I Disagree: The Dumbest Fee in the Airline Business

I just read an article titled "The Dumbest Fee in the Airline Business" and I was anticipating a good laugh at a foreign carrier fee for oxygen masks or something like that.  Instead I read a long complaint about standby fees on domestic carriers. 

"Charging a change fee to fly standby when a passenger is already at the gate seems not only avaricious but also disadvantageous for the airline.  The charge could easily mean that a plane departs with an empty seat, which immediately becomes worthless. It also denies the airline the flexibility that comes with an empty seat on the next flight. Possibly that seat can be sold. Possibly it can accommodate a passenger who missed a connection. Possibly bad weather or congestion or a mechanical failure will delay that flight, pushing all the passengers onto future flights, creating unforeseen complexities and expenses for the airline."

US Airways A320 Take Off

The core of the author's argument is that free standby lets everyone win.  Except it doesn't.  The airline wants to maximize their revenue and they do that partially by charging more for flexibility and comfort.  A passenger will pay to get on an earlier flight if they are at an airport, everyone's time is worth something.  The problem is, everyone's time is worth something different and the value of an individual's time changes depending the situation (business vs leisure travel or grumpy vs relax mindset). This makes it impossible for airlines to charge each person the most they are willing to pay for a service.  One option would be a reverse auction at the gate for standby passengers, but this is complicated and time consuming (big problem when the plane is loaded and ready to go).  So airlines just set a flat fee they think will maximize their revenue (this includes the cost of so called "unforeseen complexities and expenses for the airline").  A simple and intuitive solution for customers and staff.

US Airways Airbus

The fee system does mean airplanes will fly empty seats when there are passengers around to fill them.  Though it sounds like lost revenue, it isn't.  It's likely that many seats fly empty no matter what on a given day. Airlines don't have to fill every seat to maximize revenue either.  One seat sold for $400 on the day of travel is better than selling three for $125.  That's why same day bookings are so expensive, sort notice bookings are price inelastic.  Maximizing revenue can be done without filling every seat.

That's what happened in this situation, US Airways tried to maximize their revenue, not fill an open seat as an end to itself. The customer knew there was a fee when booking (or could easily have known) and decided to buy anyway, so there should not really be any disappointment (they are asking to receive something of value for free, how often does that happen?).  If flexibility is so important, buy a flexible ticket, if not, don't complain about not getting something for nothing.

Intercontinental Hotel Geneva Review

Other than being expensive and having the UN, I had no specific expectations about Geneva. I was booked for five nights at the Intercontinental Genève, two blocks away from the UN.  The rooms and public spaces are superb.  The hotel is older, but appears to have been recently renovated and exceptionally maintained.  For 35,000 points a night, it's a bargain.  The staff is helpful and the hotel is on the 5 bus line with their own stop (public transit is free for hotel guests and top notch).  The wireless internet is free, but everything else costs a fortune.  I also had to change rooms mid stay due to 'security concerns of a visiting delegation' that required an entire floor.  That's a first.

Intercontinental Geneva King Room

Intercontinental Geneva Bathroom

Geneva sights to see are the UN, the lake, and the old town center.  That's about it. The UN tour is well worth the hour or so.  The Palais des Nations is an interesting design.  The old building from the 30's has an amazing art deco design and is very impressive.  The new building from the 60's is a typical architectural disaster; the design is almost nauseating.    The tour guides are friendly and informative and it was fun sitting in on a conference and using the interpreter earphone devices to listen in on the live translations.  

UN Geneva

UN Geneva

UN Geneva

Geneva is a small city and easily navigated. There is a pleasant path along the north side of the lake from the botanic gardens, a short down hill walk from my hotel, to the city center. I poked my head in a McDonald's and confirmed the Big Mac Index was right, Switzerland is expensive. It's also pretty.  The lake is peaceful and the mountains are a great backdrop.  The old town is pleasant and there are plenty of windows to look in at watches, watches, and more watches. Nice place, but one day I was there was a public holiday and everything, including retail, was closed.

Lake Geneva

Water Taxi Included in Free Transport Card

Even with the EBACE13 conference, five days proved too long to stay in Geneva (it would be more fun with an expense account or state sponsor to pick up the tab).  With some help, I was able to change my flights to get out of town earlier than planned, but more on that process in my next post.

British Airways Cabin Classes

How many cabin classes does British Airways have?  Right, eleven.  No really, eleven. Four are standard for intercontinental flights, three are unique to Openskies, one is for their A318 service from London City to JFK, two are for intra-Europe flights, and one is for UK flights. Confusing, right?  Well the intent is to be as clear as possible and set realistic expectations that they can deliver on every time.  Each class has a different service level and seat combination.  The seat differentiation is great because they want to deliver on their promises. United took forever to upgrade their business class from recliners to flat seats, but you couldn't be certain what you would get and the prices were the same.  British Airways wants to avoid seat disappointment  especially with business class customers, hence there are five classes that could be considered business class if the differentiation was not as thorough.

All Eleven Cabin Classes

I'm sitting on about 100,000 British Airways miles (Avios to use their branding) and itching to use them on a unique experience. I think Club World London City would be the most interesting use, except it's impractical for me because then I would need to go to LGA or EWR to get a flight home. World traveler Plus, especially their new configuration, would be a fun and new experience. US carriers don't have a true premium economy section, but rather have basic economy with a few extra inches of room.  Trying out a new and innovative product would be a blast.  I also want to fly on a Speedbird; that's British Airways' ATC call sign and the coolest in the industry.

Speedbird a IAD

United Airlines Sign For Sale

The United sign from their headquarters in Chicago is for sale: http://myab.co/events/6e/i/silent/96x/?search=,  tulip logo sold separately: http://myab.co/events/6e/i/silent/96y/?search=.  Money raised to benefit the United Scholarship Fund.  The sign is 5 feet tall, so it may be problematic to install at home.

United Airlines Tulip Logo

Lifetime Status Quest

United's new elite qualification requirements now include a minimum spend component.  Delta started this trend and I suspect American / US Airways will add a similar requirement after their merger completes. This takes away most of the fun of the frequent flyer game for me.  I had always been able to fly a cheap flight to top off miles and reach the next status tier. I booked six trips to Puerto Rico (each trip was 8500 miles and $340) last year on US Airways and credited my United account.  This got me easily to 1K because I was buy cheap flights on another carrier. The new spending requirements only apply dollars spent with United, so the value of Star Alliance partner flights is reduced. Buying flights for miles that average 10c per mile isn't a good value or fun idea.  These changes got me thinking about ways to keep frequent flying fun.

United 737 Collection In Houston

Status is still critical to enjoying time in the air and lifetime status qualifications are unchanged. 1,000,000 miles is all I need to have lifetime Gold status and I'm well over half way there.  Once Gold status is guaranteed, I can relax about status while enjoying traveling.  My new goal is to fly as much as I can with United to reach the 1,000,000 mark.  If I'm flying just for miles, I'm willing to pay a small premium to fly on United planes (I also get upgrades, so that helps justify the cost difference).  It will take a few more years to reach this goal, but I hope to concentrate my efforts in the near term because I have 1K status now and hopefully at least Platinum next year. This will maximize my upgrade chances and the redeemable miles I earn for flights.

JetBlue A320 Landing at LGB

Starwood also has a lifetime status program and I'm already lifetime Gold.  Their program requires 10 years as Platinum and 500 nights for lifetime Platinum status. I need 4 years of Platinum status and many more nights, so this tier will stay out of reach and I'm not going to change my behavior to get there faster.  Besides, 25 stays in a year (Platinum annual qualification threshold) isn't difficult.  

Cool Picture - Boarding at Dusk

Here's a cool picture I snapped waiting to board at Long Beach.

CRJ Boarding as the Sun Sets

Lufthansa 747 & 737 Economy Class Review - Denver - Frankfurt - Geneva

I had a good feeling about this one until I got on board.  I was able to change my MileagePlus award ticket to get the idea timing for my flights from Denver to Geneva.  This was my first time flying long haul with Lufthansa in coach and I was expecting their entire long haul fleet to have seat back TV’s in coach (they have all the other times I’ve flown with them).  Once I boarded, I noticed the old business class (not uncommon, they are still updating aircraft) and then I entered the economy cabin and was stunned to find there were no seat back TV’s.  This was going to be a very long 9 hour flight (unlike my short 10 hour flight with Lufthansa in First).

Lufthansa 747 in Denver

The plane was packed with maybe 5 or 6 empty seats in all of coach, so there was no hope of spreading out with an open middle seat.  The seat on this flight was very well padded and comfortable.  It seemed to recline pretty far too.  Boarding went very quickly and we were soon on our way.  The drink and meal service started right after we hit cruising altitude.  The meal I picked was a very flavorful pasta dish that I enjoyed thoroughly.  Really, good airline food is served to the people in the back.

Lufthansa 747 Coach Seat & Leg Room

After the meal service was cleared, I popped a melatonin and tried to fall asleep.  Thanks to my eye mask and ear plugs (bring your own, they are not provided to coach customers) I was out until my neighbor woke me for breakfast, a quick and enjoyable egg dish.  Less than 30 minutes after finishing, we landed.  A surprisingly good flight, that would have been interminable had I not been able to sleep.

Very Good Coach Meal DEN-FRA

After quickly clearing customs in Frankfurt, I went to the closest Lufthansa lounge for lunch and internet.  The closest lounge was closed for remodeling, so it wound up being a very far walk.  The business lounge was packed and I grabbed one of the last available seats (Star Gold members can also use the Senator lounge, but that was a hike).  After a quick snack and some wandering the internet, I went to my gate for Geneva.  

Lufthansa 737 Tail

The Geneva flight was staffed with a very senior looking crew, odd I thought for a one hour trip (they are paid by the hour).  It turns out that for some reason the crew on this afternoon flight overnighted in Geneva, explaining why it is a popular route for the crew members.  The flight was fast and bumpy with impeccable cabin service.  They even fed coach passengers a potato salad and salmon snack, very tasty.

Lufthansa's Intra-Europe Coach Seat

After landing in Geneva, I grabbed the 75 minute free public transport ticket in baggage claim and went to catch my bus to the Intercontinental Hotel.  My trip had some good surprises and I was anticipating more.