk losing a loyal customer, assuming that there is still competition.

I don’t know about better service, but I expect to keep my miles and status … they just may not be worth much after the merger though.  The airlines have never needed a “good” reason to redefine miles programs and the benefits of elite status, so why blame the merger.

Delta and Northwest merger … hmm

As everyone is probably aware, Delta and Northwest are merging to create the largest airline operator in the world.  As usual, the reasons are shore up the financial operations and provide better customer service.  Is this ever the result of these mergers?  What is wrong with the airline industry and why can’t they operate profitably and efficienctly?  Why do they keep doing the same thing, i.e., merge with competitors, and expect different results?  In some fields of study, doing the same thing over and over again expecting the same result is called insanity.

So, what is it about the Delta and Northwest merger that will be different from others?  Hmm, my guess is nothing.  On the face of the merger, it sounds reasonable that a merged airline can reduce duplication and ensure that flights are full (perhaps not so good for the consumer since there is less competition), but this should at the least decrease expenses for the airlines.  At least, that is the argument, but history tells us differently.  The airlines are frequently and constantly in trouble.  Maybe when we only have two carriers after all the mergers and failures, we will have a successful industry.  United and Continental may be next.

Why don’t airlines make sense?

Recently, as in yesterday, I had to make airline reservations to Atlanta.  My reservations where under the 21 day rule for lower fares.  This I have no problem with.  Well, I have a little problems, because it cost so much more money!  But I can understand, well not really, but as travelers, we know that the later you wait the more expensive the ticket can be.  Of course, the opposite happens sometimes too where you get a great deal tickets at the last minute.

What I don’t understand is being able to offer an airline ticket and hotel room for less than the ticket alone.  This is what happened yesterday with Travelocity.  By the way, I could find so such deal on Expedia.  Using the same reservation dates, the airline ticket plus hotel room was half the cost of airline ticket alone.  There was also a car rental plus airline ticket option, but this was “sold out.”  I understand that travel agencies, which Travelocity and Expedia are, in a sense, make these types of deals with airlines and hotels and car rental agencies to help ensure the air plane is full, the hotel is at maximum occupancy, and that all cars are rented. 

So, my question is, if airlines are able to make these deals, what’s the true cost of flying?  Does the airline’s operating expenses increase the later passengers make reservations?  Is the airline industry “putting the squeeze” or taking advantage of passengers who have to make travel arrangement late?  If you are making arrangements two days prior to travel, perhaps you are desperate, do airlines see dollars to be made?  Of course, the opposite is true too, why should the passenger who wait the week before traveling get a better rate than me … just because the airline wants to fill the plane?

“One-person-one-fare”

Oh Canada!  A Canadian tribunal in early 2008 ruled that Canadian airlines could not discriminate against the obese by charging them for more than one seat if they spilled over into the accompanying seat.  The tribunal said that obesity is equivalent to having a disability.  I am a strong believer in individual rights and protections against discrimination, but I recently was traveling within the US and was seated next to an oversized person … luckily for both of us, I am not a big person.  This lady took at least a quarter of my seat.  What about my right to a whole seat?  Maybe I should have asked for a quarter percent refund, since I paid for a full seat and expected to get one.  In fact, the passenger could not even lower the arm rest.  I am not trying to attack obese people, but if you are have a waist size greater than 50 inches, why shouldn’t you have to buy two tickets.  I don’t think this is a bias; you are paying for what you get.  On one of my recent flights I did not get what I paid for.  What about one-person-one-fare-one-seat?

Passengers Bill of Rights … update

I am a free market person, but only when the free market works.  In my opinion, I do not think that the free market is working when it comes to passengers and airlines.  I am also a skeptical of government intervention, because the situation typically does not improve … that’s as positive as I can be.

The airline industry is making it difficult for me to be a free market person.  What would be ideal would be for the airlines to propose a “Passenger Bill of Rights.”  This “Bill of Rights” could even be different from one airline to another.  I think that we consumers are smart enough to decide if the “Rights” are important enough for us to decide to fly or not to fly with a particular carrier.  But the airlines have not do this, so who is left to give us a “Passenger Bill of Right?”  Congress of course.  If I were an airline excutive, I would be feverishly developing a “Bill of Rights.”  Of course, Congress can not produce one and the courts have ruled early in 2008 that individual states cannot write a “Bill of Right” … this may be a blessing in discuise, but I would like some protections or rights as a passenger that extends beyond what the airlines offer now.

The Senate proposed a bill that would guarantee that passengers have clean water, food, bathrooms, and the ability to get off a plane that is delayed by 3 hours.  The House bill proposed that airlines have procedures for addressing passenger complaint, provide information to passengers about delays, publish frequently delayed flight information, publish lowest fares and schedule information, make reasonable efforts to find and return baggages within 24 hrs, and all the Senate rights.

I don’t have a problem with any of the Senate’s or House’s requirements, but don’t the airlines try to do this anyway?  I fly often enough to get delayed quite frequently, and I am certain that the airlines and their employees would prefer not to deal with irrate passengers, which I am not one.  The airlines could do a much better job of updating passengers about delays, but often the poor gate agent doesn’t know why a flight is delayed.  I would like the airlines to have to honor what they promise.  For example, what does it mean to be a frequent flyer who has earned elite status, because they are a loyal flyer?  What does it mean or is worth to accumulate all of these miles? 

Sometimes, the airlines and airport do not honor what I consider to be a contract like elite passengers are supposed to have perks because they have demonstrated loyalty.  I can count the airlines and airports that actually provide a reason for being an elite passenger.  The airlines can also at any time change the rules for airline miles.  Why not lock the airlines into the initial contract that entered.  Airline miles are not like credit cards where you are asking for something like credit.  Airline miles are something that you have earned.  I want “rights” for the things the airlines explictly promise us.

Why do awards program work?

I have shameless bought into the awards program.  I overuse my American Express, I only fly Star Alliance and Northwest and their partners, and I always stay in Hilton owned hotels.  Why?  Because I’m a Rewards, frequently flier, and Honors member.  I must say that I’m a fairly loyal member too.  But what do I get from being a loyal member?  Supposedly, you get to redeem points and miles for things.  At least with American Express and Hilton, it’s not a nightmare to redeem your points.  The airlines are another story.

I have lots of airline miles with both United and Northwest.  In fairness to Northwest, I redeem miles in 2007 for two tickets to Cozumel, Mexico.  I only had to pay about $94 in taxes per ticket.  That’s a bargain and I was lucky.  The way that miles work is that the airline provides a number (supposedly) of seats on a number (supposedly) of flights that are available to fliers who want to redeem miles.  In other words, if you want to redeem miles you need to be going somewhere where their are “miles” seats.  There are not always “miles” seats.  I thought that I would use some miles for a trip to Vienna, Austria this summer, but so far, United is not offering any “miles” seats.  So, if I go, I will be paying full price, but I will get more miles!  Maybe, I’ll find what their least popular flights are and take a trip there.  I am sure that there will be “miles” seat on that flight.

So, why am I such a loyal flier?  Oh, it must be because of my elite status … that’s an issue for another day.  Last words, …  Dear Airline Executive, what have you done for me lately.

Flying the friendly skies

I’ve flown through many different airports on many different airlines and have to say that for the most part they are all bad!  Bad in different ways, but bad all the same.

We recently returned from a visit to Quito and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.  The Galapagos Islands were spectacular and Quito was filled with colonial history, not to mention to history of the indigenous people.  Before I digress too much … this post is about air travel.

Quito’s airport is probably one of the most confusing airports we have ever flown.  Johannesburg wins the prize for the most confusing and worst airport.  We arrive at the airport at 7:15am for our 9:40am domestic (National) flight from Quito to the Galapagos Islands … so far so good.  We used a guide to help us navigate luggage screening, which you have to do when you are traveling to the Galapagos.  This was a little confusing, because you do this before you check-in and then you get your bags back and wait in line to check-in … so you can stuff all your illegal plants and seeds back into your bags … joking.  But, I suppose you really could.

So, we are waiting at the TAME counter, one of Ecuador’s airlines.  I would say TAME lines, but they were more like loosely formed lines.  Then, we are told to wait a few minutes because we are early and there are other departing flights.  We are eventually after only a few minutes allowed to approach the counter and get our tickets.  So, this time we get to leave our bags with the gate agent.

Then, it dawns upon us … where are the gates.    They were behind us and not well labeled.  We make it through security and look for Gate 0.  There is no Gate 0.  This is apparently a generic Gate.  So, using my poor nascent Spanish, I ask and the gate agent tell me that they will call the correct Gate number when we are ready to board.  So, we sit and wait and wait in a very small gate area for all domestic flights within Ecuador.  The gate area had to be at capacity.

Because my Spanish is unidirectional (which is my problem and not Ecuador’s), I watch the monitors for Gate information only to learn that the monitors are more often incorrect.  So then, I start to listen for airline, flight number, and gate number.  That’s a lot to listen for when the gate agent is speaking fast, probably normally, and I am listening slowly.  Sometimes there would be English information and other times there would not be, but hey we were in Ecuador.  After about two hours of wondering, I finally hear flight number 195 and Gate 1!

We finally get to board.  So, as we are sitting in the general gate area, I am thinking that this airport must be really small … no.  We had a very long walk to the actual airplane, and there seemed to be several jet-ways!

Despite the confusion, most of the staff seemed to be friendly.