Jaunted

Good Circulation is Overrated

4/20/2006 at 3:56 PM
Tags: Airline Analysis (all tags)

When it comes to the airline industry, being wedded to an idea spells trouble. British Airways is learning just that. They are feeling the heat from Ryanair and easyjet, and have responded by cutting fares within Europe by about ten percent. Their fares will remain higher than their competitors, but they offer free luggage check-in, food and other amenities than the low-cost carriers do not give away. Even in these tough times, B.A. is shooting for ten percent margins on their tickets. Ryanair, however operates on a twenty-five percent margin; that's tough competition for B.A. to match.

Northwest, meanwhile, is already tweaking their horrible $15 charge for exit row seating. They plan to set aside some of the quality coach seats for frequent fliers who amass 25,000 miles a year in their World Perks program. That's right, getting an aisle seat has officially become a perk. Frequent fliers will get a crack at the seats for free the same time they go on sale for everyone else. Northwest will stop selling the best coach seats to regular fliers entirely, setting them aside for World Perks members. Northwest is trying to enrage just about everyone this with this new program, and it looks like they are succeeding.

Of course, if you don't get a coveted coach seat, you'd better bring your special socks. According to a British study, "flight socks", which compress the leg to regulate blood flow, reduce the risk of Deep Vein Thrombosis by 90%. Unless you're Alfonso Soriano, they look dorky, but wearing them is still preferable to giving Northwest that extra $15 for an aisle seat.

[Image via jecate/Flickr]

Related Stories:
·   BA Slashes Prices [Times of London]
·   Northwest Drops Legroom Fee for Some Fliers [USAT]
·   Flight socks can cut risk [Guardian]
·   Previous Airline Analysis [Jaunted]