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American Airlines plans à la carte pricing
Still, Kruzich said she would rather have an all-inclusive fare.
“I feel nickel-and-dimed when I have to pay extra for everything,” she said. “Just throw it all in and tell me what the fare is.”
Matt Kokidko, who works for a car-rental company in Orlando, Fla., and recently flew to Dallas on American, agreed.
“We’re not saving enough on the fares to justify that,” Kokidko said of the extra fees charged by American. He had not flown in a while and was stunned that American charged for use of a headset.
Scott Cowley of Dallas, a frequent flier in his job as sales representative for an aerospace parts manufacturer, said he does not want to take time to go through a menu of optional, for-a-fee services.
“It’s hard enough to find the flight I want at the time I want,” he said.
But experts say travelers should expect fees to become permanent.
George Hobica, founder of airfarewatchdog.com, a discount-travel Web site, expects airlines to start charging extra for carry-on bags, booking a flight online, and picking a seat assignment.
“The fees are here to stay, and there will be more of them,” he said. “Honestly, I think it’s better for consumers. If I pack light, why should I pay for the guy who packs heavy?”
According to a recent survey of airline executives by consultant IdeaWorks, fees that will spread the fastest will be for Internet, e-mail and mobile phone service during flights and for special seating, such as in exit rows.
Southwest Airlines Co. avoids most of the fees charged by rivals, and brags about that in television ads. Senior vice president of marketing Dave Ridley said the money other carriers make from fees might be offset by passengers booking their next flight on Southwest.
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There are still a few technology speed bumps in the way of true a la carte pricing.
Airlines still sell a large chunk of their tickets through global distribution systems, or GDSs, which were built to display simpler fare structures to travel agents and “have been very slow” to change how they display fares, said Smith of Air Canada.
The largest GDS, Sabre, says it has solved those problems.
Where will airlines draw the line on new fees?
Hobica thinks charging passengers by weight makes perfect sense because they cause the plane to burn more fuel. But he admits a poundage penalty might be hard to sell, and so would charging for oxygen masks.
“I can’t see them announcing, ’Put in another quarter for the next three minutes,”’ he said.
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