A BAILOUT for the Airlines?
Very few companies are proving immune to the devastation that Covid-19 is causing and we know the travel industry is among the those severely affected.
The most important catalyst to economic recovery will be the return of the workforce to their jobs, assuming they still have them - that is stating the obvious. As a result of this necessity, it will also be necessary to ensure air travel is safely resumed and for that to happen, the airlines need to still be in business, and for them to be in business, many will almost certainly need to be bailed out by their nation's governments.
I support this as we need to get the workforce moving and tourists in and out, BUT, not just a blanket bailout. I want to see a significant change to the way the bailed-out airlines operate:
Return to treating your customers with respect. We are not cattle being transported for your benefit.
Back to two checked bags included in your ticket price. You can no longer nickel and dime us by advertising ‘cheap’ fares only to be fleeced at check-in with exorbitant baggage charges and illogical rules / excuses. This is outrageous and misleading behavior! Go back to all charging the price you need to charge to sustain your businesses and satisfy your shareholders. No more additional fees to take a suitcase when you know from my purchase that I am traveling for two weeks! The way we are headed, we will soon be asked how many sheets of toilet paper we intend to use on a 10-hour flight, because if you pay at check-in, you will pay less! We are already expected to buy this alleged cheap flight, to then have to pay extra to select our seat - OUTRAGEOUS!
If my carry-on fits in your overhead locker, don’t charge me more if it weighs more than you like. Remember, you caused this problem by extorting your customers to check a bag. News Flash - travelers may need to travel with clothes!
No more black-out restrictions when trying to redeem ‘miles’ or ‘points’ accumulated. Not all airlines do this but the majority do. You got us to participate in your ‘loyalty’ program which in many cases, is a one-way street! We spend tens of thousands of our currency in earning these ‘rewards’ to be told that we cannot use our points on that particular flight, despite the fact that there are plenty of seats available for purchase - not cool at all! You want the tax-payer, (your customers), to bail you out and then you refuse us the ability to redeem our miles on available flights. As a condition of bailing you out, I wouldn’t allow you to continue this outrageous behavior.
Here’s another outrage. In return for showing you our loyalty over decades, you are very quick to demote our status when we retire and don’t travel as much any more. So we were ‘appreciated’, more likely ’tolerated,’ by you when we were spending with you; rejected when we wanted to redeem our extremely well-earned points and then dumped when we got older. Definitely a one-way street!
And related to this rant about the dreadful service received from almost all the airlines, and I have genuinely flown with almost all of them, I appeal to the security authorities at airports and other ports around the world. How about upgrading your x-ray and scanning machines so that you know that my belt is my belt, my shoes are my shoes and my iPad is my iPad. Taking these off and out of bags in 2020 is ridiculous or is it just a charade to convince the masses that you are pretending to ensure security?
So to conclude, the airlines are absolutely entitled to make a profit but I ask that you do so with more integrity. When I pay you, often months ahead of when you transport me, no extras for two checked bags, carry-ons and a reserved seat of my choosing - that’s why we book in advance. You may also consider removing all middle seats in light of what we have learned with Covid-19 - who is going to want to be squished in these times. I know that will mean less seats and consequently less revenue but the cost for your major expense, fuel, is massively reduced now and we know it. When it goes up, charge us more - we understand.
Bon voyage!