Perks? No! U.S. flyers prefer the cheap seats: Reuters/Ipsos poll

[brooklynite]

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. airlines striving to boost profitability are up against an army of penny-pinching customers who would rather sit in a dreaded middle seat than pay more to fly, says a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Wednesday.

Airlines have sought to lure travelers into business and first class with plush airport lounges, fancy onboard cocktails and high speed internet connections.

But the poll showed 83 percent of Americans put ticket prices among their chief considerations when booking personal travel, outweighing travel perks or an airline's reputation.

Sixty percent of those polled said they would not pay extra to avoid being assigned a middle seat. About 52 percent said they would not pay more to fly on their preferred airline. (For a graphic on the poll, see: tmsnrt.rs/2hopAAW)

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-airlines-poll-idUSKBN1AI28V

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This is why airline service has degraded; unlike restaurants or hotels, customers are unwilling to pay more for incremental service and quality improvements.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

1. It's a false dilemma

There is no value proposition from which one can reasonably be determined to be choosing one way or the other. People declining to pay asinine fees for things that were once free is a meaningless measure.

[brooklynite]

6. Disagree...

...years ago, American Airlines offered "more legroom in coach", and Midwest Express offered 2+2 seating (as opposed to the standard 2+3 configuration). Neither model was sustainable when other airlines charged lower fares for conventional coach seating.

[Yavin4]

8. This

Whatever perk an airline offers, some other one will counter with a lower price, so the perks are not sustained by the market. We live in a culture where everyone wants everything for practically nothing.

[brooklynite]

11. But this is what I don't understand...

...people will pay $50-$500 for a hotel room, and go to every restaurant from McDonald's to the Four Seasons, with a lot of price points in between. In the airline industry it's just low-cost coach.

[Yavin4]

12. Someone eating at McDonald's does not affect someone eating at the Four Seasons

Restaurants have a wide array of classes of consumers. When we fly, those classes get flatten into 1st class, business class, and coach.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

18. I think we're actaully on the same page here

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

17. I am more thinking individually than collectively

If airlines want people to pay for perks, they will have to offer perks worth paying for. They can't say that some number of people won't pay for something that isn't being offered. And no, charging extra for a seat with the legroom you could get a decade ago isn't that.

Some sort of middle ground between abysmal 21st century economy and business class, that isn't being offered no matter how much they try to make it sound like it.

In any event, American's "more room" campaign was more about obfuscating their industry-trailing load factors at the time that comfort.

[tanyev]

2. The extortion capitalism business model.

We'll make you so miserable you'll gladly pay more!

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

3. WTF are you talking about "quality improvements"? Those so called improvements

used to be part of the regular fare. Oh, I forgot who I was talking to. You truly are "a man of the people"

And by the way "airlines have degraded" for a number of reasons. Deregulation, CEO compensation, actual union power decline, etc. etc.

[brooklynite]

7. That "regular fare" used to be a lot higher before deregulation...

(fun fact: I always travel Coach unless I'm overnighting to Europe.)

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

10. Damn, that shut me up. I'd been under the assumption fares had stayed about the same even

increased in some instances.

[lark]

4. Not everyone is like that.

Whenever they offer first class tickets, the line is always lots longer than the # of seats they are selling. I won't fly on American, period and neither will anyone in my extended family after they way they treated my mom years ago. Yes, there are lots of people for whom price is everything. But when we flew to Amsterdam recently, first class was totally booked both ways. We got a deal, lol. However, I wouldn't pay the extra for a short flight, not worth it.

[Locrian]

5. let's see....

Would you like to pay less for extra shitty class?
Or maybe slightly more for lite-shitty class?
Or super upgrade to just shitty class?

Nobody likes to feel they're getting ripped off for "incremental improvements" - especially when they know they're going to still get screwed over 20 ways from Sunday some other way.

The whole fine scale "incremental" is idiotic. If you pay for something you want an actual noticeable effect not some sort of "shitty option nickel and dime checklist"

[dembotoz]

9. the idea is have the company get the cheap seat then use your frequent flyer miles to upgrade

[YOHABLO]

13. Airlines make their money on 1st class seats, and possibly business class.

The rest is chump change. Personally my going to an upgraded seat depends on the length of the flight. I'd rather be near the restroom as apposed to leg room. I'm 5'9 and not that uncomfortable is coach. It's cramped sitting by the window, but I love the view! Everyone needs to shut up and quit complaining.

[Politicub]

14. People have been complaining about coach since time eternal

It sucked then. It sucks now. On some airlines it sucks more than others.

[NotASurfer]

15. Add to that lowest-cost rules for business travel

Either by policy or contract, I've been in situations where anything other than extra-crappy class seating was not allowed, and a receipt for anything else was denied.

I'd also ban the non-reclining seats in the back.

And no offense to travelers with children, but I'd pay extra for adult-only seating with some sound-damping partition

[politicat]

16. Why would I pay them more for the same chance to get bumped, beaten or abused?

First class, full price, and other perk passengers are not immune to getting abused. So why give them more money for the same crappy service? They're still going to break my stuff and lose my luggage and treat me like an inconvenience.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

21. The worst treatment I have ever received was on United in business class

the flight attendants working up there have more time to personally inflict their personality disorders on each passenger.

But naturally I am the asshole for merely mentioning my meal was still frozen solid.

The best I have ever been treated traveling was on little airlines in Africa in planes built in the 1960s.

[Xolodno]

19. Not Surprised.

There could be a freaking $5 difference between a shitty seat and a good seat, and many will take the cheaper. Never ceases to amaze me.

Think the problem is, people only think in "two classes" when it comes to flight, first and coach and check prices only in coach. Funny thing is, when I do fly, I actually check the first class rates....you know, just in case. I've nabbed a few deals doing that where most wouldn't even bother looking. I'm going to Europe on first class for what I expected to pay on coach....all because I looked at the prices in first class.

I purchased my seats on an airline at a reasonable price for an extended family trip. Some of the other relatives waited to see if they could get a better price, yes they did, about $10 each. Difference is, wife and I sat next to each other and in the seats we wanted. They were seated through out the plane, not together, often in the middle....and had they waited longer, would have to fly out the next day.

I'm thinking the day an airline manages to diversify with different classes, such as excluding free drinks in first class, but offering the same seats on a lesser class, sections with more leg room, etc. and markets it successfully, will finally break the cycle.

[Arazi]

20. It's not worth the extra $$ for 2 inches more leg room

Any flight less than 4 - 5 hours, I simply don't care to spend more to get that "incremental" extra inch. I just get up and stand more to relieve any discomfort.

Overseas trips, I'll look at the different rates but it has to be a lot better rate to entice me to spend more for a slightly less shitty seat