I’m sick of the airlines making nauseating ads showing grovelling flight staff ( usually incredibly beautiful women ) pandering to people in first and business class, when the majority of people that fly are in cattle ( economy ) class.
Why don’t they try and get economy passengers to fly with them by improving the usually second rate service eg, by allowing economy class passengers to check in via biz and 1st class desks when they are devoid of passengers?
The rare, economy travelers:
- Pick flights only on price
- Have no loyalty to a specific airline
- Have already made their rare purchase by the time they get to the airport – any good/bad experience at the airport or airplane will be forgotten by the next time the fly, at which time they’ll just pick the cheapest flight anyway.
Also, despite the relatively increased affordability of air travel in recent decades, maybe there’s still a bit of that “jet set” glamour to play off of – “fly with us, and you’ll look fabulous and feel rich, even if you’re neither.”
But I think the previous poster’s explanation covers most of the reason.
Also, an economy traveller who is interested in quality can still be swayed by the knowledge that the airline they are flying on is a premium airline that provides premium services, even if the economy traveller isn’t actually using them. A bit like getting a cheap room at a really posh hotel.
I don’t agree with the comments about economy travellers and loyalty etc either. There is a vast middle ground between those who choose only the cheapest fares and those who can actually afford business. I know a lot of people who won’t fly on certain airlines regardless of the price.
Thanks for the replies.
But why don’t they try to build customer preference in economy?
It’s the same reason why car companies advertise their higher end models out of proportion to the actual sales. They’re trying to build the reputation of their brand and people are going to be more excited by the swanky first class section than the economy section, even if it is a very nice economy section as far as economy sections go.
I’m by no means an airline industry insider but I travel somewhat frequently. There are a couple of important points:
- Airline profit margins are very thin (if there are any).
- Most passengers are economy class travelers with discount tickets, but…
- Most full-fare tickets are business travelers (not necessarily business class, however)
- Frequent flyers account for something like 40% of all trips.
So, with this picture, where do you think the profits come from? Business and first class travelers, and frequent travelers – who happen to often be relatively affluent business people. That’s where the money is. That’s who you want to pamper. These are your whales.
I just checked on Expedia, a flight from NYC to Paris on British Airways costs about $900. Straight from BA, a first-class non-discount ticket on the same dates costs about $8600. First class meals are good but not $7500 good, and first class seats are spacious, but not enough to fit 10 people. Most of that first class ticket is pure profit. The $900 ticket might even be sold at a loss.
This is basically it. You can spend your advertising money trying to attract ten economy class people, or one first class person and secure the same revenue. Airlines are masters of yield management through market segmentation. The rise of “business class” targeted at people whose tickets are being bought for them (so they aren’t as price-conscious, but still have to justify the expense) is another example of this.
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But why don’t they try to build customer preference in economy?
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They do, but primarily through their airline points programs. If you have a lot of points with one airline, you’re likely to want more points with that airline as well to get the free stuff later on. That way advertising form first class becomes advertising for economy as well, because that’s the service you get when you cash in your points.
And the same reason car companies get into auto racing, and build racing cars that are nothing like the cars they sell.
What they said, plus I haven’t been on a flight that wasn’t overbooked in economy in years. They don’t need to attract economy class flyers - they’ve already got too many of them to fit on the plane.
All of the above, with jovan providing the best summary. A couple of other points, in addition.
Most industries today have separated into retailers who compete via price or what is now being called “experience.” In groceries, Walmart or Aldi’s or PriceSmart are bare boned and as cheap as possible. But Trader Joe’s or Wegmans proclaim their fabulous customer service and better range of products.
Airlines segment out in the same way. Spirit is rock bottom pricing and service, with a fee for everything. JetBlue is all about better customer service. Both are profitable.
JetBlue made a fetish of having only one class of seating in its airplanes, thereby treating all customers equally. Recently, though, it added first class cabins to its transatlantic flights. It couldn’t keep passing up the advantages.
Planes are among the very few industries that can’t continually adapt its product to the customer’s needs. You can create a new first class section, or alter the number of seats in first and business classes, but it takes the plane out of service and costs huge amounts of money. For the most part, the seating on a plane is fixed. There are X many seats, Y of them economy and Z of them luxury. The profit margin per Z seat sold may be ten times the profit margin per Y seat sold. Look at the configuration of an actual plane(first hit on Google: I’m assuming that this is more or less the norm).
There are 12 First, 49 Business, 92 Economy Plus, and 105 Economy seats. A fourth of the total seating is high end. Virtually all the profit comes out of that one-fourth of a plane. Therefore it’s vitally important that Business and First be as full as possible. You need the other passengers to cover basic costs, but who are you going to advertise to? The ones that provide the profit. Who are you going to cater and pamper? The ones that provide the profit.
This is true in every industry. It’s just easier to notice on a airplane.
Even the fawning flight attendant doesn’t really cost the airline anything. There’s a common misconception that they’re hired to be glorified waiters. They’re not. The reason airlines hire flight attendants is that they’re required by law to have a certain number of people on board trained to respond to emergencies. But once you have them on board and on the payroll, you might as well keep them busy, and you don’t really have to pay them any more to fawn over the first class customers than you would for them to just sit there bored.
Moderator Note
Doggo, rants belong in the Pit. If you’re going to open questions in General Questions, do it without the side commentary. No warning issued, but don’t do this again.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Are you forgetting Southwest, JetBlue, Virgin America, Spirit and several other airlines? Because there are a good number of airlines with a large focus in economy travelers.
I disagree. Those people are at a minimum. The airlines do market research and realize that the average economy traveler looks at Orbitz or Expedia and, unless it routes you through Baghdad, chooses the very cheapest fare. That’s the reason why almost every airline started charging for the first piece of luggage: They can tack in on in addition to the ticket price. So if I see my flight to Miami listed at $219 on Airline A and $229 on Airline B, I pick Airline A, even though my first bag is $20 on Airline A and actually more expensive.
Of course, Southwest has found a niche by countering this with the “we won’t nickel and dime bags fly free” you and have done pretty well.
Every player in the market finds its niche and TV advertising and really any airline advertising is going to be directed at first class passengers because they aren’t the ones doing the Orbitz searches.
Southwest Airlines gives priority boarding to its most frequent flyers and those with more expensive tickets. JetBlue is adding a first-class cabin next year on its transcontinental flights. All of the airlines pander to the most profitable passengers. (The New York Times: "Travelers in business and first class may represent 10 to 15 percent of long-haul seats globally, but they account for up to half of the revenue of airlines like Lufthansa or British Airways, says Samuel Engel, a vice president at ICF SH&E, an aviation consulting firm. ")
Air travel in the economy class is basically a commodity product now, with no perceived difference in the product except in price. Consumers buy the cheapest tickets they can find. While airlines could offer better services, consumers generally will still choose the lowest-priced tickets they can find, so there is really no impetus to drive product differentiation.
Come now: having perks for frequent travelers (like SWA) isn’t “pandering.” Look at virtually all of their ads: I can’t think of one that features first class travel, Playboy bunny flight attendants, etc as the OP described. At least 90% of their ads are about low fares, low fees, and economy passengers.
And JetBlue: so they’re finally adding a first class cabin. So what? They’ve been in business for 15 years, and their bread and butter business is advertising low fares and TVs in every seat.
It is simply not believable at all to say that SWA, Jet Blue, Spirit have the same business model as the major airlines.
I disagree. When I fly for 12 hours I go for the seats with legroom and pitch, and non stop, even if it costs a bit more. Meals and entertainment I don’t really care about, but they could be an added incentive. Larger stowed luggage allowances would be a definite plus.