Flying, especially in coach class, has been a big negative when it comes to travel. Ridiculous fees, overcrowding and herding, flight interruptions, and more have made flying a rather unpleasant experience. Here is what The Traveling Professor says can be done to make flying better:
Give Us Some More Room: It is truly a torturous experience to fly overseas in coach class. I firmly believe airlines do their best to make it as unpleasant as possible. Why would they do this? Because if flying coach class were a comfortable experience, why would anyone buy those business and first class seats? But give us a bit more room, please.
Reduce the Ridiculous Fees: Charging as much as $400 to change a flight time or date by the passenger is not a wise idea for the airline. The fee is prohibitive and many people do not change their flight because it is so expensive. But if the fee were more reasonable, say $50 or $75, I think a lot more travelers would change their flights possibly generating more revenue for the airline due to the increased number of changes by flyers. I understand in the age of Corona Virus, many airlines have waived change fees. But once the pandemic is history, so will those free change fees be history. I hope the airlines institute a reasonable fee for changing a flight.
What's Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander: An airline has no problem telling you that a flight time has been changed or a flight is cancelled. They should pay the customer a fee or compensate them when flights are changed or cancelled for the convenience of the airline.
Enforce the Rules: Why is it that some customers are permitted to carry on bags sometimes and sometimes they aren't? Let's make the rules consistent.
Make Redeeming Airline Points or Miles Fair: Airlines encourage flyers to earn frequent flyer miles. But when they try to redeem them, flights are unavailable, offer undesirable flights (multiple stops or overnight flights), or have excessive mileage requirements. I think if airlines are going to offer a frequent flyer program, don't make it so restrictive.
Sensible Pricing: My "home" airport is Hartford, CT. But often I need to travel to Boston or New York to get a much better priced flight. For example to fly from Hartford to Dallas, it typically costs about $500. But if I travel another 90 minutes to Boston and take the flight out of there, the flight can be 60%-70% less. Make pricing more sensible by not penalizing people who fly out of smaller airports.
Raise Fares: What? Yes, that's what I said. Charge us just a little bit more and make the flying experience a whole lot better.