The Customer Is Always Right
And Now, With Airline Information’s Passenger Bill of Rights, Consumers Have Some Too
Miami October 13, 2009 - For airline industry insiders, the fact that the industry is changing dramatically is old news. But for consumers, it seems like these changes are being made without consideration for the passenger- just for the airlines’ bottom line. The industry talks about unbundled airfares, ancillary revenues, capacity cuts and consolidation. Consumers hear: new fees, diminished service, crowded planes and fewer flights.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that the industry is ignoring the needs and wants of their valuable consumer base. And at influential conferences and other industry gatherings around the world, a new emphasis is being put on what the consumer ought to expect from their flight experience, and what rights they ought to have.
One airline industry group and conference organizer has led the way in bringing the focus back to the consumer- and many airlines are coming along with them, Airline Information, the group that is hosting the upcoming FFP-ARAC Mega Event this month in Los Angeles, has just released a “Passenger Bill of Rights for Airline a-la-Carte Merchandising”, an industry-supported declaration of passengers’ rights in an era of unbundled airfares and fee-for-service. The Passenger Bill of Rights enumerates levels of service and best practices that consumers can expect from the a-la-carte fees that have become reality for most fliers.
This may not be the first time an airline industry organization has placed such an emphasis on the rights of the consumer, but it certainly comes along at a good time for the industry and sets a precedent that the rest of the industry is sure to follow.
Airline Information’s eight simple rules were agreed upon by a control group of European and US airlines and airline services firms at the Xpress Conference held by Airline Information in London last month. And as more companies accept them as their operating philosophies, Airline Information’s Bill of Rights will become the standard for a-la-carte merchandising best practices industry-wide.
The Passenger Bill of Rights will be examined front and center on the FFP-ARAC agenda in Los Angeles taking place on October 22-23, where more than 300 industry professionals (including 50+ airlines) will have the opportunity to review and endorse the measures. With the industry so much in flux at this point- and suffering so greatly from recession-reduced levels of demand- there is a real need for the creation and implemention of common sense rules, even in a nonbinding arrangement.
"The airlines have a clear choice if they want to go down the road of generating revenue from a-la-carte fees and merchandising,” says Chris Staab, managing partner at Airline Information. “They can adopt healthy guidelines now themselves or they can wait and have government regulators do it for them."
Airline Information has long been an advocate of carrier accountability to consumers, and the Passenger Bill of Rights is only their latest initiative to reinforce that principle. The company’s role as an organizer of industry events has allowed it to remain on the forefront of industry development, and often, to help steer the direction of industry discourse toward not only to promote the overall health of the global airline industry but also to act as advocates for passenger rights. And contrary to conventional wisdom, these two aims are not mutually exclusive.
The upcoming FFP-ARAC, for instance, will focus primarily on how ancillary revenue development is creating a customizable flight experience for consumers while providing airlines with a much-needed revenue stream. Another track will examine the importance of loyalty programs and how these can be incorporated with ancillary revenue strategies. And most importantly, that loyalty programs must provide actual benefit for the passenger and have less restrictive redemption rules.
These topics reflect the priorities of Airline Information’s Passenger Bill of Rights. Right #4 asserts passengers’ entitlement to “to expect that the airline will demonstrate added responsibility and increased service-levels for new a-la-carte charges,” while Right #8 states that “elite frequent flyers ought to enjoy reduced or eliminated a-la-carte charges.”
Conferences like the FFP-ARAC event this month are the breeding grounds for game-changing concepts in the airline industry, as is well evidenced by the development of Airline Information’s Passenger Bill of Rights.
Judging by the state of airlines today, the industry needs as many of these fruitful gatherings as it can get.
For a complete copy of Airline Information’s Passenger Bill of Rights for A-La-Carte Merchandising, or to find out more information about the upcoming FFP-ARAC conference in Los Angeles, please visit www.airlineinformation.org.
To request a media pass, or to schedule interviews with attending airlines and keynote speakers, please contact Vanessa Horwell or Jennifer Rodrigues at 305.749.5342 ext. 232/234 or vanessa@thinkinkpr.com / jrodrigues@thinkinkpr.com.
About Airline Information
Airline Information is an established innovator in commercial aviation management conferences and publishing. Over 200 airlines regularly attend Airline Information conferences and forums worldwide. The firm provides airline professionals and industry suppliers with free high-quality online publications as well as professional guidebooks and management consultation in loyalty, CRM, eCommerce, and ancillary revenue development. For more information please visit: http://www.airlineinformation.org.
|
