What are our regionals doing wrong?

[Piper877]

It's a fairly simple formula really. Charge almost nothing for tickets but charge $3 for a drink, a magazine, checked bags, tv, cell phone service, pillows, blankets, whatever. Introduce gambling in flight and take a cut of the wagers and you're making a mint. They've just managed to shift costs from fares to everything else on the airplane. See the links below for details.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2006/04/01/8372814/


http://www.thisfrenchlife.com/thisfrenchlife/2004/09/free_ticket_off.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/airlines/story/0,,1607342,00.html


Oh and here's my favorite quote from the CEO of RyanAir:

"Entertainment is where the real money will be made in future." If anyone got round to paying passengers to travel "we will pay them more".

Yes, airlines could conceivably PAY passengers to travel on their airline. Much like a casino that gives away rooms to entice people to stay at their hotel and gamble. Interesting financial model isn't it?

 

[mar]

Usually the customer is always right

How could giving customers what they want be the wrong thing to do? Espcieally when loads are reportedly up to 80%

It seems to me everyone wants something for nothing.

Everyone wants air travel to be comfortable, convenient and pleasant, but nobody wants to pay for it.

Not only that, but the law of Economies of Scale say that one 747 between LAX and SFO is more efficient (and thus cheaper to the consumer) than 12 737s departing every hour (less efficient, more congestion, etc...).

So the point I'm trying to make is that the consumer in this case wants their cake and tries to eat it too!

And the really silly part is how the airlines try to accomodate them with ridiculous pricing schemes and inefficient scheduling.

Ask any ATCer about the "swarm" between the East and West coasts.....

 

[Almerick07]

an airline with those electronic bar games (not the slot type machines)....you know each few rows make a network and people can play trivia games, poker, black jack, whatever they want with each other. $5 for the handheld device required to play....people choose seats on the games they want to play. rows 1-8 is blackjack 9-16 poker....some rows can bet real money, I better shut up and go patent this idea quick.

 

[sky37d]

I have to ask the same question, except what do they do right.

I was recently on a flight from my town, to another airport, to connect with the big brother airline and fly to my final destination. We, the passengers, the folks who provide the revenue, got on the little jet. It was one of those AJ, BJ, CJ, DJ, EJ planes, I'm not certain which one, except if it was a DJ, it would have been more enjoyable.

The FA announced we had a 35 minute flight. The only words heard from the cockpit, happened 10 seconds later when someone up there (no names, please) announced that it was a 45 minute flight.

Off we go. It was early morning, maybe that's why the FA kept nodding off. Maybe she wasn't, maybe she was closely looking at her buttons. In any event, because it was a short flight, there was no water, or coffee. No biggie.

The FA announces that we are beginning our descent, so seats up, buckle up. Mind you, during the entire flight, no word from the front office. No, the weather is crappy and rainy, it's 900 degrees, nothing. I think to myself, ok, he's busy watching the glass.

We get down, pass the IP, gear down, descending, and then, POWER UP, gear up, and climb up. He went missed. Don't know why. We head north, then south, then north again, holding, except I notice that the next north leg has gone past 4 minutes, so we are not holding.

Again, no words from the front of the bus as to what happened. I questioned the FA, and she said there was FOG. No announcement.

Off we go, climbing again, then we start down, and the FA says prepare for landing, seats up, etc, but we are landing at another airport. Not the destination. STILL NO WORD FROM THE FRONT OF THE BUS. The PILOT is obviously WAY TO BUSY to communicate his, and his companies, intentions to the revenue stream.

We land. taxi off someplace. Sit there. The FA says we are going to take on some fuel, and wait a bit. STILL NO WORD FROM THE CAPTAIN. After a while, FA says we are going. I wonder where. Because, of course, I have missed my connection with the big brother airline.

We take off, go to the destination airport, land.

During the entire time we were on this little jet, the only word we heard from the guy up front was it's a 45 minute flight. Obviously a lie, because it took 3 hours and 40 minutes to get there.

Yup, I missed my connection, and try and find someone who knows WTF is going on, but this high quality regional airline has no one to handle all the passengers that are arriving and have missed their connection. Call the 800 number we are told. Or find a gate agent who is not actively boarding a flight to make your arrangements. The gate agent I talked to said the flight to my destination has left, the next one leaves in 40 minutes, but of course it is OVERBOOKED, the next flight is on another airline, another bankrupt airline, and of course it is OVERBOOKED, but we are going to send you to another city, and then you can get a flight on another airline, not bankrupt, to your final destination.

I got where I was going, 7 hours later than I had planned to arrive, but I didn't have to sleep in a terminal, so all is well.

On my return, the busy pilot in the front of the regional airline had time to tell us what the weather was like, the forecast for the day, the time enroute, and our cruising altitude, and then thanked us for flying his regional airline. The FA was wide awake during the entire flight, and chatted with some of us passengers. The revenue stream.

Unfortunately, I'm not likely to ever trust them again. If they let jerkwaters like that pilot their planes, I don't ever want anything to do with them. I fly commercial when I have to go long distances, and this is the first time I flew this airline, and it is the last.

I thought about writing a letter to the company, but heck, they don't need complaints, they don't care about their passengers, and they don't need the revenue stream, obviously, so frigg em.

 

[FlyingSkip]

37D---I have a flight in a few days (for training) that I am dreading. When I took the same flight last month between SC and NH we had late planes, no show planes, no show crew, late departures. I not only shake my head as to how these companies stay in business, but why any of my fellow pilots want to work in this sector of the industry?! Still a steady stream of people headed for the regionals on a daily basis, though....in the words of my grandfather, I despair for the future!

 

[ukaviator]

So Sky37d ..... what large sum of money did you pay for this wonderful experience?
If the ticket cost you (and those other passengers) say $70 you may have not been so bothered correct? Infact you may have just shrugged it off and said 'Oh well it was only $70, what can you expect for that, hell at least I got there in the end'
But, I bet the ticket set you back a few Benjamins, so you are completely justified in your complaint.
I know I would have been irritated too.

What a mess our industry is in.

 

[sky37d]

I don't know. It was part of a ticket that got me to the final destination, at an appropriate time. I was co-chair of an event, and I wanted to arrive early, make sure the meeting room was ok, prep for the evening reception, etc, etc. I chose the flight because of the arrival time at the destination airport, more than anything. It was more than a couple of Benjamin's. As it was, I arrived at the destination airport shortly after the evening reception was supposed to start. No biggie, except I, via the organization, am picking up the tab. Oh, and of course the luggage was no where to be found. So, wearing the clothes I started out in, 14 hours earlier, I made an appearance, picked up the association's part of the tab, and left to find luggage.
In retrospect, I could have flown the bug smasher and arrived sooner. It would have cost lots more, which is why I chose the airline. Also, who knows what the weather would have been.

 

[AC560]

Labor costs typically decline over time for any given industry. I'm not aware of any career where that is not the case, especially now.

Salaries for healthcare professionals decayed substantially in the 70/80's which resulted in a lot of people either leaving or chosing not to join the healthcare industry. In the 90's a shortage began to develop and salaries have been on a upturn ever since (and by heatlcare professionals I am not refering to doctors). Teachers would be another example, there are loads of other examples out there.

Pilot salaries are in the toilet because there are way to many pilots and way to many people who want to be pilots (what other industry do people PAY to get a job). Couple this by having far to many planes in the air and the economics lead you to only one conclusion, ground planes, cut salaries, and fire pilots.

The turn about will be though that in 5-10yrs because people have fled the industry, not started in the industry (and everyone posting here keeps telling new people to forget even trying to start in this industry), and retirement there is going to be a pilot crunch. This will drive salaries up.

I don't know what else Pilotyip maybe right or wrong on, but he is correct that in a couple of years salaries and demand for pilots will surge.

 

[Kenny]

Just spoke to a buddy of mine who upgraded at Ryanair on the 738 at 3000TT. His pay after 6 months as a Captain is the equivalent of US$9500 per month.

 

[timeoff]

To stop the race to the bottom and begin to bring salaries back to where they should be is simple. Make a 4 year degree required for your commercial and a Master's for your ATP.

OR

Lottery system for a limited amount of Commercial certificates issued annually.

This industry has no barrier to entry, meaning anyone with money can do it. The current problem is a simple issue of this huge oversupply of labor gunning for a limited number of jobs.

One union starting at the 250hr/commercial level with natural career progression a known quality that would protect the interests of all involved is the only solution in today's economy.

That's my two cents.