Airlines: How I Would Pay Extra
Flying has rapidly become a commoditized game. Lately, every airline has decided that it’s a race to the bottom with ticket fares, and there is no way to make ordinary travelers pay more for anything. When they do identify perks, they’re always for things like snacks, baggage, and comfort. The problem is, most people are willing to forgo those things, or they believe so strongly that they’re entitled that airlines can’t charge for them for very long.
So I have a new idea, and one that I think I would pay extra to have. Airlines have become incredibly inefficient with delayed flights, cancellations, and poor customer service. I would pay extra to have none of that be a problem. Here’s my thinking:
- I want a ticket that guarantees that I will arrive at my destination, no matter what.
- If I don’t arrive on the same day, I start getting a percentage of my ticket refunded. After 36 hours, my ticket is 100% refunded.
- If the airline can’t reasonably get me to my destination on my preferred day of travel, then my ticket will entitle me to a free hotel room, food, and a seat on the next possible flight to my destination. This would be true for any kind of delay or cancellation, be it weather, mechanical, etc.
That’s it. I’ll pay extra for absolute peace of mind that when I enter the airport I will get where I’m going. And if I can’t get where I want to go, I will be accommodated. I figure my willingness to pay for this would be around $15-20 a ticket, give or take a little.
Now, the airlines will of course market this as some kind of add-on. “Would you like to purchase Get There insurance for $20?” This, I think, is the wrong way. The right way is to create a category of ticket and give it some name like “Peace of Mind.” Make the tickets only available through the airline website and not through the ticket aggregating sites. Maybe add an extra perk, like a free snack.
I think this would sell nicely.
I’ve had exactly the same idea, except that rather than paying extra the guarantee would be built into all the ticket prices. “Pay more to arrive on time,” just doesn’t seem like a good marketing slogan. This would have the added advantage of giving the airline an incentive to be efficient. Sort of like the pizza delivery in thirty minutes guaranteed. Right now, besides customer ill-will, there doesn’t seem like much of a disadvantage for airlines to deliver you late, hence the lack of effort.
The question is, how much extra is this guarantee worth. Like you, I probably wouldn’t be willing to pay more than $20 or $30 extra even though it could cost the airline much more.
Why should we pay extra for something that should be inherently in what you pay for already?
When I buy a ticket, there is a reasonable expectation that the times listed on the ticket that I purchase are the times that i will depart and arrive. I’ll give 30 minutes either way but I should not have to pay extra for something they are already advertising as part of the original purchase.
On a whole though, I would pay extra to bring the services back to how it was in the past. Airlines were not cattle moving entities, they were luxury travel options that included bigger seats, wider isles, and more included services such as actual customer service. Hell if I could just use my first class miles to actually get a first class or business seat, I’d be happy.
Brent, I actually agree, but I struggled with this for a while and eventually decided I would still pay for it.
Here’s my thinking: airlines have steadily reduced their prices by removing things people won’t usually pay for (and don’t value). When it comes to service in the event of a flight delay, most people didn’t care. At least, not in the past. It was uncommon, and most travelers arrived at their destinations on time. It was an easy service to cut, and airlines could continue to drop fares.
Two things have happened: more people are flying and delays have gone up. Now that more people have experienced flight delays, I actually think that people are willing to pay for better service.
So I guess I’m saying that we don’t really pay for service with a smile. It’s just that in the past we didn’t care.