http://consumerist.com/5403515/surprise-airlines-are-out-of-touch
Government, airline, labor, and other interested parties met at the Department of Transportation today to discuss the future for the aviation industry. Lots of problems and ideas were discussed, but what jumped out the most was the confirmation of what Consumerist readers and airline passengers have probably already realized: the airline industry could not care less about you.
It should come as no surprise that airline CEOs think deregulation has been great, reregulation would be terrible, and a la carte fees for previously free amenities like checking bags were a brilliant idea. It was still slightly shocking, however, to hear them talk about it so brazenly, probably because the event was closed to the public and the press (I went because Consumers Union spoke on a panel).
One of the conference participants was the CEO of Spirit Airlines. Spirit has been a trailblazer in adding fees for checked bags and buying tickets anywhere but the airline counter. During his remarks today, the Spirit CEO called these fees "great," and said they're working on lots of new added fees. Other participants agreed. The CEO of Republic Airlines chided Consumers Union's representative for complaining about fees, telling customers to vote with their feet and wallet if they didn't like the fees, to which our rep replied: "That's why I took Amtrak here today." BURN.
A particularly out of touch moment came when a representative from American Airlines stood up and lectured the FAA, DOT, and Administration for canceling some of its government conferences and cutting its travel budget in an effort to reduce taxpayer spending. The representative said that it was irresponsible for the government to suggest that travel should be among the first cuts one should make when trying to save money, and implored the government to think about the poor rental car, hotel, and airline companies who lose out when bureaucrats teleconference instead of going to Vegas. Putting aside the obvious financial savings to the public, there are also environmental and productivity benefits from teleconferencing.
Throughout the conference, consumer satisfaction was rarely mentioned, even though, if our stories are any indicator, the public hates flying. Only Consumers Union mentioned the Passenger Bill of Rights, and a scant few participants offered criticism of the pile of added and hidden fees, tarmac delays, lost baggage, or any of the other fun parts of flying. (One notable exception was the CEO of Cape Air, who was alone among the present CEOs in actually sympathizing with the customer's experience.)
The reason few mentioned customer satisfaction is because it's not important to them. They repeatedly said that customers only want the lowest fare and don't care how they get it or which airline it comes from. You've heard this before. One presenter pointed to some low-cost carriers who outsource all of their planes' maintenance to developing countries that have dubious levels of technical proficiency (one specific example was workers doing maintenance based on pictures because they couldn't read the language of the tech manuals).
At the end of the event, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced he's convening a National Aviation Panel to study and make recommendations on the aviation industry. We're hoping there's a strong consumer voice on the panel, and that the recommendations address the miserable customer experience of flying.
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(Photo: whatatravisty)