Midwest Airlines recently went from having “Signature Service,” with wider seats on its Boeing 717s, to stuffing “normal” coach seats onto the back half the plane and charging $50 extra for the right to sit in the wider seats. The same wider seats that used to be the norm.

Good luck trying to get your company’s travel office to pay for that extra $50 upgrade, each way!

Well, friend of the blog Robert P., a longtime Midwest Airlines booster, has had it. He has written a great letter to the CEO of Midwest Airlines, in which he compares the airline to Schlitz Beer.

It’s a great letter, not because it successfully and efficiently argues for a clean resolution to a customer service problem. No, this isn’t that kind of letter. Rather, it’s a slap-in-the-face, the kind of letter that, if the CEO actually receives it, he’ll remember. He’ll have a laugh, but then he might — just might — realize that the race to the bottom isn’t a winning strategy for a small airline in a competitive market.

We’re republishing the letter here, both for your entertainment, and to make it just a little easier for the airline to take note…

Mr. Timothy E. Hoeksema
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Midwest Airlines
6744 South Howell Avenue
Oak Creek, WI 53154

Dear Mr. Hoeksema:

I frequently fly Midwest Airlines for both business and personal travel, and, as a Wisconsin resident, I have been very proud of this Milwaukee-based company. However, two recent flights to and from Washington, DC (Flight 411 on October 27, and Flight 418 on October 28) reminded me of another great Milwaukee company: the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company.

As you probably know, Schlitz was the most popular beer in the United States throughout the 1940s and ‘50s. Indeed, it probably put Milwaukee on the map of the national consciousness. Unfortunately for that great company, in the 1970s, facing an increase in commodity prices, it changed the formula for its beer, adding rice, cheaper yeast, and a different fermentation process. Customers reacted badly to the formula change, particularly noting that the beer no longer kept a proper “head.” To rectify that problem, the Schlitz managers added a seaweed extract as a foaming agent. However, after several months and under the types of temperatures common in a warehouse, the extract would solidify, resulting in “chunks” floating in the beer. Rather than recall the defective product, revert to the tried and true formula, and “weather” the increase in commodity prices, Schlitz instead decided to weather the bad publicity. As you can guess, it didn’t, and Milwaukee lost what was once a great company.

The reason my flights to and from Washington brought this story to mind is because of the new seating arrangements on your Boeing 717s. Midwest has long been known for the comfort of its seating and the quality of its service. I read some time ago that Midwest was refitting its planes to offer two types of seats, but the implication was that the smaller seats were for cheaper, discount tickets and tourist travel, not business travelers. However, you recently decided to start charging an extra $50 fee for the types of seats that were standard on your flights just last month.

Worse, you charge this fee even for full-fare tickets and Executive Miles members, even though other airlines offer their “economy plus” seats to their frequent fliers and full-fare ticket holders as a matter of course. Frankly, I think this is ridiculous. Midwest typically charges more for its tickets to begin with, which I’ve long been happy to pay to avoid being crammed into an airplane like so many sardines. However, your new seating arrangements mean Midwest is now essentially offering AirTran comfort at Singapore Airlines prices.

Furthermore, Flight 411 and 418 lead me to believe that this new policy is not exactly a rousing success. On my flight to Washington, there were 9 people in the “Signature Seating” section. On my return, exactly 3 people. The back sections of both flights were full. The difference was so obvious that I’m surprised that, while you were refitting the 717s, you didn’t add a tail-wheel to address the potential load imbalance.

In other words, it appears that your new seating charges netted you $450 in extra fees going to DC, and $150 on the return.

Paradoxically, $450 is approximately the price of the ticket I paid for this trip, and would have paid on a trip I’m likely to forego in the future. Air travel today is sufficiently annoying that the significant difference in comfort these new seats offer is enough to keep me home from many proposed trips. At the very least, where Midwest is but one of several choices to a destination, there is no longer a good reason to choose Midwest over a discount carrier.

I am confident I am not alone in making these decisions. I know these are tough times, particularly for smaller airlines, who historically have not benefitted as much from government assistance in hard times as have the larger carriers. But alienating long-time customers with poorly thought-through policies is not a recipe for success. And eliminating the very things that make you special is not a way to make yourself competitive. If Flight 418 is any indication, you now have $150 in extra fees, a half-empty flight, and a group of irate customers.

In other words, Mr. Hoeksema, you have chunks in your beer. Please fix it before it’s too late.

Thank you very much for your time.

Best regards,

Robert P…

Related:
- Schlitz beer making comeback [Galesburg Register-Mail]
- “Yours is a very bad hotel” – The art of the testy PowerPoint Presentation
- Reader rant: “Ryanair, the airline for the extremely poor or very lonely”

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Reader Vince sends in this photo and asks what it really means:

Just got back from a trip on Air Canada and I think they may be setting it up to start charging passengers for inflight entertainment. Before your VOD [video on demand] starts it says “You personal entertainment experience is currently provided compliments of Air Canada.” Currently? I took a picture with my iphone…

It would be interesting to find out whether they are actually planning on starting to charge for this, as this message is fairly recent and was not shown when the service was originally launched.

Well, Vince, I asked Air Canada if they were planning to allow sponsorship of its inflight video system, or if the system were designed to be pay-per-use. “Currently” provided compliments of Air Canada sure suggests that free entertainment isn’t going to stay free for long. So are there plans to impose a fee for passengers, or is Air Canada vying for inflight entertainment sponsorships?

Air Canada’s media relations staff wouldn’t respond for comment.

So we’re left to speculate.

Obviously, the “currently” modifier clearly suggests that the price isn’t staying at $0.00 for long. And Air Canada was an early adopter of the “a la carte” pricing model for its tickets. It’s easily conceivable that some fare codes might get the video thrown in, while the cheapest seats pay per use.

Or, you might see a sponsorship deal, wherein all entertainment is “brought to you by Tim Horton’s” or something like that.

Without a sponsorship, the airline will likely resort to selling access to entertainment, but would that fundamentally be any different from selling headphones? (Yes, I realize that you can bring your own headphones, and that you can’t bring your own Air Canada video access code…)

Be forewarned, bring a good book, and be sure any electronic toys are charged before takeoff.

Downgraded: Backscatter “strip search” x-ray machines
The European Union Parliament has slammed the backscatter x-ray systems first rolled out in Phoenix. Why? The grainy nudity! “The scanners ‘have a serious impact on the fundamental rights of citizens,’ the lawmakers said in a resolution adopted by 361 votes to 16, with 181 abstentions.” (That’s a whole lotta abstentions!) The machines are already in use in the Netherlands. (In the Red Light Airport District?) Who would have thought that the European Union would make a stand for less bodily exposure?

Upgraded: The death of Ted
United is slowly winding down its ill-fated Ted sub-airline. The planes will be incorporated back into the United mainline fleet, just one closet and one galley lighter. Cranky has the breakdown. More fun maps for SeatGuru to draw up…

Downgraded: Chorizo smugglers
A woman attempting to smuggle chorizo across the border from Mexico to the United States was foiled when a Customs and Border Protection officer took a closer look at the “dirty diapers” the sausage was wrapped in. The woman “was fined $300 and her chorizo was seized.” Avoid chorizo seizure when traveling, my friends. (Thanks, Robert!)

I’m a little late to this party, but it’s worth mentioning in case you missed it elsewhere: In an era in which the typical travel “loyalty” program has made it harder to cash in miles or points, Marriott has removed its longstanding policy of blacking out certain dates for hotel redemptions. This is a good move. But it’s not as generous as it sounds.

Tim Winship digs into the fine print and gets it right:

When I received today’s news release from Marriott touting its upcoming “No Blackout Dates” policy, effective January 15, 2009, I naturally wondered whether this will amount to a substantive improvement for Marriott Rewards members, or just a new label on an old bottle.

The answer is to be found on the Marriott website: “Hotels may limit the number of standard rooms available for redemption on a limited number of days.” In other words, capacity controls remain in place. And some Marriott, JW Marriott, and Marriott Conference Centers properties are exempt from the new policy altogether.
[...]
Marriott Rewards members may indeed find more award rooms available on more nights at more hotels. Unfortunately, it apparently still remains very much at the discretion of individual hotels how accommodating they will be when program members choose to book a free stay at their properties. And that means that award availability will remain a question mark.

So in this case, “No Blackout Dates” is more a catchy tagline than a concrete promise. Perhaps it’s time for the travel industry to finally commit to a tagline without asterisks: “No More Empty Promises.”

Zing! But true. This is an improvement — dare I say, an upgrade — but it’s not yet at the level of the Starwood, Hilton, or Hyatt programs (which are not created equal either, but that’s a separate issue.)

The folks at Points.com brought an offer to my attention, which allows you to get double miles — free — when you transfer miles from one Delta SkyMiles account to another. But is it a good deal? Let’s do the math…

The maximum you can send from one account to another is 30,000. But there are fees attached: 1 cent per outgoing mile, plus a flat $30 charge per transaction. Those fees can add up.

But what if you send miles from one account in your family and then send the miles right back, effectively doubling the miles both ways? Churn it, baby! Would that take the edge off the fees?
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You know the financial crisis has gotten bad when investment bankers are forced to give up their paid business and first class seats.

Merrill Lynch & Co., UBS AG and JPMorgan & Chase Co. are telling senior bankers in Asia to fly coach on short-haul flights and reduce non-essential travel as they step up cost cuts, officials at the firms said.

UBS advised bankers this month to travel economy class for flights of up to five hours, two officials at the biggest Swiss bank said, asking not to be identified because it’s an internal policy. Merrill employees have been told to travel economy for flights of as much as three hours since mid-September, two executives at the firm said.
…
JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank, has requested senior bankers fly economy on flights of less than three hours since late August, said an official who declined to be identified.

But before you throw that pity party, remember that business class is still fair game on long haul flights. Plus, they can always use their upgrades…

More seriously, you have to wonder what this will do for the airlines who have relied on paid business and first class to make real money. With all the real estate the premium offerings take up on board, and with a shrinking customer base, what’s the future of the front of the plane?…

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Upgraded: Hotels’ loyalty programs, thanks to their competitors
The tendency of airlines ticking off their elite flyers is a well-worn theme here. But how about the hotels? Jane Levere argues in the NYT that hotels have been raising the perks instead of cutting back. (I’m not sure I agree; see, for example, the reclassification of hotels into redemption tiers. But, granted, it’s not nearly as bad as the airlines’ decimation of benefits.) So why the difference? Competition! With more hotels (and more hotel brands — 39 new brands in the last 4 years alone) the competition is still alive and well. Airlines, on the other hand, are folding, merging, or parking aircraft, to reduce competition.

Upgraded: Candidates’ senses of humor and irony
Oh, irony! Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin checked into the Omni Berkshire under the name of her doppelganger, “Tina.” Tina Fey is smiling somewhere. And proving that you have no privacy in hotels, her room service order — diet soda and Atkins bars — is now public knowledge.

Downgraded: Inflight entertainment stability
Apparently, it’s pretty easy to crash the inflight entertainment systems. This guy has even explained how he did it (two years ago? on which airline? jetBlue?). Just wonderful. Thankfully, the cockpit avionics aren’t connected to the seats…

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Oil is down, but U.S. airlines’ fuel surcharges and fees aren’t. Of course, the relationship isn’t linear. After all, fuel isn’t their only expense. And even if we limit discussion to the fuel, airlines hedge the cost, and sometimes, they screw up. Even Southwest wasn’t immune, registering its first quarterly loss in 17 years.

Now, Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey is getting in on the act of criticizing the industry, calling on the airlines to drop the fees and surcharges. An excerpt:

“I understand that you need to recoup the losses incurred while prices were rising, and that the economic downturn is impacting your industry,” Senator Menendez wrote. “But American families are struggling as well, dealing with job losses, falling home values, and a financial market that is erasing their retirement savings. It is crucial that you pass on the savings seen from falling fuel prices as quickly as possible.”

He added, “Now is not the time for Americans to be priced out of traveling — that is simply unfair to families who want to spend the holidays with their loved ones and it is bad for our economy in need of a boost.”

Sure, it may be grandstanding, but it’s not coming out of the blue. People see the price of gasoline dropping, but air travel hasn’t gotten any cheaper. And travelers are pissed off.

Will one senator’s pronouncements affect anything? Don’t count on it. Airlines are free to set their prices, and set their prices they will. Where Menendez and his colleagues in the upper house might have some sway is here:

Senator Menendez, who held a news conference this morning at Newark Airport, said consumers at least were owed some clarity from the airlines about the fees they were paying on their tickets. The federal government does not require airlines to follow a uniform method in disclosing those fees on their Web sites. Some airlines state them up front as part of the ticket price, while others quote the fare separately and add the fees before a purchase is completed.

Amen to that. Prices can go up and can go down, but they need to be transparent.

Didn’t pay for first or business class? Didn’t put your name on the upgrade list before the flight? Boarded and seated in your coach seat, and feeling remorse about not pushing for the seat up front? No longer a problem, if you’re on AirTran. The airline has started allowing passengers to upgrade to business class after boarding.

AirTran has been selling upgrades for some time, but the notable change is that they’re now selling those upgrades on board. (Assuming they’re free, of course.) It’s the same price — $49 to $99 each way, depending on the route — as if you had bought the upgrade online or at the airport. But this way, if you decide at the very last minute that you really do want the bigger seat, you now can buy it.

AirTran will continue to sell upgrades at the time of booking, at check-in, at the ticket counter or at the gate, and continue to give complimentary upgrades to elite travelers. Flight attendants will make announcements on board if any upgrades remain and are for sale.
[...]
Passengers pay by credit card to flight attendants, who carry card readers already used for on-board drink sales.

Pretty smart of them. It’s possible that others might follow suit, but don’t expect it on the long-haul international flights where sitting in a bigger, reclining seat really matters.

Don’t expect a big meal or a fancy production. This isn’t Singapore. What you get is a bigger seat and free drinks. Not a bad option to have, though, and I salute AirTran for being creative (and aggressive) in turning those bigger seats into cash.

I don’t expect many airlines will follow suit. Most other airlines have so many elite-level frequent flyer program members, that the seats would already be filled. I haven’t seen an empty first-class seat in ages.

AirTran’s pool of elites is a smaller group, so the airline can both pamper them AND go for revenue from the masses. (Back in September, they announced some improvements to their elite program, including upgrades from any fare class, subject to availability, 40 minutes before takeoff. So elites shouldn’t worry that they’re competing with cash buyers on board, though a cash-upgrader could trump an elite if they buy the upgrade before the 40-minute mark.)

I’d expect to see Spirit and Virgin America follow suit soon. Perhaps airlines without an “unlimited” upgrade policy for elites (e.g., United and American) would be also consider testing this sort of program.

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Longtime readers of this blog know that I consider our nation’s airport current security apparatus to be an exercise in theatric futility. A tale of public safety, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Sure, some pieces of the puzzle are sensible, but others (ID checks, the war on hydration, and no-fly lists, for starters) are 99.99999% a waste of time and money.

That said, I’m not going to go to the security line and be a jackass. I don’t grumble, I don’t whine, I just take off my shoes and walk on through. No, I’m no freedom rider, but I know the rules, and yes, I *am* willing to fight for my rights if someone gives me a hard time, but I’m not going in with a bad attitude.

So perhaps it’s no surprise that I don’t have the stones to do what this guy did. He created fake boarding passes, wore pro-al Qaeda t-shirts, packed Hezbollah flags, and wore a Beer Belly full of Bud Light through the checkpoint.

I know he’s a provocateur, poking his fingers into the eyes of authority, over and over again, and I know he’s doing it for a story. But it’s a fun read. And at the end of the day, it reinforces both the moronic construct of our national quest for airport security, and it shows how many gaps in that system there are.

Read the whole thing.

Related:
- Forged boarding passes: Fraud, yes, but where is the security threat?
- Your laptop is a suitcase: How the U.S. government is searching computers, phones, and other electronics at the border
- More than a patdown: TSA wants to read your mind

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