Meet and Seat: New Airline Revenue Stream?
Airlines continue to grapple with increasing costs, fickle consumers and a turbulent economy. Increasingly over the last 10 years or so airlines have looked beyond the standard ticket as the sole source of revenues to a growing host of ancillary services. First came the excess baggage fee, then the checked baggage fee. And, now we see fee for an unaccompanied child (or senior), fees for food or a drink, fees for a movie or a headset or an internet session, a fee to check in early, a fee to choose a specific seat or to upgrade; the list of such fees grows almost daily. Now, with many travelers having embraced social media, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, it should come as no surprise to see several enterprising airlines looking at…