Remember the good ol’ days of air travel? You know, back in 1995 when things were easy. We didn’t have to deal with all these ancillary fees – we could just check our bag and get a delicious Saran-wrapped piece of “chicken,” and all for “free.” Everything was included and CHEAPER! Remember that?

Well, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, that’s just not the case. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the average price of an airline ticket has decreased from 1995 by 19.6%. In constant dollars, the price of your base airline ticket is down almost one-fifth!
Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, I introduced a blog series on merchandising. The first installment focused on the fact that there is a wide range of opinions and emotions across the travel industry regarding this new phenomenon called merchandising. I also pointed out that there is a fair amount of misinformation and misunderstanding on the topic, and this often inhibits effective discussion and debate. So, in the hopes of leading to more fruitful and informed discussions for all of us, this second installment is a short primer on merchandising lingo. The intent here is to give us all a baseline understanding about this powerful movement that is unfolding in our industry. Read the rest of this entry »