The benefits of crowdsourcing, and its effectiveness for problem solving, are well-known. The power of the social web is being harnessed by airlines more than ever (in fact, a cargo-carrier has recently got into the game as well). Crowdsourcing initiatives are now being used not  just to engage customers but also to find ways to improve their product and services, as well as at the same time building their brands. Hence, “crowdbranding”.

With today’s Top 10 case-pack we would like to highlight some of the best examples of airline crowdsourcing. At the same time, we also invite our readers to have a look beyond the surface and into the deeper strategic goals that drive each of these strategies. In some cases it will be clear that the end game was indeed solving a problem or finding an innovative way of addressing existing issues, but in others it will also be clear that the stated goal of the crowdsourcing campaign wasn’t the only goal.

Most of the airline examples included in this Top 10 used crowdsourcing to solve problems related to visible parts of their product such as in-flight meals or routes, and did so in very “socially active” ways, using their social media pages and often creating dedicated websites where participants could interact.

Looking deeper into the reasons that drove these airlines to choose crowdsourcing, we found that the most common goals were:

1. Solving a particular problem
2. Reducing costs
3. Associating their brands with a specific concept (for example: quality or low prices)
4. Obtaining first hand-data from their community of users
5. Promoting a new feature/product/route

With this teaser, we’ll leave you to discover how some of the best airlines in the world harnessed the power of the web in the most tantalizing and innovative ways possible.

• Loyalty 2.0 | The Top 10 Social Loyalty Initiatives by Airlines
• Top 50 case-studies of airlines and airports excelling in social media
• The Top 10 Viral Videos by Airlines (plus bonus videos)
• The Top 10 Twitter Initiatives by Airlines
• Top 10 Travel Distribution Initiatives by Airlines: Reinventing the booking cycle to drive revenue (from #eftamerica)

However, it seems that aircraft furniture of the future is changing to address the need for more comfort, better support and more groovy hi tech gadgets and gizmos for those who love their in-flight entertainment. In fact, in a recent survey done by Devesh Agarwal, more people thought seat comfort was more important in making a ticket purchase decision, than punctuality or frequent flier benefits for long haul travel.

Airlines are changing the way we travel. International flight comparison site Skyscanner.net are here to prove it by looking at five of the most exciting new seat designs of the future, in this guest post.

Skycouch – Air New Zealand

Nicknamed ‘Cuddle Class’; Air New Zealand’s cosy new Economy Skycouches are set to take off from an airport in London. To be ‘sky tested’ in the B777-300 aircraft, the Skycouch features three seats that have been designed to create a flexible seating option. The seats lie completely flat, creating a space where kids can play and adults can relax or sleep. While over in Premium Economy, the Spaceseat has been developed to give passengers more privacy and flexibility. Seats angle out to seclude their occupier but can also be combined to enable couples to cosy up closer or even dine at the same table. Window seats angle towards the window not only offering complete privacy but a better view.

Air New Zealand has some nice extra little details too like pillows that slip over the headrest then don’t budge and neat little beanbags for under your feet. You may not want to get off the plane!

Gaming Seats - Germany

Currently a prototype, the ‘Not for Wimps’ (NFW) Gaming Seat was only a reality at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg in early April.

With a design idea that possibly came from the ‘carrot dangling from a stick in front of a moving donkey’ scenario, an extendable plastic arm reaches over a rather cosy bucket seat dangling in front of the passenger a state-of-the-art monitor and gaming and docking station. Technophiles will be in their element in this comfy seat with endless gaming options, oblivious to the many hours of a long haul flight as they whiz by. The lightweight design could even save the airlines money on fuel.

They’re not available for order just yet but watch this space…

Entertainment Stations - Emirates A380

On the Emirates A380 aircraft, the future has definitely arrived. Extra space, private suites, showers in first class, and a thousand channels of entertainment are just the tip of the iceberg. (remember, we brought you the Live coverage from the inaugural A380 flight to JFK?)

Business Class passengers can now enjoy fully reclining massage beds complete with their own mini bar, privacy screen and widescreen TV. Economy Class passengers will also benefit from more space with seats that recline further, hopefully increasing the chances of getting some shut-eye on a long haul flight.

Emirates has so far placed the largest order of 58 new Airbus A380 superjumbo planes, that will incorporate these state of the art luxuries, giving lucky passengers on flights to Bangkok, flights to Dubai and flights to Auckland and Sydney a chance to try them out!

Lumbar Support – Virgin Atlantic

The new Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy seats are currently the biggest in their class and offer passengers advanced ergonomic design that delivers additional lumbar support, an adjustable headrest and a dual position footrest.

The seats will mean passengers can stretch out even further while enjoying all the lovely little luxuries that Virgin provide from bowls of fruit and chinaware to newspapers and an after dinner brandy!

Ryanair Standing ‘Seats’

The lure of cheap flights is strong but maybe not quite strong enough to get on board the latest brainwave from Ryanair’s Chief Executive Michael O’Leary. The proposal is for an area at the back of the aircraft to be reserved for ‘standing seats’ that would mean passengers could pay as little as £4 for a flight. That said, travellers should remember to bring their loose change as plans to create coin-operated toilets could also be coming into effect.

The Civil Aviation Authority have raised their doubts over the vertical seats meeting necessary health and safety requirements so, with any luck, Ryanair will stick with tradition and opt for seating of the more comfortable horizontal variety.

About Skyscanner

Skyscanner is a travel search site providing online comparisons on flight prices for over 670,000 routes and on over 600 airlines, including flights to India as well car hire, deals and holidays. You can follow Skyscanner on Twitter and Facebook

(All images courtesy of the individual airlines)

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• SPECIAL FEATURE: An exclusive look at Cathay Pacific’s new Business Class seats
• Lufthansa Airbus A380 from Frankfurt to JFK inaugural flight: The Best aircraft, Best Airline, to the Best City?
• How will Emirates ensure high levels of service across its A380 fleet? VP Nigel Page explains

RyanAir is known for being creative about ancillary revenues. We all know about the much-discussed toilet charge. But did you know that RyanAir has recently opened a new lounge at Stansted Airport? For under 18 bucks, you get breakfast, wifi, sofas and even showers before you board your flight. And the lounge has received some rave reviews as well.

Now this is a sort of service I’m sure many wouldn’t mind paying for – because it’s value-added charges, not charges for un-bundling, as is generally the case.

AirAsia has a shop in a mall in KL

Forget about in-flight shopping – that’s old school and increases the aircraft’s weight. AirAsia now has not one, but two “kiosks” in Kuala Lumpur. One is at the LCCT itself, and a new one has come up at Pavillion Mall. They promise even more outlets soon! Here, you can buy AirAsia merchandise like plane models, t-shirts and even hand-bags.

I wonder what’s next for AirAsia – a restaurant in downtown Kuala Lumpur serving their legandary teh tarik and Nasi Lemak? You can’t rule anything out.

Tiger Airways and Kingfisher go big on cargo

After skirting the issue for many months, a number of airlines are entering the cargo space to drive up non-passenger revenue. Tiger Airways in Singapore is testing the cargo service on a number of South East Asian routes. Kingfisher from India has gone all the way and started a separate cargo division!

But aren’t cargo levels still very low? Isn’t that still a loss-making operation for legacy airlines? Well, it seems that re-bound is near. Tiger Airways went on record to say that they’re adding this function specifically to drive ancillary revenues.

Rosalynn Tay, managing director, Tiger Airways Singapore, said: “We have just started our cargo trials and the reason for that is it is … an ancillary revenue stream, plus it helps us to optimise our profitability and aircraft utilisation.

Why creativity is good?

So what’s common about the three new methods of generating ancillary revenues that I mentioned? The passenger doesn’t need to pay more for something he was already getting. Most of the services being offered are value-added. They bring revenue for the airline, without inconveniencing the passengers.  And that means the brand is not affected negatively.

If anything, the passengers will be pleased, like with the RyanAir lounge at Stansted and the AirAsia shop in the KL mall. And that only helps the brand impression.

What do you think? Will this work? What are some other examples of airlines getting creative in trying to drive revenue, yet not hurting customer sentiment? Let’s discuss in the comments section, and over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

• Ancillary revenues and airline branding Special in March at SimpliFlying
• AirAsia X: a brand with a huge potential, but remember, “you’re only buying the flying”
• Ancillary revenue: A boon or a bane for the airline brand?
• Brand essence of Malaysia Airlines – experiencing Malaysian Hospitality
• Driving revenues and engaging customers in-flight – presentation from Airline Retail Conference #arc2012

For the unaware, here’s a a gist of what happened. Just a few weeks ago, Ryanair said it would offer SAS executives and board members “free tickets on any of Ryanair’s 100 Nordic routes”, then surprisingly rescinded the offer. Nevertheless, SAS’ Director of Communication and EVP, Claus Sonberg, made his first flight with Ryanair from Oslo to London, which could be followed via both Facebook and Twitter.

What was meant to be just an update about the flight experience turned out to be an online “shouting match” with Claus pointing out how RyanAir was more expensive and a “Fletcher Reede” constantly brought out RyanAir’s perspectives. So now, what are some lessons airlines can take away from this?

1. Integrate new media and old media

Something I feel SAS did quite well in this matter was to make good use of both old and new media. There were press releases, interviews in newspapers, even as the action took place on Twitter and Facebook. No segment of the audience was left out.

Many of the times, organizations get too excited about new mediums like Twitter and Facebook, and end up isolating the traditional mediums – which might have a greater in some market segments. The best way is to learn from example – like how Ford’s Scott Monty does Social Media Press Releases.

2. Don’t just talk. Listen, then respond

Crises handling changes drastically in social media, as compared to traditional media. For the simple reason that people an airlines is communicating with can actually respond, in real-time too. Which means that they will ignore anything that’s not relevant to their concerns, at that very moment. So then, how can an airline conquer this situation?

Monitoring Twitter, Facebook and even blog mentions, in addition to press releases is a must. Such monitoring would bring up the current issues people are talking about. Then the airline should try to address these in their responses. So for example in SAS’ case, none of the posts on Twitter were “@” replies addressing people’s concerns. They were merely 140char versions of press-releases: one-way announcements. Not something that can sustain interest.

3. Add insight from analytics for targeted responses

You must be thinking that it’s not possible to respond to every single person who replies on Twitter or leaves a comment on Facebook. That’s absolutely right. This is when the airline needs to use basic analytic tools for observing trends and addressing concerns shared by a number of people.

For example, on Twitter, there are a number of valuable analytic tools that help bring out trends.  One such tool is the Twitter StreamGraph, which shows you the latest things people are talking about a particular brand, SAS in this case. And as you see in the screenshot below, lots of people have been confusing SAS’ tweets as promotion of RyanAir’s in-flight product. That’s certainly something that needed addressing.

4. Give power to the listener

The one obvious-yet-often-ignored rule of interactions on social media is that brands must involve the people they’re talking to in the conversations. In SAS’ interactions on Facebook and Twitter, that wasn’t the case very often.

Posts on social media by the brands should aim to instigate discussion among the fans or followers. The brand should act as a facilitator of discussion, as opposed to initiating every discussion. Brands need to listen more than talk. Once the people feel they’re being heard, their affinity increases towards a brand. Mind you, concrete action is seldom needed, but listening is key.

5. Don’t just let the traditional PR team handle it

This is probably the toughest to achieve in these five steps. Traditional PR and corporate communications teams are good with old media, but not necessarily new media. If a crises is being handled on social media, then it’s essential that the team is complemented with someone who’s a practitioner of social media. The key word there is practitioner – because if the person(s) hasn’t personally been active on social media, it might actually be detrimental to the brand.

The best option for airline that do not yet have a social media department is to let the Corp. Comms. team lead crises handling, but complement it with at least one or two people who know social media deep within. IF there are none, then hire a consultant. But I’d advise against doing it in-house, and without much prior experience.

Coming back to SAS, I think they did a decent job at managing the process on social media. However, there’s certainly scope for improvement.

What do you think? Did SAS do a good job? If you were in their shoes, how would you have done it differently? Let’s discuss in the comments or over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

• Hot topic: Will Ryanair charging for toilets work for its brand?
• King of ancillary revenues, RyanAir offers €1,000 for best idea on making money!
• The Southwest Effect in Ireland? Does the RyanAir brand come close?
• Ancillary revenue: A boon or a bane for the airline brand?
• Ryanair’s New Fee To ‘Check In’ & The Real Cost Of Some Low Cost Carriers

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Donald Schenk, the President & CEO of Airline Capital Associates in New York, and Patrick Murphy, the Chairman, Aviation Group at Performance Consultants International and the former Chairman of RyanAir, have joined SimpliFlying’s Board of Advisors. It’s an honor to have them on-board our fast-growing team as Advisors.

As part of the Board of Advisors, Don and Patrick will be mentoring the SimpliFlying team on business strategy and share their wisdom about the nuances of the industry, given their combined experience of almost 100 years!

About Donald Schenk

Mr. Schenk founded ACA in 1989 after leaving Bankers Trust where he was a Managing Director in the Corporate Finance Department. At ACA he developed a large practice advising aerospace companies on market trends and financial services companies on due diligence reviews of both airlines and aerospace companies. In addition to his consulting practice, Mr. Schenk’s financial advice has been used by numerous airlines and aerospace companies. Internationally, his financial advice has been focused on the emerging markets. Mr. Schenk has also developed an extensive practice in corporate restructuring and aviation-related expert witness work.

Mr. Schenk’s expertise in aviation and aerospace matters has been recognized by such groups as the Batelle Center for High Speed Commercial Transport, the National Transportation Review Board, the Air Force Procurement Command, and the National Defense Transportation Association.

Learn more about Don and ACA Associates here

About Patrick Murphy

Patrick Murphy is Chairman of the Aviation Group at Performance Consultants International, a major provider of advisory, coaching and mentoring services to many industries around the world.

Patrick has over thirty years experience in the airline industry. For the past five years he has been a consultant and advisor to a number of airlines specialising in transformation, becoming low cost, establishing frequent flyer programmes and managing ancillary revenues. He was on assignment to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for the previous five years where in addition to advising member airlines he was responsible for the acquisition of a number of publications outsourced by Member airlines; establishing e-commerce in IATA; overseeing all business planning activities; establishing project management systems and controls; and transforming the Tariffs function within IATA.

Prior to this Patrick was Director and Chairman of various air transport sector companies including Ryanair, Aer Turas, Datalex Communications, and Allied Management Systems. As Chairman of Ryanair in its formative years he was responsible for its transformation from a traditional full-service regional airline into the low-cost airline that it is today.

Learn more about Patrick Murphy here.

Please join me in welcoming Don and Patrick to the team.

Keep flying, SimpliFlying,
Shashank

• Social media mogul Chris Brogan joins SimpliFlying’s Board of Advisors
• SimpliFlying recognized as one of the Top 3 aviation blogs at FlightGlobal Webbies
• Join me in Istanbul, for IATA Commercial Strategy Symposium (two passes up for grabs!)
• Join me in Santiago de Chile, at IATA Wings of Change conference – 2 free passes up for grabs
• King of ancillary revenues, RyanAir offers €1,000 for best idea on making money!

A commercial pilot and journalist, Rob has been writing Jetwhine as the blog of “aviation buzz and bold opinion,” for two and a half years. His posts are never dull because you never need to try to figure out where he and his co-writer Scott Spangler stand on an issue. Enjoy.

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For as long as I can remember, Southwest Airlines, now the largest U.S. domestic airline, created in the 1970s by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King, has been the low-cost airline others most want to emulate. The need to copy isn’t just about money, although Southwest has a profit history better than any other airline in the world. Most Southwest look-a-likes have, in fact, been dismal failures.

Southwest has a record of solid labor relations – despite last week’s pilot contract rejection – and a culture of customer fun in an industry that most others have never been able to duplicate. Southwest simply delivers a solid, consistent service at a fair price that keeps passengers coming back. To me, an airline that actually still responds in writing to a customer complaint says quite a bit.

The airline’s no hidden fees policy has also carried it quite a long way at a time when competitors have tried charging for everything short of breathing space. True, Southwest did appear to break with tradition last week when it announced some new fees, but charging for the work related to managing unaccompanied minors as well as pets carried in the cabin is something the average man or woman on the street will most likely never notice.

On to Ireland

When Ryanair opened for business in 1985, many analysts thought the Dublin-based carrier could evolve into a European airline modeled on the success of Southwest. Having had the opportunity to fly Ryanair a few times, I can tell you that the Southwest folks probably have very little to worry about on that front, something my first flight on the European airline confirmed. At Southwest, boarding is by group to bring some sort of order to the process of putting folks in their seats. In fact, we spoke to Southwest’s Doug Lawson about just that topic last year.

When boarding at Ryanair, they essentially open the terminal doors, aim passengers at the airplane and yell “go.” It’s every man, woman and child for themselves to find a good seat using both the front and rear doors. There was nothing even remotely funny about watching people run like crazed dogs for the Boeing while I tried to make sure they didn’t mow down my family in the process. To me, Ryanair’s business model is not so much about low cost as it is about being cheap. Even ads for the airline tout “cheap.” And when a company is cheap, consumers should beware.

In March, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary made news by suggesting pay toilets might be a good idea aboard his airplanes where flights are often no more than an hour per leg. In the U.S., we laughed, especially when O’Leary’s press officer confirmed that the CEO often makes this stuff up as he goes. Then last week O’Leary confirmed he’s in talks with Boeing to find a workable pay toilet solution, one that will help Ryanair remove two of the three lavs on the Boeing 737 to make room for more seats.

Making passengers pay to use a toilet is sure to become one of the largest revenue losers in the history of the airline business. But it also opens the door to a discussion about how Ryanair is fast become an airline at which the wheels have finally begun to come off the wagon. The company has clearly crossed the line between what passengers will accept and what they will not. O’Leary just doesn’t seem to realize it because he’s in business to make money, not run an airline.

I always thought no one could be less customer-focused than United Airlines. Clearly I was wrong. The only thing that really worries me is that some airline bean counter here in the states might think Ryanair is on to something. They are of course. It’s just not anything good for airline passengers. And if you do fly Ryanair in the future, you just might want to bring along a can of Lysol to kill the germs. It’s going to get messy over there.

• King of ancillary revenues, RyanAir offers €1,000 for best idea on making money!
• Hot topic: Will Ryanair charging for toilets work for its brand?
• Ancillary revenue: A boon or a bane for the airline brand?
• Ryanair’s New Fee To ‘Check In’ & The Real Cost Of Some Low Cost Carriers
• Airline Baggage Fees : The Airline Industry’s Financial Salvation?

Everyday hundreds of thousands of travellers take to the internet to search for the lowest airfare for their travels. Eventually many of these travellers with find themselves at the website of a Low-Cost-Carrier (LCC) lured in by the promise of cheap fares…but really what the cost of flying with an LCC?

Irish carrier Ryanair is one of the most notable LCC’s in the world, with a network that operates from a staggering 32 ‘Hub’ airports. Ryanair is known for charging for everything…what exactly is ‘everything?’ well how about they charge you to check in for your flights…either online or at the airport…rates vary.

How do the rates vary? Well if you check in online, and you booked your ticket online your check in fee is €5 (US$6.75), but if you check in online but you booked your ticket via the telephone your check in fee is €10(US$13.50).

Can’t check in online? Well then if you booked your check-in online your fee is €10 (US$13.50), you didn’t book online your only the hood for €40 (US$54.25).

…oh yea, one last thing, these fees are EACH WAY!

You want to actually pay for your ticket? Ryanair requires a €5 fee for payment handling, per one-way flight, so round trip, no connections, you need to pay them €10 to process your payment.

Need to fly with one checked bag? €10each way if you book the baggage online and €20 if you pay at the airport. Sure everyone has baggage fees these days, however Ryanair is incredible strict with carry-on weight and does not allow ANYTHING to be external of the bag. Have a camera on your shoulder? Not allowed. Have a newspaper under your arm? Not allowed. Everything must be in the bag and under 10kg (22lbs). Should you not comply with the cabin baggage conditions, Ryanair reserves the right to cancel your reservations without refund and deny your boarding to the flight.

…so go ahead and purchase the checked baggage option.

So let’s see what Ryanair’s €2.99 & €4.99 each way fare actually costs for flyers travelling from Shannon, Ireland (SNN) to Paris, France (BVA), departing on the 22nd of May returning on the 25th of May.

22-May-2009
Flight FR132
Departing SNN: 2:40pm
Arriving BVA: 5:20pm
Fare €4.99
Taxes/Fees €22.79
TOTAL: €27.78

25-May-2009
Flight FR133
Departing BVA: 1:25pm
Arriving SNN: 2:05pm
Fare €2.99
Taxes/Fees €23.12
TOTAL: €26.11

TOTAL AIRFARE: €53.89

Check-In Online + 1 checked bag: €30.00
Receive Booking Confirmation : €1.00

Total Payment Amount EXCLUDING HANDLING FEE: €84.89
Total Payment Amount INCLUDING HANDLING FEE: €94.89

Check in-online for departure, check in at airport for return (because you have a printer at home to check-in, and on the road you stayed at small hotel with no access to a printer): €45

TOTAL AMOUNT PAID FOR €7.98 airfare? : €139.89

Also keep in mind that Paris-Beauvais (BVA) is 88km (55miles) from Paris, where as Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) is 25km (15miles) from Paris. Transportation from BVA to Paris requires a €13 (cash only) bus ride connecting to the train (RER), each way. A bus from CDG to Paris is €15 each way, dropping you at the Arch de Triumph. Alternately you can take the train (RER) from CDG to the center of Paris for €8 each way (my preferred option). So while BVA may seem cheaper up front, the convenience and cost of getting from BVA to Paris is more costly as well, especially when Ryanair suggests you arrive at BVA 3.5hrs ahead of your flight!

At what cost does one fly Ryanair? Well let’s compare an Air France flight
22-May-2009
Flight AF 5083
Depart SNN 2:50pm
Arrive CDG 6:00pm

25-May-2009
Flight AF 5080
Depart: CDG 11:10am
Arrive: SNN 12:15pm
TOTAL FARE (including all taxes & fees): €147.20

Lets break this down
Ryanair: Can of soda: €3.00
Air France: Can of soda: Free

Ryanair: Virtually no customer service presence at SNN or BVA to assist passengers
Air France: Staff at both airports to assist passengers

Ryanair: No window shades
Air France: Window shades to block the sunlight

Ryanair: Cabin crew hawking anything they can sell
Air France: The cabin crew won’t bother you at all

Ryanair: No seat recline
Air France: Seat reclines for your comfort (but not the person behind you)

Ryanair: One flight per day between SNN-BVA
Air France: Two flights per day between SNN-CDG & access to code share flights if problems arise.

Ryanair: Long multi-stop transit from 88km outside Paris
Air France: Easy simple transit from 25km outside Paris

So, overall looking at the break down of Ryanair as a “Low Cost Carrier” vs Air France which is an established “Network Carrier” what is more time and cost effective?

I know €2.99 & €4.99 sound like fantastic fares, but before booking with a Low Cost Carrier look at all the potential fees and hassles associated with fly them. Some LCCs are great, offer transparent fares and have fantastic service (Southwest Airlines in the US and Jet2 in the UK come to mind) others offer less than stellar service and fees that can significantly drive fees through the roof.

The choice is yours.

Happy Flying!

• Airline Baggage Fees : The Airline Industry’s Financial Salvation?
• The airline brand suffers big, when big spenders get frustrated with hidden fees: true story (United Airlines)
• How can an airline brand survive a disaster? Lessons from the Air France 447 crash
• Hot topic: Will Ryanair charging for toilets work for its brand?
• Boston to New York for $7? Can someone explain why?

What does the future full service airline model look like?

Which airline is closest to the future? Southwest.

What do you think? What does the future of full-service airlines look like to you? Do you think Southwest is a good indication of the future or are there better examples too?

• AirAsia X: a brand with a huge potential, but remember, “you’re only buying the flying”
• Is business-class travel going extinct? Part 1 of 2
• Why LiveTV is a great idea from JetBlue Airways, to help them fly through a recession and keep the brand alive
• Five reasons why budget airlines in Asia are successful
• Why the Southwest and WestJet alliance is good for both the brands

.

I read an article about Tony Fernandes, the CEO of AirAsia, in The Economist today that got me thinking. Thinking about the last few articles I’ve written about United Airlines, RyanAir and Southwest Airlines – on how they make money off their customers – what what works and what doesn’t.

There’re a lot of airlines in the US and Europe can learn from Tony Fernandes and AirAsia (+ Azran and AirAsiaX). Here’s how the article in The Economist ended.

“Mr Fernandes says that he came to the industry with no preconceptions, but found it rigidly compartmentalized and dysfunctional. He wanted AirAsia to reflect his own unstuffy, open and cheerful personality. He is rarely seen without his baseball cap, open-neck shirt and jeans, and he is proud that the firm’s lack of hierarchy (very unusual in Asia) means anyone can rise to do anyone else’s job. AirAsia employs pilots who started out as baggage handlers and stewards; for his part, Mr Fernandes also practises what he preaches. Every month he spends a day as a baggage-handler; every two months, a day as cabin crew; every three months, a day as a check-in clerk. He has even established a “culture department” to “pass the message and hold parties”.”

I wonder when Glenn Tilton last flew Economy Class on United Airlines and when Michael O’leary helped load the baggage on RyanAir…if they did, they probably would learn not just a lot more about their employees, but also their customers, don’t you think?

I wonder why is it that the concept of servant leadership is lacking in the airline industry?
Especially in the Western world. We know that exceptions like Southwest exist, but why don’t others do it too, when they see this working out well?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

• Airline Baggage Fees : The Airline Industry’s Financial Salvation?
• AirAsia takes customer service to social media with AskAirAsia
• Malaysia Airlines’ blog may do wonders for the brand
• Thoughts on the United and Continental merger – as quoted in the press
• King of ancillary revenues, RyanAir offers €1,000 for best idea on making money!

I was reading through a popular airline forum this morning and was shocked the read the story of a United Airlines frequent flier, who was extremely frustrated by “hidden fees” the airline had imposed on him, and was desperately seeking advice on how to resolve the matter without further aggravation. Here’s Phil’s story (reproduced with permission):

“I purchased a ticket to Amsterdam last weekend with my miles. I booked over the internet and paid a $100.00 booking fee, along with the taxes on the flight.

I had to change my plans because of my mother’s surgery this week. So I called United and they said that I can do one of two things, hold my ticket without returning my miles -OR- pay an additional $150 to have my miles returned to my account.

Oh yeah, just to get the miles put back into my account and forget the hell about all of this, it’s an addition $150.00. I don’t get it, those are mine! And all they have to do is hit a button on a computer and wham, they are back into my account. God, I’m so mad. I don’t get frustrated with airlines that much, but this is ridiculous!

So I opted to save my itinerary. I was told on the phone that I could use my ticket to Amsterdam anytime I wanted, and there would be no fees charged as long as I used the same itinerary.

Well, problem with that is, their award tickets only come with certain seats and flying OKC-ORD-IAD-AMS and return the same way, is difficult to find.

I DID however manage to find, (after searching through tons of blackout dates) I found the same routing, with the available dates for me.

Now, they want to charge me $150.00 booking fee, for a change in itinerary (which was originally promised to not happen) and on top of that they want to charge me a $100.00 transaction fee, or something, not sure what that is.

The tax on this ticket was $125.00 of which “so kindly” they said they would waive for me on the new booking.

In total, I would have spent $400,00 on what was supposed to be a “free ticket.”

Now here comes the weird part, in my exploration to find new dates that weren’t blacked out, I called United several times….but I have a hard time understanding some of them (call center employees), and I’m usually good at it, and they weren’t understanding this entire predicament.

First, I was told that they would waive the $100.00 fee, but I would still have to pay an additional $150.00 fee, then I called back, and they would not waive the fee. It just got so frustrating that I hung up.

Does anyone work with UA that can either 1. Help me with this, or 2. Explain this to me?

I’ve spent so much money on United in the past year, and while I’m not anything but Elite status, it’s a lot for me. All my travel with them has either been in First Class or Business, to SE Asia (Bangkok) and Hawaii.”

There were ample replies to this appeal, some suggesting that Phil speaks “nicely” to the call center staff to get a fee waiver, or that he personally goes down to the airport to speak with a United Airlines agent in-person, to strike a better understanding and may be something can be done about it. As expected, some urged the passenger to read the fine print, where all of this fee is stated within twenty pages, in 8-point font.

But here’s what sums up the sentiments of a number of frustrated fliers today:

“Understand that airlines that are going broke, or close to it, the customer is the enemy. If you get that in your head, it will make what happens understandable. You are not a valued customer. Your are the foe.”

How sad it that?

Penny wise, pound foolish

Here’s a frequent flier who has probably spent something in excess of $20,000 with United Airlines in the past year alone, and probably would have spent a similar amount in the coming year. But because the airline tried to nickle and dime even the big-spenders, they’re likely to lose these customers. Brand loyalty? What brand loyalty?

Why not learn from RyanAir? Be transparent.

I wouldn’t be wrong in saying that most airlines around the world learn how to earn ancillary income from RyanAir. Fine. But at least learn it fully! Despite all the “cheap tactics”, something RyanAir does very well is that it comes clean on all its charges on its website. There’s a simple table of charges that customers can browse through, to get an idea of additional charges they might encounter. On most US “full-service” carriers, these exists somewhere within the 10,000 word agreement that the passenger “ticks” before booking the flight. I don’t think even the United Airlines’ sales reps have read it!

A lot of frustration can be prevented by being transparent about these charges. And transparency is something large US airlines lack. For a start, why not just have a simple table of charges on the website? So that even a 65 year old can understand it?

But before anything, I think United Airlines in particular needs to get its act together and figure out what it stands for. Is it a budget airline? Or a full-service carrier? If it’s the latter (as it claims to be), then why are even frequent fliers treated like this? I wonder.

What do you think? How can this situation be improved? What can airlines do to not upset their most cherished customers through these charges? Do you have any experiences to share that might be of help to Phil?

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