This is to share my recent experience of domestic air travel in USA. These airlines have wonderful ways of enhancing their revenue even as they offer cheap tickets to gullible customers. Had Vijay Mallya known of these, he wouldn't have failed so miserably or fled with so little (:)). But then first class passengers or charter holders have no reason or occasion for getting exposed to these tricks.
The first flight was a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Oakland in California to Kona on the Big Island in Hawaii. The female staff were all wearing a flower in their hair as is customary in Hawaii and male crew were dressed in shirts with floral prints. This made the crew look like the tourists rather than the passengers. During initial welcome and informative announcements it was conveyed that complimentary meal was to be served during the course of the flight. The flight duration was a little over 5 hours.
Shortly after the take off an announcement was made that snacks will be available for purchase. My two grandsons proclaimed that they were very hungry and that we must buy them some snacks. So we bought them some snacks and drinks at a rather stiff price. Then even before they could finish their snacks another announcement was made that complimentary snacks and drinks will be served and were promptly served indeed!
By the time we finished the snacks and the drink, the cabin had become very cold. Several passengers were seen retrieving their jackets and putting them on. We had brought none as the weather in Hawaii was foretold to be rather warm. After a few minutes the kids started complaining that it was too cold. I approached the hostess, informed her that the temperature was too low for comfort and inquired if she could give us some blankets. She promptly replied that blankets were available for purchase at $10 each. Even though we were loathe to add to our baggage, we bought two. The kids wrapped themselves and felt cozy and nice. Less than an hour thereafter the cabin temperature returned to a comfortable level. My elder grandson removed the blanket and remarked, "Oh, they can make a lot of money by just turning up the cooling for an hour!"
Each seat had a monitor and a menu of programs to watch. However there were no earphones / headphones provided in the seat pockets. Even before we could inquire about the missing earphones, a hostess came down the aisle announcing that earphones were for sale and passengers could take the purchased item with them as a souvenir! Most passengers seemed to be experienced ones and were carrying their own earphones. I decided against buying one and spent time playing Sudoku instead of watching a movie. Even Sudoku was part of the premium section. But, thankfully, no payment was demanded for the game.
I may add that most passengers had only a handbag and another small bag or laptop bag only. Each checked-in baggage had to be paid for at $25 a piece and conform to size and weight specifications.
We flew Air Delta on our return. We tried a web check-in to save time at the airport. The check-in went through and generated six random seat numbers for our group of six (with a single PNR) with no two seats next to each other! The option for choosing a different seat said that it could be done at a cost of $20 per person. We decided to wait and pay only at the counter if required. When we reached the airport, the self check-in kiosk showed that the seats had been reallocated and we were seated in two groups of three each, one behind the other and we got the new boarding passes. Those with small kids who might have panicked at the prospect of a child sitting away from them may have ended paying up in multiples of $20.
Our own airlines in India must find these practices inspirational and be getting ready to adapt them. They already have dynamic pricing for fare. So, beware!
The first flight was a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Oakland in California to Kona on the Big Island in Hawaii. The female staff were all wearing a flower in their hair as is customary in Hawaii and male crew were dressed in shirts with floral prints. This made the crew look like the tourists rather than the passengers. During initial welcome and informative announcements it was conveyed that complimentary meal was to be served during the course of the flight. The flight duration was a little over 5 hours.
Shortly after the take off an announcement was made that snacks will be available for purchase. My two grandsons proclaimed that they were very hungry and that we must buy them some snacks. So we bought them some snacks and drinks at a rather stiff price. Then even before they could finish their snacks another announcement was made that complimentary snacks and drinks will be served and were promptly served indeed!
By the time we finished the snacks and the drink, the cabin had become very cold. Several passengers were seen retrieving their jackets and putting them on. We had brought none as the weather in Hawaii was foretold to be rather warm. After a few minutes the kids started complaining that it was too cold. I approached the hostess, informed her that the temperature was too low for comfort and inquired if she could give us some blankets. She promptly replied that blankets were available for purchase at $10 each. Even though we were loathe to add to our baggage, we bought two. The kids wrapped themselves and felt cozy and nice. Less than an hour thereafter the cabin temperature returned to a comfortable level. My elder grandson removed the blanket and remarked, "Oh, they can make a lot of money by just turning up the cooling for an hour!"
Each seat had a monitor and a menu of programs to watch. However there were no earphones / headphones provided in the seat pockets. Even before we could inquire about the missing earphones, a hostess came down the aisle announcing that earphones were for sale and passengers could take the purchased item with them as a souvenir! Most passengers seemed to be experienced ones and were carrying their own earphones. I decided against buying one and spent time playing Sudoku instead of watching a movie. Even Sudoku was part of the premium section. But, thankfully, no payment was demanded for the game.
I may add that most passengers had only a handbag and another small bag or laptop bag only. Each checked-in baggage had to be paid for at $25 a piece and conform to size and weight specifications.
We flew Air Delta on our return. We tried a web check-in to save time at the airport. The check-in went through and generated six random seat numbers for our group of six (with a single PNR) with no two seats next to each other! The option for choosing a different seat said that it could be done at a cost of $20 per person. We decided to wait and pay only at the counter if required. When we reached the airport, the self check-in kiosk showed that the seats had been reallocated and we were seated in two groups of three each, one behind the other and we got the new boarding passes. Those with small kids who might have panicked at the prospect of a child sitting away from them may have ended paying up in multiples of $20.
Our own airlines in India must find these practices inspirational and be getting ready to adapt them. They already have dynamic pricing for fare. So, beware!
Nice to learn many new things. Good information.
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