Is this a bad thing for the consumer? You bet. There is some major spin happening on the reality of what this new and improved Northwest Airline fee is being called. A surcharge, I dont think so. Clearly this is yet one more fare increase that is being raised up the flag pole.
Think about this...Last time you walked into a bank to deposit your paycheck, were you charged extra because you dealt with a person instead of an ATM?
When you bought a magazine at the bookstore, were you slapped with a "service fee" because you purchase from an employee instead of its Web site?
No, of course not.
This is not really a Travel agent (online or brick and motor) issue it is a consumer issue. To date other airlines are sitting back and watching. If other airlines follow suit on this then this is the tip of the iceberg.
The greed of the major carriers is out of control. While they continue to bloat their exec pay they are really screwing the little guy one more time.
Also I would really appreciate some assistance as to tracking down how much the Dems are getting from these yahoos at Northwest.
Northwest is requesting feedback in either of the below mentioned ways.
Please help me freep NW. bill.mellon@nwa.com or 701-420-6282 x3
Thanks for your support. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have about my request.
I'd assume that the market will solve any potential problems; people will simply switch to another carrier if it's cheaper to do so.
If you live in MSP or MEM, I feel for you. Otherwise, my advice is NEVER FLY NWA.
So don't fly Northwest anymore.
This reminds me of Nations Bank, which would only allow me free transactions (including DEPOSITS) at the bank's ATM. I played the game 'til the ATM failed to print a deposit slip, then went in, pitched a fit and closed my account.
Nations only lasted about 1 year in OKC, thank God.
I predict the same for Northwest. People are stupid but not that stupid.
The answer to that is ...Yes.
Otherwise you got it
I would like a big flat screen TV, but they are too expensive. But I don't waste my time telling the TV manufactuers how to price their product. It's none of my business.
It's called free market capitalism. They feel it is a good business decision to add these charges. It obviously makes you angry. So, I think you are taking the right course of action by letting them know how you feel. Only when they know how mad it makes the consumer will they change the policy. This translates to: When the new price affects demand, then the price will be adjusted to reflect demand. God bless America!
In case you hadn't noticed, the price of fuel has gone up more than 50% in the last 18 months. They need to cut costs or raise prices to keep up with reality.
While they continue to bloat their exec pay they are really screwing the little guy one more time.
In 2002 the CEO of Northwest made $750K. Last year he made $500K.
That's a 33% paycut.
Yes. I got charged an extra $5 the first (and last) time I paid my Sprint wireless bill in person.
If you can show that you will provide a service that people consider worth the extra cost they will use your service. If not, they won't and should not be required to.
Well, since I ALWAYS book directly on the airline sites, this won't affect me at all. I stopped using travel agents the time mine sent me to a hell-hole in the Caribbean, after she told me what a great place it was.
Since then, I just research and book my own travel, directly with the vendors. If I don't like their prices, I propose a cheaper rate via email. Works every time.
Sorry about your business, but there it is. It's so easy to book directly now that I can't imagine doing it any other way.
Last time you walked into a bank to deposit your paycheck, were you charged extra because you dealt with a person instead of an ATM?
Actually, with certain account types, this does happen.
If you are computer savvy enough to freep, you should be computer savvy enough to buy your ticket on-line.
.......and this is news????
Your ox has been gored!
By Joshua Freed
AP Business Writer
MINNEAPOLIS - Northwest Airlines Corp. and a major ticket distributor have filed dueling lawsuits over Northwest's new fees for customers and travel agents who don't buy tickets on Northwest Web sites.
The new fees, from $5 to $10, prompted an outcry from travel agents when Northwest announced them Tuesday. They also prompted an immediate lawsuit from Sabre Holdings Corp. -- a large distribution system used by travel agents.
But another Sabre move may sting Northwest quicker: Sabre said it would make Northwest fares less prominent in its displays, while charging the airline more. Southlake, Texas-based Sabre and other distributors usually list the fares of competing airlines from lowest to highest so travel agents can spot price differences.
Sabre's move brought a lawsuit from Northwest on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis. The airline claims Sabre's retaliation breaches their July 2003 contract, which Northwest claims specifically prohibits Sabre's action.
"The bias they have imposed against Northwest flights are denying the flying public a fair and complete choice of both schedules and fares," Al Lenza, vice president of distribution and e-commerce, said in a statement.
Sabre spokesman Michael Berman said he had no comment on Northwest's lawsuit. Sabre's lawsuit alleges that the fees violate Northwest's commitment to sell tickets through Sabre at the same price the airline offers on its own Web sites. Northwest has said the fees are not a fare increase.
Beginning Sept. 1, Northwest will bill travel agents who use global distribution systems such as Sabre $7.50 of the average $12.50 cost charged by the distributor for each roundtrip domestic ticket.
Beginning Friday, Northwest also will charge $5 for each domestic ticket bought through Northwest reservations offices and $10 to buy a domestic ticket at airports in the United States and Canada. Customers and travel agents can avoid the fees by using Northwest Web sites.
Berman said travel agents will see the Sabre listing changes soon.
He said the change means Northwest flights might show up farther down in a list of available flights seen by travel agents, even if a low fare otherwise would have given Northwest a higher spot.
Northwest's lawsuit didn't surprise Richard Copland, president of the American Society of Travel Agents. But he said the suit won't be resolved soon enough to change anything in the near term. Northwest "could be in and out of bankruptcy five times before that lawsuit ends," he said.
Copland said Northwest's new fees, if followed by other airlines, could put distributors like Sabre out of business.
Also Wednesday, a new company announced that it had signed letters of intent with seven airlines to form what appears to be a new global distribution system.
Chicago-based G2 SwitchWorks Corp. said it had letters of intent from seven carriers, including Alaska Air Group Inc., Continental Airlines Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc., Northwest, United Airlines' parent UAL Corp., and US Airways Group Inc. The seventh carrier was not named.
G2 said in a statement that it planned to offer a lower-priced way for airlines to distribute tickets through travel agents.
My bank gives us a some free teller transactions a month (I think 4, maybe 6), everything after that gets a surcharge, anything purely electronic that doesn't require dealing with a person is free. You have to pay people salaries, that means from a business aspect anything that uses people costs more than anything that doesn't, eventually businesses get sick of eating those costs and pass them on to the consumer.