A Surreal Business Moment

Northwest Airlines is going to start charging for aisle seats. Here's the article.

"Earlier this year, local airline analyst Terry Trippler said he expected carriers to start charging extra for perks such as seats with more leg room."

Perks?!? Enough leg room is a perk?!?

There used to be a genuine concern about the comfort and safety of passengers. Now apparently comfort is a perk. Does this mean that safety is on the table too?

I am absolutely amazed at how people think sometimes.

I'm envisioning an airport trip where, after paying hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for a ticket, you pay a surcharge for the "perk" of checking luggage, the "perk" of having a carry-on, and the "perk" of having a seat (with several levels of upgrade available).

After leaving the ticket counter (and paying for the privilege), you head for security, where there is a charge to run the mandatory metal detector, and a charge for the mandatory luggage x-ray. You don't even want to know what the charge is if you're singled out for "special screening".

Once through security you head to the gate, where you take a seat (if you paid for one) and wait for boarding. The boarding auction begins, and the order you are allowed on the plane is bid upon until everyone has made it onto the plane. At this point the flight attendants come by to collect the "gate fee" to allow departure.

The flight is relatively uneventful, you sit back, massage your bruised knees, apologize to those around you for bumping into them (constantly), and pay for your peanuts and water.

Just before landing, the attendants make their final run through the cabin to collect the gate fee for your destination. The plane lands, and the disembarking auction begins to determine who is allowed off first. There is no point in taking part in the initial bidding because the smokers always inflate the initial bids.

You can eventually afford to get off the plane at your destination. Hopefully you aren't changing planes or continuing on to another destination.

The good news in that scenario? The airline industry is no longer bankrupt - for the time being.

Peace,

Matt