In addition to competition, I think the volume of passengers is a major contributor to the cost of flying direct into CZM. If you think about the revenue per employee in the two airports, it's significantly different. I suspect anyone staying in Playa, Tulum, and other mainland QRoo spots, as well as Cancun, Holbox, Isla Mujeres, would fly into CUN, not CZM.
I'd personally like to thank the U.S. Gov't & our Anti-trust Department
- Thread starter deepsea21
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In addition to competition, I think the volume of passengers is a major contributor to the cost of flying direct into CZM. If you think about the revenue per employee in the two airports, it's significantly different. I suspect anyone staying in Playa, Tulum, and other mainland QRoo spots, as well as Cancun, Holbox, Isla Mujeres, would fly into CUN, not CZM.
kaptken1392
Registered
I have said for years that fares have absolutely nothing to do with the actual weight of people and luggage or the distance they are flying. I'm not even convinced that the price of fuel really figures into it. I am in Florida. If I fly N & E, I can fly super cheap. The minute I try to book something W besides Las Vegas, the fares are crazy! I just checked RT to New Orleans in August on Delta - $1200!
Crazy!
Crazy!
In short, the fares have nothing to do what it costs the airline to fly the routes; it's all about maximizing profits and what the market will bear. That is, of course, until fuel costs go up and all the airlines hike their fares. So when the fuel costs go down they lower the fares, right? Dream on...
Do you really believe that flights cost more now in inflation adjusted dollars than they did before deregulation? Do you have any evidence for that? My repetitive flight experience is limited to Cancun and I know I get there much cheaper now but all in all it seems to me that flying is more affordable than it was 30 years ago.
mediumone
Contributor
Maybe not exactly, but the idea that fares go up when fuel prices go up and never go down when they go down will always raise fares and they will never lower. I have not seen that, but my view has been somewhat limited.
Nope. Nothing like that.
Base fares are only part of what it costs to fly. For example, It wasn't that long ago that you could fly to Cozumel with two 50 lb. bags with no baggage fees. Then it was one free bag, now its no free bags. The baggage fees were added when fuel went up and did not go away when it went back down.
One of the biggest problems standing in the way of airlines pricing is they purchase hedged fuel contracts long into the future, they've got big contracts purchased when oil was at 100.00 a barrel with it at half that to buy it they have to write off millions of dollars of losses on the contracts they bought already.
And here is the guy to blame for all the baggage fees:
John Thomas, 54, of Needham, Massachusetts, is the airline consultant who introduced the charges to North America in 2008. He now uses a private jet or takes carry-on bags.
And some experts believe the fees kept several airline carriers in business at a difficult time for the industry. Jay Sorensen, president of a travel consulting called IdeaWorksCompany told the Boston Globe that the fees created a 'tsunami of money.'
'I would credit bag fees with saving the industry that year,' Sorensen added. Thomas, originally from Australia, works for LEK Consulting, a UK-based firm, and five years ago he was asked to come up with idea to make more money for the ailing industry. Airlines suffered losses after the 9/11 attacks, and things still looked bad in 2007 when oil prices rose to record levels.
Online customers were also getting increasingly savvier. As a result, several airlines were near collapse. 'They were looking at certain economic death,' Thomas told the Boston Globe. Carriers in Europe had imposed baggage fees a few years earlier and Thomas advised North American airlines to start charging in 2008.
Thomas had some convincing to do at first, as executives worried the charges might scare passengers off, and that only some companies would introduce the fees.
But he shouldn't have worried. Once United Airlines introduced a $25 fee for the second checked bag in February 2008, the domino effect started in earnest. US Airways followed suit within a fortnight and now all major carriers except Southwest and JetBlue charge to check in your first bag. Yet as the Globe pointed out, they don't affect Thomas - due his success he either flies on a private jet or just uses carry-on. As passengers became resigned to the baggage fees, airlines also found ways of charging for other things that had previously been free.
Perks such as speedy boarding, increased legroom and window seats may now all cost extra cash. The Globe reported that between 2008 and 2011, non-ticket revenue jumped from $10.3 billion to $22.6 billion. Thomas hasn't stopped imagining new ways for airlines to make money, however. Among other areas such as gambling, he's currently considering how free Wi-Fi services to passengers could provide an advertising revenue stream.
And here is the guy to blame for all the baggage fees:
John Thomas, 54, of Needham, Massachusetts, is the airline consultant who introduced the charges to North America in 2008. He now uses a private jet or takes carry-on bags.
And some experts believe the fees kept several airline carriers in business at a difficult time for the industry. Jay Sorensen, president of a travel consulting called IdeaWorksCompany told the Boston Globe that the fees created a 'tsunami of money.'
'I would credit bag fees with saving the industry that year,' Sorensen added. Thomas, originally from Australia, works for LEK Consulting, a UK-based firm, and five years ago he was asked to come up with idea to make more money for the ailing industry. Airlines suffered losses after the 9/11 attacks, and things still looked bad in 2007 when oil prices rose to record levels.
Online customers were also getting increasingly savvier. As a result, several airlines were near collapse. 'They were looking at certain economic death,' Thomas told the Boston Globe. Carriers in Europe had imposed baggage fees a few years earlier and Thomas advised North American airlines to start charging in 2008.
Thomas had some convincing to do at first, as executives worried the charges might scare passengers off, and that only some companies would introduce the fees.
But he shouldn't have worried. Once United Airlines introduced a $25 fee for the second checked bag in February 2008, the domino effect started in earnest. US Airways followed suit within a fortnight and now all major carriers except Southwest and JetBlue charge to check in your first bag. Yet as the Globe pointed out, they don't affect Thomas - due his success he either flies on a private jet or just uses carry-on. As passengers became resigned to the baggage fees, airlines also found ways of charging for other things that had previously been free.
Perks such as speedy boarding, increased legroom and window seats may now all cost extra cash. The Globe reported that between 2008 and 2011, non-ticket revenue jumped from $10.3 billion to $22.6 billion. Thomas hasn't stopped imagining new ways for airlines to make money, however. Among other areas such as gambling, he's currently considering how free Wi-Fi services to passengers could provide an advertising revenue stream.
