American Airlines to stop offering free blankets on domestic flights

[Mogura]

Cheap bastards. Next thing you know, they'll be charging extra for using the reading light...

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[Silverity]

Well, on the bright side at least it's not $8 to RENT a blanket. That would make me a bit grumpy.

[rahdam]

anyone want to guess on the profit margin achieved selling a cheap blanket for $8 to a captive audience?

[Arkeph]

I've read that airlines are particularly sensitive to buyers opting for cheap fares over the quality of the flying experience, so it isn't economical to provide amenities.

Oddly enough, I can't remember the last time I saw an advertisement for an airline.

[ArtistTyrant]

meh, international flights and "premium class" seats still get the complimentary blanket+pillow, so i don't see the problem...i'd prefer to bring my own instead of shilling out money for something that i don't know is clean >.>

also, it's kind of hard to advertise when you're in your 4th bankruptcy ahahahahaha

[Ytterbium]

Aw my gawd. It's nice that you can keep them afterall. But it must be some kind of low quality product regarding the price.

[Theaetetus]

anyone want to guess on the profit margin achieved selling a cheap blanket for $8 to a captive audience?

anyone want to guess on the profit margin achieved selling a cheap beer for 8$ to a captive audience?

Or, you can apply that to movie theater popcorn, drinks, and candy.

Smuggle your own in. :D

[Causa Mortis]

Cheap bastards.

Its in response to market forces - people only thinking of price when they book flights, then demanding higher levels of quality when they fly. I don't see where the gripe is...if you want the service that was customary pre-deregulation, then pay the pre-deregulation fare and go first class.

[Webbster]

Even flying from the east coast to the west coast I've never found the flight to be long enough to really need a blanket.

[ArtistTyrant]

those obese people, that are more likely to complain, need to nap regularly if they aren't ingesting huge amounts of fast food

[Blse]

Its in response to market forces - people only thinking of price when they book flights, then demanding higher levels of quality when they fly. I don't see where the gripe is...if you want the service that was customary pre-deregulation, then pay the pre-deregulation fare and go first class.

Seconded. You get what you pay for.

Furthermore, if consumers are truly so dissatisfied with the good they're getting for their money, they will not longer fly with American Airlines and the airline would have to revise its customer service policy.

[Aristocrat Porn]

whats cheap about it? their business is struggling, somethings gotta give

[Mogura]

Its in response to market forces - people only thinking of price when they book flights, then demanding higher levels of quality when they fly. I don't see where the gripe is...if you want the service that was customary pre-deregulation, then pay the pre-deregulation fare and go first class.

I get the economic reasoning, as airlines are a business and a business's primary goal is profit.

But at the same time, if a business nickle and dimes it's customers at every opportunity, chances are that business is going to lose customers.

I used to love flying back in the days when flying was not so sucky. This was post-deregulation days, when blankets, complementary magazines, drinks, friendly service, etc. were the norm. Now, I don't even bother. I only travel overseas when I absolutely have to (e.g., business trip where my company is willing to pop for business class).

Otherwise, I just stay at home and use my money for other pleasures...

---------- Post added 02-11-2010 at 09:43 AM ----------

Seconded. You get what you pay for.

Furthermore, if consumers are truly so dissatisfied with the good they're getting for their money, they will not longer fly with American Airlines and the airline would have to revise its customer service policy.

Or they can not revise their customer service policy, enact more hare-brained schemes that have the unintended consequences of alienating their customers, they lose business, go bankrupt (yet again--because hare-brained schemes are not limited only to customer service policies--they are more systematic), and then come crying to daddy government to bail them out...

[Causa Mortis]

I get the economic reasoning, as airlines are a business and a business's primary goal is profit.

But at the same time, if a business nickle and dimes it's customers at every opportunity, chances are that business is going to lose customers.

9/10 people these days are going to expedia or orbitz and just sorting by low price. That generates enormous competitive pressure on airlines to compete on price and price only. And customers are, by and large after fuel costs are accounted for, getting very inexpensive airfare.

Eventually they'll get to the European model, where flights are like 18-50 euros for short trips, but where EVERY little service is pay. I actually like this - it allows for greater customization to where people pay for what they want and don't have to pay for services they don't want.

What sucks is when they can't differentiate, for example, seat sizes. Oh my god the marginal benefit of another 2 inches of leg room would be huge for me, and I'd gladly pay a $30 or so premium to have the room, but unfortunately that's not how it works.

I used to love flying back in the days when flying was not so sucky. This was post-deregulation days, when blankets, complementary magazines, drinks, friendly service, etc. were the norm. Now, I don't even bother. I only travel overseas when I absolutely have to (e.g., business trip where my company is willing to pop for business class).

Sounds like Jetblue would be the best fit for your preferences. They're typically near low-cost, have awesome inclusive satellite TV, lots of legroom and feed you decently well. IMO they deliver significantly superior service for largely competitive


Next thing you know, they'll be charging extra for using the reading light.

Actually, I think it would be awesome if they didn't install reading lights, passed the savings to a lower cost for the ticket, and then allowed people to rent reading lights for a dollar per flight if they desired them. The more you match payment to service, the more you match payment to preference, and the more efficient the outcome is. The more services you lump together, the lower the efficiency is going to be I think.

[SeaCzar]

I do not care to fly, and do so only when necessary. I can give you guys a few tips on getting the best value for your money.

Book your flight as far ahead of time as possible. Doing so will give you the lowest price available. I went to Green Bay with a friend for a Ravens game in December and booked the flight in September. I paid <$400.00 for both tickets round trip. Had I booked in November, the tickets would have been >$1000.00, for the exact same flights.

Look at your destination carefully. I could have flown into Milwaukee and driven two + hours to Green Bay for half of what I paid to go directly to Green Bay. For me, I did not care for this option, because I did not know what the weather would be in Wisconsin at that time, and did not want to find out the hard way.

If you can, book your seats directly with the airlines, and request specific seats. Websites like this one (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)have great information on what seats are best on given airlines and their equipment.

A bit of planning can make for a much better air travel experience.