The Problem with Airlines

Seemingly without any oversight, passengers are at the mercy of airlines once they enter the airport. Recent publicised incidents involving airline practices have led to public outcry over the apparent lack of rights passengers have in the care of airlines. The prevalence of mobile phones has led to many of these incidents being recorded, causing a huge loss of profit for the companies involved.

One of the most publicized events occurred when a paying passenger who had already boarded was forcibly removed by United Airlines in order to make room for a commuting crew member. While it is legal to remove a customer from a flight, even if they've paid and boarded, it is not right to forcibly remove a passenger. Alternatives to forced removal have been proposed. According to Harvard economist Greg Mankiw, airlines should continue to raise the price for tickets until volunteers surrender their seats willingly. If the initial bid isn't agreeable with passengers who have already boarded, raise the offer.

The Federal Aviation Administration currently allows for the forced removal of paying passengers, but the circumstances that lead to forced deplaning only exist because of poor airline practices. An airline will typically sell more seats than it has on a plane to ensure that each flight is filled regardless of passenger cancellations and people missing their flights. If the FAA were to ban this practice and ensure that airlines only sell seats for the amount of room they actually have, the a large factor that leads to overbooking would be solved. However, crew members also make up a large part of this problem.

United Airlines policy gives priority to crew members transferring airports. Large airlines like United and Delta need to constantly shuffle around crew members in order to compensate for staffing inadequacies on flights worldwide. Airlines like United and American have implemented policies to solve this problem. Instead of having a normal passenger give up their seat once they've boarded, commuting crew members will board the plane a full hour before regular boarding. This way, passengers will be kept at the gate rather than having to be forcibly deplaned, saving time and making the journey easier for everyone.

Selling tickets for exorbitant prices in order to increase profit margins has been practiced by airlines for decades. However, the new prominence of budget airlines has given major companies cause for alarm. In order to compete with low ticket prices from budget airlines, major groups like Delta and American Airlines have created a new spartan-esque class of seats with lower prices. This may seem like a cheaper alternative for flyers on a budget, but all is not as it appears. In many cases, the new basic economy seats are the same prices as the old economy seats were, while all the other prices were raised.

Flying is already a difficult experience for passengers as it is. They have to arrive hours early, stand in long lines for their tickets, customs and security, and then must rush to their gates in order to make a flight that will leave without them.