If you’ve ever seen the tremendous video of the poor “Zone One” boarding pass guy waiting to get on a plane, you might understand where I’m coming from with this piece.
For those who don’t know it or don’t have time right now to watch it via this link, the skit involves a fellow who eagerly bounds to the front of a gate lineup as he’s holding a precious “Zone One” boarding pass. Of course, he waits for First Class, and then Business, and then elite rewards members and kids and folks in wheelchairs and is still standing in line. Then come the military people and the nuns and rabbis. By the time the airline gate fellow announces that “old people in wheelchairs with babies” and “old religious people with military babies” can get on board, Zone One Guy is foaming at the mouth.
It’s with that kind of travel trends in mind that I read that JetBlue is bringing in, wait for it, surge pricing for checked-in bags.
Yes, you read that correctly. JetBlue will now charge what it feels like for checked bags on any given day. If it’s a busy holiday, you’ll pay more. The bag won’t weigh any more on Easter Sunday than it would on a normal Tuesday, but that doesn’t matter to the financial whizzes at JetBlue, who simply want to keep squeezing poor consumers until we all foam at the mouth and explode in rage like Zone One Guy.
Here’s what CNN said about the JetBlue plan: The price of a first checked bag now ranges from $35 to $50 (all figures USD) under a recently revealed fee structure that depends on a number of factors, including dates JetBlue determines to be peak or off-peak. Peak dates encompass about half of the year (HALF THE YEAR!), including most of the busy summer travel season as well as dates before and after the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays in 2024. Full dates are listed on its website.
If a customer checks a bag within 24 hours of departure, the price jumps to $45 for off-peak dates and an industry high of $50 for peak dates.
The first checked bag remains free on its transatlantic flights, except for customers flying on its cheapest fare (Blue Basic), which now costs between $60 to $70 (which is nearly $100 CAD).
You have that? All understood? If so, you’re way smarter than me. I couldn’t figure these fares out with a triple espresso and a Harvard-approved calculator.
Surge pricing, also called dynamic pricing (probably because it sounds less dramatic; like George Carlin describing how soldiers went from having “shellshock” to “post-traumatic stress disorder”) has been around for a while. Airlines already charge us more to fly during the holidays than they do in April. Some hotels in Niagara Falls are charging $1,700 to stay on April 7, the night before the big solar eclipse, and hotels around the world are raising prices anytime Taylor Swift comes to town.
Sports teams also have gotten in on the act. If you want to see the Blue Jays play Minnesota, you might be able to afford to buy a hot dog or two at the newly improved Rogers Centre (too bad they haven’t improved the team, but there you go). If you want to buy tickets to see them pay the Yankees, best to take out a second mortgage.
Maybe this is the wave of the future for airlines. JetBlue says it’s still losing money hand over fist, so perhaps they should introduce surge pricing on their flights. If you want a shot of caffeine on a 7 a.m. departure, maybe you should pay $3 for a JetBlue coffee. Sorry to give them any ideas, but maybe they should charge $5 for headphones on a longer flight. Better still, charge people $10 to watch the latest Hollywood blockbuster, and leave the poor people to watch Pee Wee Herman movies.
It’s not just “dynamic” pricing that’s driving people crazy. Some European cities that are victims of overtourism want to charge travellers to visit. And then there’s the infamous business practice known as the “resort fee,” which you pay even if you don’t use the pool or snorkel gear and spend your whole vacation in your room watching the Blue Jays on TV, which you might do because you can’t afford a dynamically priced ticket to see them in person.
I had to inform my son this week that he and his wife and two daughters will have to fork out $100 CAD to pay the “VISITAX” for their spring trip to Cancun.
It’s enough to make even a Zone One Guy go mad.
WORLD’S MOST CROWDED TOURIST CITIES
|
Cities
|
Visitors per year
|
Population
|
Area, km²
|
Visitors per km²
|
Visitors per population
|
|
Paris
|
36,900,000
|
2,161,000
|
105
|
351,429
|
1708%
|
|
Bern
|
4,390,000
|
133,115
|
51.62
|
85,045
|
3298%
|
|
Chicago
|
48,900,000
|
2,697,000
|
600
|
81,500
|
1813%
|
|
New York City
|
63,300,000
|
8,468,000
|
783.8
|
80,760
|
748%
|
|
Stockholm
|
14,400,000
|
975,551
|
188
|
76,596
|
1476%
|
|
Amsterdam
|
15,700,000
|
821,752
|
219.4
|
71,559
|
1911%
|
|
Budapest
|
30,000,000
|
1,756,000
|
525
|
57,143
|
1708%
|
|
Los Angeles
|
50,300,000
|
3,849,000
|
1,210
|
41,570
|
1307%
|
|
Rome
|
35,000,000
|
2,873,000
|
1,290
|
27,132
|
1218%
|
|
Bucharest
|
5,000,000
|
1,830,000
|
226
|
22,124
|
273%
|
U.S. TRAVEL CONTINUES TO BOOM: HOT SPOTS INCLUDE HAWAII, FLORIDA AND CALIFORNIA
The travel industry continues to boom, with a significant increase in travel intentions among U.S. adults in 2024 according to new research from MMGY Travel Intelligence. In the latest edition of the firm’s Portrait of American Travelers® study, 76% of Americans say they plan to take a vacation in the next 12 months, a notable increase from 70% observed this time last year. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of these travelers plan to take a trip in the next six months – a significant boost from 58% reported in October 2023.
Hawaii (67%), Florida (66%), California (57%) and Colorado (56%) are the top states drawing interest among leisure travelers, with Las Vegas (59%), Maui and Honolulu (both 58%) leading as destinations of interest. If you’re headed to Maui, check out my latest money-saving travel hacks.
MYRTLE BEACH NAMED TOP SPORTS CITY
The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce (MBACC) and Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is pleased to announce Sports Business Journal selected Myrtle Beach as a top city in America to host sporting events.
AIR CANADA TEAMS UP WITH JANE GOODALL INSTITUTE
Building on its partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada (JGIC), Air Canada is launching a new initiative to spotlight illegal wildlife trade (IWT) and its impact on global biodiversity. In collaboration with JGIC and involvement from Dr. Jane Goodall herself, the awareness campaign will showcase animals endangered from IWT on the airline’s in-flight entertainment welcome screens, social media and more during Earth Month, along with a special message from Dr. Jane Goodall.
“Air Canada plays an important role in protecting biodiversity around the world and I’ve been proud to see Air Canada team up with The Jane Goodall Institute of Canada to bring more awareness to this issue. Their significant commitment to not only fighting the illegal wildlife trade through their policies and procedures, but using their platform to educate on this very important issue is commendable,” said Bella Lam, Chief Executive Officer at the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada.
“At Air Canada, our belief is while much of what we do to reduce our environmental footprint is about leaving less, we also need to do more to improve our planet’s fragile ecosystems. As a global airline, we can use our platform to bring more awareness to the illegal wildlife trade and how that affects overall biodiversity. To further support this important work, all Aeroplan points donated to The Jane Goodall Institute of Canada for one week following Earth Day will be matched by Aeroplan. We are also honoured to celebrate Dr. Goodall’s 90th year by supporting her birthday tour across Canada to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards,” said Valerie Durand, Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Sustainability at Air Canada.
Air Canada participates in the IWT fight with a zero-tolerance policy on carrying banned species, and hunting trophies or products associated with illegal wildlife activities. Air Canada became a signatory to the Buckingham Palace Declaration in 2020, and was the first airline in the Americas to hold the IATA IWT certification, which confirms policies and procedures are in place to reduce the likelihood of the transportation of illegal wildlife products. The airline became a member of the United for Wildlife’s North America Regional Chapter which launched in 2022, and has created IWT e-learning modules for all frontline employees and managers in Air Canada Cargo, its freight business.
To further support The Jane Goodall Institute of Canada’s ongoing environment and conservation work, Aeroplan will be launching a Points Match Week beginning Earth Day, April 22-28. All points donated by Aeroplan members will be matched at 100% by Aeroplan, with all proceeds going directly to the JGIC.
AIR NEW ZEALAND MENU ENHANCEMENTS
Air New Zealand is inviting customers to step onboard for a culinary journey through Aotearoa with its latest food refresh providing the next evolution of the popular ‘A Taste of Aotearoa’ menu.
The menu is now onboard and features contemporary cuisine with a focus on showcasing the country’s finest regional produce, taking local ingredients and unique New Zealand flavours to the world.
“It’s our privilege to showcase the best our country has to offer and share that with the world. This menu is an opportunity to spotlight the unique flavours of Aotearoa and champion regions like Fiordland, Hawke’s Bay and the Coromandel.”
The latest menu also delivers a nod to iconic Kiwi favourites such as confit potato with onion crème fraîche whip and chives, a twist on chips and dip, and ambrosia ice cream with raspberry frozen yoghurt, milk chocolate shards, marshmallow and sour cherry swirls.
I flew with Air New Zealand late last year and thought it was terrific.
