5 ms·

Well, if it's a 1-2% decrease in revenue there might be a 1-2% price increase. I thought the margins for US airlines were incredibly small (could be wrong, I'm

by mwfunk 9y ago

Well, if it's a 1-2% decrease in revenue there might be a 1-2% price increase. I thought the margins for US airlines were incredibly small (could be wrong, I'm no expert).

jonknee 9y ago
They also won't have to pay the people who get bumped which will somewhat offset the lost revenue from overbooking.
- nommm-nommm 9y ago
  I was under the impression they didn't actually pay people bumped, only gave them a voucher for their next flight that they probably won't even use. Do they actually give cash?
  - jonknee 9y ago
    They give flight vouchers, but they often have other direct expenses like hotel accommodations and food. The last time I was bumped it was ~$600 airline voucher, transportation to/from a ski resort (a perk of being bumped in the mountains!), a room for the night and a good meal voucher to cover dinner and breakfast the next day. Plus they still flew me out the next day and took care of rebooking the connection on another airline. I don't know exactly how much it cost them, but I made out like a bandit.
    - sandworm101 9y ago
      I can better that. In the early 90s I (12) and a schoolmate (17) were flying vancouver-toronto-london with BA. I as an unaccompanied minor, him no so. The toronto-london flight was delayed overnight due to mechanical issues. They probably wouldn't have helped my friend so much but when I mentioned there was an older student on the flight from the same school they tracked him down. We got two hotel rooms and, this sounds strange but true, a stewardess. She took us to visit the University of Toronto, to which my friend was applying, and then the CN tower before our flight the following night.
kobeya 9y ago
Not recently. Costs have plummeted and airlines are one of the more profitable industries these days.
- valuearb 9y ago
  Historically airlines are one of the least profitable businesses in history. A few good years doesn't change that much.
  - davidf18 9y ago
    In the US at least, they are now considered as a commodity. But the consolidation of major carriers (American with US Air, United with Continental) may have changed that equation.
gshubert17 9y ago
In 2012, profits per passenger were about $4 [0] But lately, North American airlines are making over $20 per passenger [1] [0] http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/02/economist-explains-5 http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/02/ec... [1] Economist, April 22 print edition, page 11

by mwfunk 9y ago

Well, if it's a 1-2% decrease in revenue there might be a 1-2% price increase. I thought the margins for US airlines were incredibly small (could be wrong, I'm no expert).

jonknee 9y ago

They also won't have to pay the people who get bumped which will somewhat offset the lost revenue from overbooking.

nommm-nommm 9y ago
I was under the impression they didn't actually pay people bumped, only gave them a voucher for their next flight that they probably won't even use. Do they actually give cash?
- jonknee 9y ago
  They give flight vouchers, but they often have other direct expenses like hotel accommodations and food. The last time I was bumped it was ~$600 airline voucher, transportation to/from a ski resort (a perk of being bumped in the mountains!), a room for the night and a good meal voucher to cover dinner and breakfast the next day. Plus they still flew me out the next day and took care of rebooking the connection on another airline. I don't know exactly how much it cost them, but I made out like a bandit.
  - sandworm101 9y ago
    I can better that. In the early 90s I (12) and a schoolmate (17) were flying vancouver-toronto-london with BA. I as an unaccompanied minor, him no so. The toronto-london flight was delayed overnight due to mechanical issues. They probably wouldn't have helped my friend so much but when I mentioned there was an older student on the flight from the same school they tracked him down. We got two hotel rooms and, this sounds strange but true, a stewardess. She took us to visit the University of Toronto, to which my friend was applying, and then the CN tower before our flight the following night.

kobeya 9y ago

Not recently. Costs have plummeted and airlines are one of the more profitable industries these days.

valuearb 9y ago
Historically airlines are one of the least profitable businesses in history. A few good years doesn't change that much.
- davidf18 9y ago
  In the US at least, they are now considered as a commodity. But the consolidation of major carriers (American with US Air, United with Continental) may have changed that equation.

gshubert17 9y ago

In 2012, profits per passenger were about $4 [0] But lately, North American airlines are making over $20 per passenger [1] [0] http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/02/economist-explains-5 http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/02/ec... [1] Economist, April 22 print edition, page 11