The Upside of Fuel
August 12, 2008 – 8:39 amAs oil dips back down to the $110 mark and airlines start to breathe a little easier it is worth taking a look back at what the past year has brought us in the way of change. Higher Fares? Yes. A la carte pricing? Yes. Paying for luggage? Yes. Is all this annoying? Yes. But, so is not having choice. And one thing the last year has brought us is more choice. As airlines seek to capture more revenue from those looking for a little bit extra there are more options than ever.
Yes, it is simple to argue that paying for something you used to get for free (i.e. extra legroom on JetBlue) is not an improvement. That’s a fair point. But, if you think into the future, these past few months have forced airlines to pay attention to a key segment: those that don’t want to seat in economy but don’t want to splurge for business or first. Call it premium economy or Prem+. It is undefined. But, this will be a race up. These services and offerings will improve and the consumer could very well eventually be the winner.
Below is a short summary of the current offerings:
United’s Economy Plus One Time , $14-$109, Up to 5 inches of extra legroom
Northwest’s Coach Choice , $5-$50, Exit row and other choice seating
JetBlue’s Even More Legroom , $10-$30, 38 inches of legroom
AirTran’s Exit Row Seating, $20, Exit Row Seating
AirTran’s Business Class Upgrade , $49-$99, Business Class Upgrade
Southwest’s Business Select , $15 Full fare, Priority Boarding/Free Drink/Extra Mileage Credit
Virgin America’s Main Cabin Select , TBD, Business/First class service in economy with extra legroom
This is a huge mixed bag. Some of it is garbage (exit row seats we used to get for free), but some it is not. As airlines compete for customers expect these offerings to get better.