|
 Not
too long ago the airlines industry came up with the novel idea to start
charging for the second checked bag while the first one would be allowed
free. The reasons to do so was to offset
the high fuel charges and competitive ticket prices to help them make some
profit in return for the services that they offer. This strategy was not
taken very positively by the travlers, many
of them balked at this idea of having a surcharge for what they received
for free in the past. However this idea was accepted as the first bag could
still be checked in for free which meets the needs of most travelers. In
the short run the strategy to allow one bag free was a brilliant idea to
keep passenger complaints down.
The
beginning of extra baggage handling fees.
This
was a great start to getting the customers to get used to the idea of paying
extra for a checked bag. Very soon other major airlines followed suit and
started charging for the second bag checked in. It was not too long afterwards
that the airline industry, spearheaded by American Airlines and United
Airlines,spun
their strategy to charge for the first checked in bag as well.
 This
has upset travelers to a point where they are making their displeasure
known. Many of them do not wish to accept such frivolous charges. Soon
they will be suing the airline if their bags are lost or missing as they
will want something in return for the cost of checking in their bags.
My
advice for the airline industry would be to help their customers accept
this change in a radically different way. This has a lot to do with understanding
human psychology and how change can be introduced to allow them to accept
it naturally.
 One
way to do so is to charge for the tickets in such a way that there is a
built in charge in the price of the ticket for 2 checked in bags. This
is assuming that the passenger will be checking in 2 bags. However during
the checkout process they should be given the option to remove any extra
charges that they do not need. Such a stratedy
will be seen as if they are getting a discount for each bag that they will
not be checking in. This discount can be taken off the price during checkout
so they receive the lowest possible travel fare. It will also seem acceptable
to them that they are in control to decide how much they wish to pay for
their  ticket
based on the services they choose to use.
Alternately
they can be given a discount travel voucher during checking if they paid
for the bag charge but decide not to check in any bags or only one bag.
This voucher can be good for use with future travel purchases from the
airline. This psychologically ties the customer to the airline because
they have a voucher to redeem with them. Of course they are not being forced
to do so.
Such
creative ways to handle change are far more effective and acceptable to
the consumers as the airline will be demonstrating to them that they are
in control of the price and are actually bringing down the price of their
air fare by agreeing to not check in a bag. If they decide to check in
a bag, they will be doing so by their own choice and be willing to pay
a charge to do so.
The
Airline industry should adopt these suggested measures which will result
in better customer satisfaction and quickly
win back customer loyalty and their preference of carrier. |
