"It is a dismal experience that you simply put up with because you have to get from point A to point B. It used to be the part of the trip you looked forward to. As an industry, we've found a way to beat that joy of flying out of people." - Virgin CEO David Cush
Air travel, when it first began, was the apex of luxury. The fantasy of floating above the clouds captured the imagination of every person lucky enough to journey through the sky to destinations that were once inaccessible due to time, if not cost.
It is not news that this fantasyland of flight no longer exists. As this recent AP article re-articulates, things are different.
For a variety of reasons, the airline ticket market is a race-to-the-bottom commoditized marketplace where price is the driver, and service is the cherry on top. Will good service and brand delivery help an airline rise to the top?
Doubtful.
Here's a phrase you may be familiar with:
"I'd love to fly Airline X more, they have such great service, but the price is just too high. Maybe I'd pay $20 more to fly them, but that's it."
We think consumers can take some control of the pricing of a seat for the benefit of both consumer and airline. After all, the airline doesn't know consumers are willing to pay a premium unless the consumer speaks up. The problem is, if an airline tries to raise prices, they get skewered and undercut by the competition. It seems like a no-win situation.
But, if airlines were willing to let customers express their pleasure or displeasure with their experience with the brand by collectively setting the worth of a ticket, the airlines who perform the best would naturally rise to the top.
The race to bottom can be reversed, the interplay between consumer and supplier is one that can be done openly, with real time pricing driving high yield and better customer loyalty.
It's time airlines were able to compete on more than the promise of the lowest price. It's time to enable airlines to win customers with their service, and get paid a commensurate amount that is not driven by the fear of competition undercutting the price, but by actual value delivered.
If the market was determining the worth of a ticket, that ticket's value could be matched, or undercut. After all, no one knows what that ticket is actually worth to each individual.
It's interesting, when an industry becomes a price-driven commodity, that the best solution may be to turn the price over to the consumer.
