US airlines unbundle remaining in-flight services

“Unbundling” is a new term that is spreading like wildfire in the US commercial airline industry, which has often stood at the forefront when it comes to cutting back on basic services offered to passengers. Within this context, unbundling simply means that airlines are finding ways to pass down more of their operating expenses to passengers, while removing services that had previously been incorporated into the price of most airline tickets. According to a report in the Palm Beach Post, for example, United Airlines informed its investors that the carrier “continues to take actions to pass rising commodity costs to customers” and that it is a “leader of fare and fuel surcharge actions.”

US Airways follows a similar policy and informed its biggest investors that the carrier could save up to $100 million each year by unbundling previously free services and products, and making passengers pay for them separately instead. What unbundling amounts to in practical terms, according to critical columnists like Dan Moffett of the Palm Beach Post, is that the last remaining small luxuries of the airline industry are being jettisoned. Free meals aboard domestic US flights have been long gone, but airlines like JetBlue are now also getting ready to charge extra for blankets and pillows in economy class, while some airlines are pondering charging an extra $5 for passengers who wish to choose a window or an aisle seat on a flight. What Moffett finds most infuriating about this is that airlines have given these blatant cutbacks euphemistic names, like “a la carte pricing” and “passenger choice.”

Yet carriers might want to think twice about how far their go in their unbundling measures. Earlier this year, JetBlue passenger Gokhan Mutlu launched a lawsuit against the airline, after claiming that the plane’s pilot allegedly forced him to give up his seat to a flight attendant and then told the customer to “go hang out in the bathroom” for the remainder of the flight. Mutlu is demanding $2 million in compensation.

www.unitedairlines.co.uk