[BKK_FLYER]

Originally Posted by stevicus

That's what I'm wondering about. According to the figures, the airlines served 424 million passengers during the period in question. Since that's a number far exceeding the entire population of the United States, I wonder if they're just counting up the number of passengers on every single flight.

As I know the data, and I am by no means an expert in the DOT's data collection nor reporting practices, it's enplaned passenger, so as I know that, this would include those making connections as more than one.. but again, I'm not sure exactly how that data is collected and tabulated. I'd need to see-- from the DOT-- exactly what that definition is and therefore the collection method.

Originally Posted by stevicus

My guess is that they're doing it just because they can. Realizing that they're facing higher fuel costs and other economic pressures, they introduce fees to compensate for that, whether it's charging for bags, meal service, earphones, etc.

Could be.. we just don't know.. Unless you or I, or others are actually on the 'inside' or hear from the airline in question directly on the matter, we're speculating.. I tend to agree with you that's all about costs and revenue; which is what most all businesses, airlines or not, align their pricing models to.

Originally Posted by stevicus

But the underlying message they're sending is still clear: The only thing your "airfare" will buy you is a seat on a plane going to the destination you paid for. Whatever extras might have been part of the package before are falling by the wayside. They're saying "These are the things we don't really want to do and don't really consider part of our basic service, but we will do it for an extra fee."

I think that this time period has out forth a question that never been answered before.. that is what exactly does your ticket buy? Is that just transportation for yourself, a person, from X to Y, or does it also include things like baggage or the like.. I don't know the answer.. As I know it, this industry has never really 'crossed that bridge' before.. and the DOT or any other regulator (on the US side) has never directly addressed it either.

While I'm generally not a fan of more Federal regulation over private commerce matters, in this case given the size of the issue and it's costs, I would like the DOT to eventually speak up and say exactly what is and is not a part of the ticket.. and once that's been done we can all adjust to this reality-- whatever it may or may not be.

If they (DOT) decides a bag is a part of a base ticket, the passengers can now plan accordingly and airlines can adjust their fares across the board to reflect these costs and regulatory environment. Conversely, if they say no, a bag is not a part of the base ticket, then from a regulatory perspective, the issue would now have a final answer (barring some legislative intervention) and the passengers and airlines could move forward as such.

Originally Posted by stevicus

I think they already contract out for food service, since it's cheaper to have another company do it than to hire their own employees to do it. They could do that with baggage handling as well if it's really that much trouble for them.

To some point many airlines do that-- outsource the ground handling of their aircraft.. It's common at smaller "line stations" but not as common at the carriers hubs where more aircraft, thus work, is present. In the end, I do think it's about costs..

I do think that it boils down principally to costs but also to the most effective use of or deployment of the businesses capital.. Is it more cost-effective to use XXX of our budget to do YYY work in-house or not? and if not, is there a better return on equity to use that same XXX budget on this ___ that might give us a better return on that same equity.