Airlines are shedding fees, giving away free stuff, and being extra nice to their customers. Has the world gone mad?

“That’s what I’ve been asking myself,” says Gail Clark, who complained to American Airlines after a recent flight delay and received a lightning-fast response, including a personal apology and 7,500 frequent flier miles deposited to her account.

Clark, a retired CEO from Bluffton, S.C., says she’s used to foot-dragging and canned apologies. She says something feels wrong.

Sébastien Long has seen it with Southwest Airlines. The flight attendants keep pouring free drinks for him whenever something is less than perfect on the plane. And when they do, they dismiss it in their Southwest way, saying, “Oh, I forgot to charge you, and we’re about to land.”

“Honestly, it’s almost too nice,” says Long, who runs an apartment rental company in Houston. “I feel like someone will get in trouble for not charging me.”

The niceness is contagious.

Last month, Spirit Airlines eliminated its unpopular flight change and cancellation fees. Frontier Airlines did the same. JetBlue announced that all customers—even those with a “basic” economy class ticket—will get a free carry-on bag in addition to one small personal item.

“After the pandemic and the bad press the airline industry was getting this past spring, it seems natural that they would put more emphasis on smoothing nerves and garnering more trust from passengers,” says Anthony Radchenko, CEO of AirAdvisor.

Why airlines say they’re being nice

The most significant change by far is that low-fare carriers like Spirit and Frontier are removing their fees.

Barry Biffle, Frontier’s CEO, said the airline made the change because of its promise to “make travel with Frontier as flexible and worry-free as possible.”

“We understand that plans can change, and we want to ensure that when they do, our passengers can adjust their bookings without the stress of additional fees,” he said in a prepared statement.

Spirit’s chief commercial officer, Matt Klein, said in a press release that the airline wanted to change the game by offering “unparalleled flexibility and peace of mind.”

He added, “It’s just the beginning of our pursuit to make affordable travel easier and more seamless than ever.”

But they left out a significant detail. This spring, the government announced a new rule that requires airlines to tell consumers upfront if they charge fees for changes or cancellations. And that regulation would have made their fares look more complicated and probably led to fewer bookings.

“The airline industry had to be forced by legislation and regulation to do the right thing,” says Bill McGee, a senior fellow for aviation at the American Economic Liberties Project.

Another possible reason: We complained a lot last year.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported that airline complaints for 2023 were the highest ever, except for the pandemic year of 2020. The agency received 96,853 grievances about air travel, compared to 86,240 in calendar year 2022. The government hasn’t released any numbers for this year yet.

But it’s not just regulation, fed by an almost constant stream of passenger complaints. There are other reasons behind the change in customer service attitudes.

What’s going on with “nice” airlines?

Regarding airlines, things have changed since the pandemic — in a good way.

“Market dynamics have shifted,” explains Jason Block, CEO of WorldVia Travel Group. “Airlines are looking for ways to attract and retain customers in a more competitive environment.”

One way is by taking better care of their customers instead of taking them for granted.

According to Andy Palacios, a vice president at App in the Air, an app for frequent air travellers, airlines also see an opportunity to distinguish themselves from the competition.

“Customers have had many negative experiences with airlines, from poor customer support to hidden fees and unsatisfactory onboard experiences,” he says. “They’re trying to win back some of that business and appeal to customers who previously avoided them.”

Which airlines are the nicest?

It’s difficult to say which airlines try their hardest to woo their passengers with better service.

• The “low-cost” carriers like Spirit and Frontier have recently generated some positive buzz, primarily because of their new relaxed rules.

• There have also been reports of legacy airlines like American, Delta and United going the extra mile for customers.

• And, of course, there’s always Southwest, which has a legendary reputation for customer service to live up to.

Here’s the thing: The reports of excellent service are sporadic. Amid the steady stream of complaints I receive as a consumer advocate, I’ve received surprise reports of genuinely outstanding, pre-deregulation-level customer service. But it’s hard to predict when it will happen — or which airline will deliver it.

Can the friendly airlines last?

Don’t get used to the niceness. Even if it lasts—and probably won’t—there’s a price to pay.

“There’s no free lunch here,” says J. D. Power’s resident airline expert Mike Taylor. You should expect to pay a higher fare for every dropped fee, and indeed for every nicety airline added. (Just maybe not yet. As the Department of Transportation recently noted, airfares are down 6 percent over the last year and below pre-pandemic prices.)

Ultimately, however, airlines have had a corporate culture shaped over the last four decades and do not favour customers. Most domestic airlines think of passengers as self-loading cargo, as walking dollar signs to be manipulated with addictive loyalty programs and squeezed for every fee they can legally charge.

“I don’t think it will last forever,” says Radchenko of AirAdvisor, noting that customer service moves in cycles, and we’re just in a brief phase that happens to benefit passengers.

Real change will only come when airlines start thinking of their passengers as people who should be served with dignity, regardless of their loyalty status.

Unfortunately, the only way that this will ever happen is if airline passengers start to prioritize service over cheap fares.

 

 

 

Written by: Christopher Elliott

 

 

BIO:
Christopher Elliott is an author, consumer advocate, and journalist. He founded Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps solve consumer problems. He publishes Elliott Confidential, a travel newsletter, and the Elliott Report, a news site about customer service. If you need help with a consumer problem, you can reach him here or email him at chris@elliott.org.

 

 

 

 

 

======================================