Maximizing revenue in us flights

I am presently in the us and quite surprised by some of the ways that the airline companies are being "innovative " in making some additional money . Here are some interesting snippets


1. Charge for any check in luggage. A lot of the airlines charge between 10-20% of the ticket value for luggage check In . Now the interesting part was that the passengers were taking in quite big bags into the flights and if the flight was full - then they would put in the in check in baggage at the expense of the airline

2. Charging for snacks . Unlike the Indian low cost airlines , which charge exorbitantly on inflight service , these airlines had two options
A. Complimentary beverages - like cool drinks
B. Paid for drinks - which they charged marginally more using credit or debit cards

Now , me being me I did a quick sample study of 5 rows of people and found that around 25% of people opted for paid drinks. The point being that if you give people an option to upgrade a decent percentage will usually do this - an interesting way to increase revenue eh?

3. Charging for ear phones

Now , all the airlines i went in - charges 2$ for earphones - thy were of decent quality and people were more than willing to pay for it

4. Delta does something more - if you have a specific delta credit card, then you will be allowed first bag free and a 20% discount on in flight refreshments - talk about forcing loyalty

These are some interesting ways for differentiation between airlines and i wonder that if kingfisher airlines had used some of these techniques to reduce their costs while giving some great features , they would not be in the same position as they are today

Get smart while doing business - try and maximize revenues at the same cost