Opinion: Treat airline passengers better

The airlines continue to push the envelope in their efforts to make flying as predatory and unpleasant as possible. You would think an industry lining up for billions of dollars in post-Sept. 11 federal loan guarantees would be courting passengers instead of looking for ways to drive them to other forms of transportation. The airlines are cutting back on what few amenities air travel has left. Delta and American are stopping some meals, USAirways is paring back on drinks and Continental is hoarding cutlery and withholding full cans of soda.

Giving passengers a drink or throwing a perk or two their way is not what's killing the full-service carriers. Their overhead costs are too high, and the smaller carriers are eating their lunch. What the big boys need to do is draw some wage concessions, cut back on capital and contracting expenses, lure back big-ticket business travelers and build customer loyalty.

That's hard to do when you're nickel-and-diming your customers, especially business travelers, who are the cash cow of the airline industry. Nearly every big carrier is charging for paper tickets and eliminating discounts on low fares. Several are charging customers who want to check a third bag. USAir is making it harder for customers to change flights on nonrefundable tickets, and it won't award customers who buy cheap tickets with elite-level frequent flyer miles.

The moves add more complication to the already jumbled airfare pricing structure. Air travelers may be more willing to shop around, reducing the value of brand-name recognition for the struggling carriers. Airlines say they are trying to curb the games being played by business travelers, many of whom scheme to capitalize on low-cost tickets. But the airlines were the ones who devised that game, and now they are blaming competition for reducing their level of customer service.

The public has an interest in keeping the airlines healthy. In the Tampa Bay area, for example, the ability of USAir to survive has a broad impact on the local economy and on affordable access to the entire eastern seaboard. The federal loan guarantees available to the airlines also increases the stakes the public has in keeping the industry competitive and profitable. The airlines may simply be floating these cuts in service to see how the public reacts. Maybe they figure their chintziness will look small compared to the other indignities of modern-day flying. Air travelers already are resigned to being poked, prodded, scanned, squeezed and treated like baggage. Now they're being treated like annoyances.

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