Issue 38: May/June 2009
EDITOR'S COMMENTS
ACCORDING TO THE carefully spin-doctored announcement of London Luton Airport's new £3 charge for being fast-tracked through security, "feedback from passengers that have chosen Priority Lane has been very positive".
The cynical among us inevitably wonder whether the feedback from those who turned down the opportunity to pay to queue-jump was equally positive, but pragmatists have to accept that this is just another incarnation other the questionable practice known as 'unbundling'.
London Luton, of course, is not alone. Liverpool John Lennon and Bristol airports both offer similar 'services' - at £3 and £5 respectively - and many hotels are now adding a price-tag to late check-out.
Low-fare airlines, of course, have been at it for years - Michael O'Leary's putative 'pound per pee' plan for Ryanair being the prime example - and most travel management companies now offer a pick'n'mix menu of service options.
Up to now, by and large, travel buyers have welcomed the increased transparency that comes with commoditisation. The 'unbundlers' have argued, with some justification, that their clients need only pay for the service elements they require. After all, why should non-swimmers pay for the maintenance of the hotel pool?
As is so often the case with travel industry initiatives, however, what seemed like a good idea at the time is now being taken to frankly ludicrous extremes. Why stop at coin-operated toilets? Why not install pay-per-minute meters, with a supplement for softer tissue?
From a travel management perspective, once-welcome commoditisation is rapidly turning into a logistical nightmare. How much 'loo leeway' should travellers be allowed? At what level of seniority is the late check-out fee deemed to be an acceptable alternative to schlepping suitcases into afternoon meetings? So far, so tongue-in-cheek. However, there are at least two, potentially very serious, considerations to be taken into account.
First, the thorny issue of process costs. There was a time, not so very long ago, when taking a flight usually involved a single transaction - the purchase of a ticket. Now, and particularly at the budget-friendly end of the market, multiple choice makes for multiple decisions, which take time, which in turn costs money. At the back end of a trip, expense claims become far more complex to complete and to scrutinise.
Second, commoditisation begins to make a mockery of the notion of 'added value'. Having relatively recently recognised that suppliers' margins had been pared to the bone, buyers started to negotiate on extras such as free car-parking, breakfasts, and wi-fi , or lounge access for the cabin-impaired.
Now, increasingly, those 'extras' constitute trip elements that had previously formed part of the basic cost. A concession on airport queue charges is no concession at all. The charge only exists because commoditisation allows it to.
Ryanair - and others, to be scrupulously fair - would probably claim to have initiated, and driven, the industry's quest for transparency. The supply side has led the way into travel management's 21st century brave new world.
Maybe. But has anyone actually read Brave New World?
Mike Toynbee, Editor
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