Airlines try to sell new fees to wary customers

One of Briton’s most popular weekly magazines, The Economist, explored how airlines are trying to find a way to soften consumer reaction against a series of new fees implemented by carriers based in the US and the removal of previously free services. In most cases, this involves a creating marketing strategy which somehow attempts to convince passengers that paying for drinks, blankets and pillows is actually to their benefit, rather than a decline in the quality of service offered by airlines.

JetBlue appears to have mastered this marketing strategy quite well, as it explained that by jettisoning free pillows and selling them for $7 instead, passengers would no longer have to engage in “dirty pillow talk.” At least passengers also receive a blanket with their $7 pillow. Yet JetBlue is now trying to make its new pay-per-pillow approach more palatable for clients by getting them to realize that this will actually make for a far more hygienic travel experience, and that the airline’s pillows will be “the world’s Cleanest…eco-conscious, health-conscious and customer-conscious.”

The reality of fees for just about all previously free services aboard airlines has inspired a number of columnists to predict what the air travel industry may look like in the future. The Economist somewhat sarcastically suggested that airlines may end up charging for bathroom use, in-flight entertainment systems and even a separate fee for on-time departures.

Thank you to The Economist for the initial report.