#785 X-pedient

Recently there was a big flap about American Airlines’ decision to charge passengers $15 to check their first bag each way. Some vowed never to fly American. Others screamed about their rights as travelers being violated. Some compared it to ATM fees.
Anybody noticed how all the banks are offering “no fee” everything these days? “No fees”, as in no fees like it used to be? Isn’t it interesting how they charged a fee for no apparent reason but greed in the first place and are now making a big deal about their generosity in removing the fee?
Getting people’s banking dollars a little tough, do you think?
I’m sure we’ll see the same thing with the airlines eventually. Waiving “bag fees” for certain customers. “Bag fee” removal instead of miles for another. The “bag fee” will become one of many negotiating chips to entice travelers to pick a particular airline.
But why risk all the fuss and negative publicity? Wouldn’t it be simpler just to raise rates?
Nah, you’re missing the psychology. It’s part of the ala-carte-ization of modern times. Used to be everything was “included.” Meals, bags, seats with legroom. But “included” doesn’t have any value in some people’s minds. People take it for granted. They tend to dismiss it. Throw it away even.
Remember your nuts on your last airplane flight? Think how valuable that bag of airplane nuts became when you knew it was your only meal.
Remember the first time you went to a fancy restaurant and you had to pay for your salad separate from the entrée? Did you throw that salad away, or eat every last parmesan-encrusted crouton?
So, by alacarting fees, the airlines can still look like they are charging lower fares on Expedia and Priceline and all the others.
They can slip in the fine print extras once they have you hooked, then lock you in an immutable, ironclad, supposedly terrorist-preventing, can’t be cancelled by anyone but them unless they bump you off the flight at the last minute because they’ve overbooked contract.
Nuts they’ll still kick in for free.
America, ya gotta love it.