Travel Headline of the Day: ‘Airlines May Start Treating Passengers as ‘Freight’’
Travel Blog • Eva Holland • 06.05.08 | 6:08 PM ET
Nope, I didn’t come across this one in The Onion. Instead it caps a story from Bloomberg, about the increasingly desperate lengths to which the airlines might go to recoup spiraling fuel costs.
Apparently, cargo-style payments by weight are not out of the question. “You listen to the airline CEOs, and nothing is beyond their imagination,” an industry spokesman said in the article. “They have already begun to think exotically. Nothing is not under the microscope.’‘
Really, nothing is out of bounds? Not even this?
Photo by Ack Ook via Flickr (Creative Commons)
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Worldtravel 06.05.08 | 9:04 PM ET
Jet oil is the most expensive part of any airline’s bill, accounting for over 30 percent of the total costs. An analyst with the CITIC Securities predicted that domestic airline companies including China Eastern Airline, China Southern Airline and Air China would suffer several hundred million yuan in losses for every one hundred yuan-increase per ton of oil. “Every percent decrease in fuel prices would save 42.45 million yuan for China Eastern Airline.
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http://www.worldtravelling.cn
Ling 06.06.08 | 3:57 AM ET
So, like, they’ll calculate charges for an entire family based on the total weight of everyone? That’s more incentive for reducing weight…Are these Airlines trying to shut down Atkins?
Grizzly Bear Mom 06.08.08 | 3:34 PM ET
I am overweight so with weight based fare I would pay a higher fare than average. However since it costs more to haul me, and my chub takes more than its allocation of room on the flight it only seems fair. However, I would only be equitible to charge for the weight of hand and checked baggage too.
Frequent Traveler 06.11.08 | 4:59 PM ET
It’s all about supply and demand, and absolutely nothing else.
If you split travelers into two groups, low weight and high weight, then you could have some sort of price discrimination between the two, and that would depend on how elastic the demand is as well as the costs to transport each group. I am guessing that high weight people have more elasticity of demand than those in the low weight group. So after adjusting for fuel costs, airlines will need to keep prices low for the high weight group and therefore in the end the price for both low and high groups will probably be around the same. As a result no price discrimination is necessary.
Unless you think that airlines can make more money by creating a form of price discrimination between overweight individuals and non-overweight individuals. (And there’s also legal issues and PR issues.)
John 06.15.08 | 1:46 PM ET
Sounds like it is time to start traveling by train. I think people are tired of being nickel and dime to death, I know I am. If their prices go up, increase fares just like they always did. These cheap tricks like charging for baggage and by weight are too much. I never thought that I would say this, but I think it is time to re-regulate the airlines and treat them like a utility. Flat fees approved by a regulatory board that ensures a fair price and profit, and managed routes may be the only way to go in a future of ever increasing fuel costs.
amaterashu 08.13.08 | 5:47 AM ET
in my country, indonesia.. the growth of airline passanger was higher and higher. till the oil price sky rocketing.. they change to train to travel
iva 08.23.08 | 3:17 PM ET
Scooter sales increased as people avoid using cars as much as possible , online sales increased so is the impact on Airlines. The best alternative is of course train for long distance. Freight may benefit passenger as more oil increase means loose of weight automatically…