Venturing into a “No-Fly” Zone

According to The Associated Press, British Airways (BA) announced that with effect from October 7, 2009, it will start charging passengers who want to chose their seats in advance – 10 pounds for an economy class flight within Europe; 20 pounds for a long-haul economy flight and a whopping 50 pounds for an exit row seat. Even business-class passengers are not spared, having to pay 20 to 60 pounds depending on whether it is a short or long haul flight.

I expect BA to reverse its decision soon enough – it is plain dumb and reflects a desperation on its management’s part to raise revenues at all costs, even at the risk of losing customers. It is fascinating (and frightening) that BA’s management should even contemplate that their loyal customers will be happy to part with more of their hard earned money at a time of economic uncertainty, simply for the privilege of flying on BA.

I can understand charging more for seats based on the amount of leg-room or the degree a seat can recline (both clearly class related), even if those seats are in the same economy cabin – that is what most US airlines are already doing - but charging a hefty fee for the “privilege” of picking seats in the less desirable section of the cabin is clearly over-reaching.

All is well if enough passengers are prepared to fork out the extra dough to pick their own seats in advance, but what if that scenario does not play out? Imagine the anguish and the anger when a family with an infant are assigned seats that are spread around the cabin – who will tend to the child when he/she cries?. Imagine the annoyance when a couple leaving on a honeymoon are assigned seats that are far apart – great way to begin a life of togetherness. Imagine an elderly person susceptible to incontinence being assigned to a seat away from the aisle and the bathrooms.

Oh, sure, the gate-agents can reassign seats to accommodate those with special needs but should there be enough cases of those same special needs on a single flight, it will be a nightmare for the gate agents as each seat reassigned may raise a whole new set of problems and consequences. Expect take-off delays or having to arrive at the airport hours in advance to beg or fight for seat reassignments.

Thanks to the Internet, Airlines were able to push the task of seat selection to the consumers thereby cut down staffing at the gate and saving millions in payroll costs. By allowing passengers to pick their own seats, they also end up with customers who are generally happier, especially on flights that are not filled to the capacity. Passengers will almost always chose to spread themselves out (leaving the middle seats empty, etc) and their overall flying experience is enhanced with no further effort by the airline.

BA’s decision effectively reverses that and it will be interesting to watch what happens. I would very much doubt that they would be able to greatly raise their revenues because of that decision, especially on the short-haul flights and as long as there is stiff competition from other airlines. Without a doubt, BA’s competitors will use BA’s newly announced seat-selection-charge as a leverage to snap up all the disgruntled BA customers.

Clearly, the latest business decision by BA is questionable at best and destructive to its customer base and loyalty at worst. It is venturing into a “no-fly” zone as far as customer tolerance is concerned. Airline passengers are already bullied into cramped seats, checked baggage charges and no free-meal service on board. What’s next, charging for the ‘privilege’ of being able to breath on board a flight?

Go American

“Caveat Emptor” was one of the first Latin phrases I learned in law.  Quite simply, it means “let the buyer beware” – the purchaser has to take a certain degree of responsibility for ensuring that the property he/she is purchasing is fit for the purpose it was intended before closing on the deal.  As an example, home buyers will have their lawyers conduct a search on the property’s title, purchase title insurance, and hire an engineer to inspect the condition of the home before closing on the transaction. 

The “Caveat Emptor” doctrine works well with big ticket items (as in the example of the home purchase) but is more cumbersome and off-putting for the lower cost consumer items.  Hence most stores will have consumer friendly return policies that allow a hassle free return of items that are defective or do not meet the consumer’s requirement within a reasonable time after the date of purchase.

Because of the ease of buying and returning such consumer items, most of us do not think twice before acting on our urge to buy something.  We wanted it (because some clever advertisement or a ‘cool’ friend convinced us we “need'” it) and we went out and bought it because we could afford it.  Simple.  We rarely, if ever, think of the social and economic impact of our actions beforehand.

Yet everything we buy has an impact.  The stores make a profit; the sales person makes a commission; the truckers bringing the goods to the store were paid for their services; and so on.  In turn, we have to go to work daily so that we have an income to pay for the things and services that we consume. 

In short, our consumption creates jobs and, conversely, we can consume because we have jobs.  It is a dependency that has grave consequences should the link be broken. 

This recession is especially severe because job losses started in those industries that have a high degree American labor or content – housing, finance and auto-manufacturing.  Each job loss has a multiplier or cascading effect.  When those workers lost their jobs, their consumption pattern suddenly ceased and retail and sales of non-essential consumer products dropped precipitously, sending more workers to the unemployment lines.

The lessons learned from this downturn have to be put to good use if we want to recover from it and protect ourselves from yet another economic disaster of a similar magnitude.  Like the green-movement or awakening that brought ecological-consciousness to the forefront, we need a second green-movement that will bring economic-consciousness into every US Citizen’s thinking. 

Here are a few starter thoughts:

1.  Go American

Buy products that are high in American content.  Start with buying local produce:- fruits, vegetables, wines, cheeses, meats, processed foods that are locally produced.  Shop at your local farmers’ market.  Write to your local grocery store / chain and ask for more local products and dedicated American product aisles.  American produce is world-class and competitively priced - there is no reason to buy foreign. 

Vacation locally – there are many affordable American vacation products and places to visit.  They create jobs in America.

2.  Demand transparency and accountability

Write to the CEOs of the companies that benefit from your consumer dollars and ask for transparency into their practices – percentage of their jobs and production located in foreign countries; percentage of their product that have foreign content; etc. 

It is important to include the CEOS of foreign producers or importers of foreign products – they can create an impact by increasing the percentage of American content or labor used in their product.

3.  Lobby your representatives

Write to the congressmen representing your district or state and demand that economic-impact reporting become standard in every publicly listed companies annual report and filing. 

Ask about fair trade practices of the countries America deals with – what is the imbalance of trade with each country and how they plan to address that.  We want our creditor nations to be buying American products and services, not just US Treasuries.

I’m not recommending a boycott of any sorts over foreign products – I’m merely pushing for a greater awareness of the need for a higher percentage of American content in the products we buy, and what other countries buy from us in return. 

Yes, just like it has become hip to buy ‘organic’ products, it can become hip to buy ‘American’ products too.  And it will be more expensive to go ‘American’ as it was to go ‘organic’ but the end result will be worth it.

Some of us laughed at the ‘organic’ movement but it has taken root and become a settled part of our social consciousness.  We can make the ‘Go American’ movement work too.  It will take a conscious effort by every American concerned about his/her future or that of the next generation.  Sitting by idly or ignorantly and doing nothing is clearly not a solution.

YOU ARE AN AMERICAN; BE PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN.