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Old 07-29-2011, 06:20 PM
 
26,585 posts, read 61,851,880 times
Reputation: 13161

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chatteress View Post
The only guaranteed days I have off are the two weeks for Christmas/New Years ... The rest of the year, I cannot plan far in advance as I don't get my schedules that early. We are open year round except for those two weeks in December. I can estimate when I'll likely to have time off and purchase an advanced ticket but I may get called in at the last minute due to the fact that I work as an adjunct employee with no paid vacations. I travel when I can squeeze it into my schedule. Yes, this isn't the airlines issue but this is just typical of the struggles that average folks face when trying to plan a trip. I just wish that there were more affordable travel options without paying $300 for a 2.5 hour flight or $500-600 for a 5-6 hour flight.
This is NOT typical. most people are able to choose vacation dates in advance, and some people are required to do so up to a year in advance.

Quote:
BTW: I know you try to locate the cheapest tickets as possible but at least you could write off the flights as a business expense for those you do for business related purposes ...
Actually I can't write them off my personal taxes, the corporation that I'm a partner in can.
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Old 07-29-2011, 06:24 PM
 
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 22,956,695 times
Reputation: 36026
Quote:
Originally Posted by annerk View Post
Are you trying to say there's no bathroom on a plane? The ONLY plane I've ever been on without a bathroom was a very small regional jet that was in the air for 20 minutes. We were all told prior to boarding that there was no bathroom or beverage service.
No ... I was responding to Pacific Flights post where he stated that the price of my ticket does not cover bathroom facilities. Regardless of cost, I don't think it's feasible for any flight to be without bathroom facilities - unless it's a short regional flight such as what you described.


Quote:
Originally Posted by annerk View Post
I just found r/t LAX to BOS, Washington, and Atlanta for under $300 in August from LAX with a three minute search. There are plenty of deals, you've just got to bother to look for them.
Since I'm not an experienced flyer, could you tell me what site you are finding this flight on? I search many websites to locate the most affordable options but cannot pretend to know each and every site that's out there. Thanks.
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Old 07-29-2011, 06:27 PM
 
4,918 posts, read 22,616,489 times
Reputation: 6303
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chatteress View Post
You mean to tell me that $300+ coach tickets x number of passengers flying in coach do not cover the expenses of having a bathroom on board and civil flight attendants?
Ding - Ding - Ding !!!
Now you got it. The cost they are charging you does not cover the cost to complete the flight. Passneger fares may cover the cost of fuel only without any services. If the airlines were to only provide passneger services based on the ticket income, you may only have one FA on board for the whole aircraft, you may only have the captain in the cockpit, no first officer, you would have to lugg the luggage from the plane to the terminal, they would need to lock the bathrooms because your ticket isn't paying the cost to maintain bathrooms, they would need to pass the hat to pay for the fuel to get you where your going, and some of the engines may not be working because they can't cover maintainance cost on passengr ticket prices.

Thats the point we are making, too you the price seems high but your not paying what it really cost you to fly to that location. But the airlines cover the extra cost and at some point service will diminish because airlines can;t continually operate at a loss. That's why the three choices are showing the service levels for the real price.
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Old 07-29-2011, 06:29 PM
 
26,585 posts, read 61,851,880 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John23 View Post
The problem is, who do they really cater to? I see an awful lot of students on flights, families, those 50-65 years old, etc. If you put the average family in an airplane and covered up the signs....could they really tell if they were on a delta or united flight? Probably not.

Everything looks pretty much the same...overhead bins, seats, aisles, food trays, etc. The service is the same.
Truthfully? Except the discount carriers like SW and JetBLue, they cater to business travlers who buy those expensive last minute tickets that subsidize the ticket Joe and Mary from Peoria bought at a rock bottom price six months ago. Trust me, they are far more concerned about losing my three round trips a month than one famly who shopped around and bought the cheapest tickets they could and probably won't fly that carrier again on their annual Disney trip for another five years, because the carrier next door was $3 a ticket cheaper.


Quote:
The food issue I think is more about *thinking of the customer*. We live in convenience culture. I.e., 24 hour convenience stores, 7-11, pharmacies open late, etc.

But you don't really get that convenience on an airline...i.e. no hot food on a 2 or 3 hour trip. Also consider, many airports don't have good food. What if you get to an airport 2 hours early, little to eat. Then a 2-3 hour flight. At LAX all they have is burger king and starbucks basically. I think the legacies need a different business model.
I disagree. Bring your own. You don't have to buy at the airport. I often grab something from a favorite deli when I'm traveling to eat on the plane later. Your turkey on rye isn't going to go bad in the two hours from the time you buy it until you eat it at your gate as long as you don't leave it on the rear deck of the car baking in teh summer sun on the way to the airport.

Quote:
I don't expect a gourmet meal, but the "food", is basically the end of the barrel. Very few people would line up for it if were sold at a mall foodcourt. It's part of the "cattle" experience. You're not really treated like a person, per se, but more like this person is going to get a $6 sandwich that costs us $4. You become a dollar sign (i.e. this person is negative $5 to us). Its very impersonal.

You can check the website or call ahead to see whats going on, but its still very erratic. Who knows what its going to look like in 6 months or a year. Are they going to charge for drinks in a year? Maybe.
Again, bring your own. Buy it at the airport. It's nto a big deal.

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The changes don't create loyalty or comfort.
Quote:
When are price increases (for little or no reason) ever good for a business?
The price increases I've seen this year were specifically related to fuel cost increases.

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-Another problem. None of the airlines really have anything proprietary. Like frequent flier programs. Its not proprietary, the way windows is to microsoft. Or like google's search algorithm.
huh?

Quote:
The fact that everything has become standardized + the huge costs involved in running an airline = very slim profits/economics.

*About food again*

I know some flights are only 2-3 hours. But people spend 2-3 hours in a nice/decent restaurant. Its not a short amount of time. Consider that many families don't eat out. The bare bones/low cost approach (targeted to say, 30% of the flyers) hurts the other 70 who only fly once or twice a year.
So you are expecting a Michelin starred meal to be served on a two hour flight when you're paying $200 to travel 1000 miles?
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Old 07-29-2011, 06:29 PM
 
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 22,956,695 times
Reputation: 36026
Quote:
Originally Posted by PacificFlights View Post
Ding - Ding - Ding !!!
Now you got it. The cost they are charging you does not cover the cost to complete the flight. Passneger fares may cover the cost of fuel only without any services. If the airlines were to only provide passneger services based on the ticket income, you may only have one FA on board for the whole aircraft, you may only have the captain in the cockpit, no first officer, you would have to lugg the luggage from the plane to the terminal, they would need to lock the bathrooms because your ticket isn't paying the cost to maintain bathrooms, they would need to pass the hat to pay for the fuel to get you where your going, and some of the engines may not be working because they can't cover maintainance cost on passengr ticket prices.

Thats the point we are making, too you the price seems high but your not paying what it really cost you to fly to that location. But the airlines cover the extra cost and at some point service will diminish because airlines can;t continually operate at a loss. That's why the three choices are showing the service levels for the real price.
How does it cost extra to have your FA be civil versus uncivil?
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Old 07-29-2011, 06:32 PM
 
26,585 posts, read 61,851,880 times
Reputation: 13161
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chatteress View Post
No ... I was responding to Pacific Flights post where he stated that the price of my ticket does not cover bathroom facilities. Regardless of cost, I don't think it's feasible for any flight to be without bathroom facilities - unless it's a short regional flight such as what you described.



Since I'm not an experienced flyer, could you tell me what site you are finding this flight on? I search many websites to locate the most affordable options but cannot pretend to know each and every site that's out there. Thanks.
Orbitz.com There is a search function where you can put in your city and search using different parameters, including flights under "X" dollars.

A coworker does a lot of last minute weekend getaways to no place in particular, just whereever she can find a cheap ticket to that interests her, and she uses that all the time.
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Old 07-29-2011, 06:34 PM
 
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 22,956,695 times
Reputation: 36026
Quote:
Originally Posted by annerk View Post
Truthfully? Except the discount carriers like SW and JetBLue, they cater to business travlers who buy those expensive last minute tickets that subsidize the ticket Joe and Mary from Peoria bought at a rock bottom price six months ago. Trust me, they are far more concerned about losing my three round trips a month than one famly who shopped around and bought the cheapest tickets they could and probably won't fly that carrier again on their annual Disney trip for another five years, because the carrier next door was $3 a ticket cheaper.




I disagree. Bring your own. You don't have to buy at the airport. I often grab something from a favorite deli when I'm traveling to eat on the plane later. Your turkey on rye isn't going to go bad in the two hours from the time you buy it until you eat it at your gate as long as you don't leave it on the rear deck of the car baking in teh summer sun on the way to the airport.



Again, bring your own. Buy it at the airport. It's nto a big deal.

[b]

The price increases I've seen this year were specifically related to fuel cost increases.



huh?



So you are expecting a Michelin starred meal to be served on a two hour flight when you're paying $200 to travel 1000 miles?
I agree with you regarding the food ... I'd prefer to bring my own versus paying higher costs to have a hot meal on a relatively short flight. Unless my flight is more than 6 hours, I don't need a hot meal or I can purchase it on-board. I don't need to watch a movie as I usually just bring a book or two for entertainment or I can just snooze. I don't need a whole lot of amenities and would rather have things bare-bones ... I DO expect as a customer FA who are courteous and don't treat you as if you are an inconvenience. I also would like more flexible pricing options and cancellation policies though. Those are my chief complaints.
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Old 07-29-2011, 06:35 PM
 
26,585 posts, read 61,851,880 times
Reputation: 13161
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chatteress View Post
How does it cost extra to have your FA be civil versus uncivil?
Like I asked you earlier, how many times have you actually ahd a FA be rude--as opposed to what you deemed to not be perky enough for your tastes.

I don't expect perky. I just want cordial. I fly a lot and have encountered only a handful of truly nasty FA's who shouldn't have had a public facing job.
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Old 07-29-2011, 06:36 PM
 
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 22,956,695 times
Reputation: 36026
Quote:
Originally Posted by annerk View Post
Orbitz.com There is a search function where you can put in your city and search using different parameters, including flights under "X" dollars.

A coworker does a lot of last minute weekend getaways to no place in particular, just whereever she can find a cheap ticket to that interests her, and she uses that all the time.
I could try that out for last-minute flights. For advanced purchases, I would need to book directly with the airline as it is easier to resolve issues with the airline if purchased directly with them.
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Old 07-29-2011, 06:37 PM
 
26,585 posts, read 61,851,880 times
Reputation: 13161
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chatteress View Post
I could try that out for last-minute flights. For advanced purchases, I would need to book directly with the airline as it is easier to resolve issues with the airline if purchased directly with them.
Find the flights there and then book direct. That's what I do with car rentals--same idea.
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