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India’s Kingfisher Airlines in Dire Straits, Begs Govt for Bailout

Airlines Comments Off

Nov 112011

Indian liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines in a desperate state in every possible way and is now begging the Government of India for assistance.

Important: Indians residing in the U.S. and planning a trip home in the near future must get in touch with their travel agents to rebook their flights within India (if they were made on Kingfisher Airlines) to their final destination.

Hundreds of Kingfisher flights have been cancelled in recent days, more than a 100 pilots have quit in recent weeks, vendors have not been paid for months and aircraft lessors are baying for their money.

The recent spate of flight cancellations has inconvenienced several thousand Indian travelers who are scrambling to get on to alternate flights to reach their destinations.

In July, Kingfisher Airlines grounded some aircraft as it did not have the money to even buy spare parts.

In the latest development, Kingfisher Chairman Vijay Mally is begging the Government of India for a bailout, a plea that India’s opposition party, the BJP is opposing.

Media reports from India blame Kingfisher’s ‘faulty pricing strategies’ for the airline’s current plight.

Airlines Screw Passengers on Seat Fees

Airlines Comments Off

Nov 102011

It seems like U.S. airlines never miss out on an opportunity to screw their customers.

Just when it appeared that the reputation of airlines for cavalier treatment of their customers could sink no further comes news how they’re trying to screw passengers on advance seat assignments.

As if screwing customers over checked baggage, early boarding and meals were not enough to drive customers up the wall.

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece on how the airlines through seat assignment fees are further alienating their customers in a bid to extract more money.

Here’s an excerpt from the piece:

Seat fees are the latest iteration of the airline industry’s new normal. Carriers are blocking more seats from advance-seat selection, especially for low-fare passengers. More crowded planes also make it tougher to get a desirable seat. As a result, more travelers are feeling pressured to pay a fee and reserve a seat rather settle for an assigned one—which could be a middle seat or not located next to their family members. Worse, those without assigned seats stand a higher chance of getting bumped from a flight.

On some Frontier flights, one-third of all seats require extra fees or higher fares to reserve in advance. AMR Corp.’s American Airlines, which recently increased the number of seats it reserves as “preferred” seats requiring a fee or elite status, says a “majority” of its seats are still available unblocked. Delta Air Lines has been studying a preferred-seat fee plan, and an announcement is likely before the end of the year, industry officials said. Also coming next year, United Airlines will drop a perk that lets the lowest level of elite frequent fliers reserve Economy Plus extra-room seats in advance.