Mike FriedmanOkay, so we’re doing a “these two weeks in travel” because I got a bit lazy last week, but you get the point. This week in travel, I’m going to look at competitive forces in the industry, whether it’s a battle for market share, fight legroom or even a challenge getting a seat. Enjoy.
This Week In Travel
JetBlue Faces Trouble In One Of Its Biggest Markets
Skift is one of the more interesting sites when it comes to travel news and, as an airline geek, I was particularly interested in this article about JetBlue. Even if you’re not interested in Boston flights per se, it’s a fun article about the industry.
Specifically, it’s about how competition is playing out in Boston. JetBlue has 30% of its capacity in the city, but Delta and American are both starting to go after JetBlue’s share. That makes Boston a great place to be, as extra capacity will drive down prices. There are three airlines with greater than 20% market share, a diversity that few other major cities have.
The article notes that JetBlue has always relied on its reputation for great customer service, but that brand strength has never actually led to revenue premiums for the airline. In other words, people love to fly JetBlue, but they’re not willing to pay more for it.
Reclining Seats Are The Greatest Evil In The Skies
As far as I can tell, there are two complaints that airline passengers have where the level of complaining is exponentially larger and overblown than the actual problem itself. One is crying babies on a plane and the other is reclining seats.
Journalist Christopher Muther addresses the latter issue head-on, arguing that reclining seats should be eliminated. Before the world of laptops, the guy in front of you was annoying, but not particularly dangerous. Now, however, you could end up with a broken screen if they lean back fast.
The airlines might actually be willing to consider seats that don’t recline, but it’s not because they care about your laptop. Rather, seats that stay in place don’t break as often, saving costs for the carrier.
There is another solution, of course, which is to increase legroom between rows, widen the seats and put the tray in the armrest. But we know that that will never happen.
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United Changes Planes And Pays Up Big – This Week in Travel
What happens when your plane changes and your seat disappears. Well, if you’re on a United flight, you may view it as a good thing.
On a recent flight from Hawaii to Newark, United Airlines swapped out a 777 for a 767-300, meaning that a big chunk of business class disappeared. To the airline’s credit, it did the right thing. Instead of giving excuses and the minimum amount of compensation due (the difference between business and the new class of service), United made it easy. They asked for ten volunteers and offered each a $10,000 flight credit. It’s an 11-hour flight, so passengers are essentially getting $1,000 per hour to downgrade.
Passengers did not, by the way, get downgraded to standard economy. Rather, they got moved to Premium Plus, which is roughly the equivalent of traditional domestic first class. I’d take that deal any day.
