Solution for Airlines in Bankruptcy
We've all been on those flights, the flights with screaming children, the flights you hope you'll never be on but always are, the flights that make you wish you'd coughed up three hundred bucks for the latest in noise cancelling headphones. A couple of days ago I read about a recent incident where AirTran kicked a screaming toddler and her family from a flight "in fairness to the other passengers" (story), and a thought occurred to me: childless flights. This certainly is not an original idea, I've heard it several times before, but as I thought about it and the economics behind it, I realized it might actually be a viable idea.
Airlines could make a ton of money if they just took each of their longer routes, say, all those over 3 hours, and made one of them each day completely child free. Now, I know some people may not be happy with this idea, but here's my justification of why it would work:
Think back on all the times you've been stuck on that unbearable flight. What would you have paid to shut that child up? Because most of you (like me) are still college age, I know the premium would not be very high, but it would something, even if it was just $5. But think about the people who fly more often, like business travelers, and what they would pay. I'd venture to guess that airlines could pull at least a $50 premium per flight. The lack of children is a desired service which has great demand and currently no guaranteed supply, so obviously the price of those tickets would surely go up.
Meanwhile, most families with children are looking to save money, since they tend to pay out of pocket and have more mouths to feed, so I argue that most families who would be upset by the childless flight would not actually want pay to be on one in the first place. If they still wanted something to make up for this "injustice" or perhaps just as a measure of fairness, the airlines could also offer "family friendly" flights which cater to families with lower prices and Disney movies.
Anyways, the point is that in a time when airlines are netting just $200 from a full flight, it might be time for them to leverage a little price discrimination by providing quieter flights and make those of us willing to pay for it a little bit happier when we get to our destination.
