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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – The way airlines treat their customers is… puzzling.
Now the airlines have no control over the TSA lines at the airport. That’s a government shutdown thing.
But charging for baggage. That’s ridiculous. People who travel, even for a few days, take a change of clothes and some personal items with them. The plane is going there anyway… so, why $75 per bag?
We now also pay to pick our seat… anything to avoid a middle seat on a three-by-three plane. And you pay extra to be in the first boarding group instead of waiting to board last.
No one likes being nickeled and dimed. And that’s the airlines new business model. They sell seats at cost; their profits come from all the extras they get you to pay for.
I think this one takes the cake. Kennedy Simone had to travel to a business conference. Her company in South Bend, Indiana booked her a flight to Chicago. A short flight… the plane would be in the air for about 30 minutes.
When she arrived at the airport she was told that the trip was part of American Airlines’ new Landline Service, departing from Gate 10. At gate 10, there was no jetbridge. Passengers were taken down to the tarmac via some portable stairs. A bus was waiting. Kennedy thought the bus was going to shuttle them to their airplane. No… instead the bus drove off the airport grounds, onto I-90, and took the passengers on a two hour drive to Chicago. American’s Landline service is… a bus.
Kennedy points out that nowhere does it say “bus” on your ticket or boarding pass. You still go through the security line, you’re given a gate number, and then… surprise… it’s a bus. And the outrage is the price. Kennedy’s company paid $420 for her trip. A Greyhound, where they tell you up-front it’s a bus, would have cost $30. The South Shore Line, a commuter trail, carries people from South Bend to Chicago for $16.
Soon, as jet fuel gets more expensive, the airlines will be looking for a government bailout. My hope is that Donald Trump will make flying great again. Airlines that want a gift from the taxpayers should be told, up front, that ripping off the flying public is over.
Chris Conley
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