Airlines are shedding fees, giving away free stuff and being extra nice to their customers. Has the world gone mad? “That’s what I’ve been asking myself,” says Gail Clark, who complained to American Airlines after a recent flight delay and received a lightning-fast response, including a personal apology and 7,500 frequent flyer miles deposited to her account. Clark, a retired CEO from Bluffton, S.
C., says she’s used to foot-dragging and canned apologies. She says something feels wrong.
More Sébastien Long has seen it with Southwest Airlines. The flight attendants keep pouring him free drinks whenever something is less than perfect on the plane. And when they do, they dismiss it in their Southwest way, with an, “Oh, I forgot to charge you, and we’re about to land.
” “Honestly, it’s almost too nice,” says Long, who runs an apartment rental company in Houston. “I feel like someone’s going to get in trouble for not charging me.” The niceness is contagious.
Last month, Spirit Airlines killed its unpopular flight change and cancellation fees. Frontier Airlines did the same. And JetBlue announced that all customers — even those with a “basic” economy class ticket — will get a free carry-on bag in addition to one small personal item.
“After the pandemic and the bad press the airline industry was getting this past spring, it seems natural that they would put more emphasis on smoothing nerves and garnering more trust from passengers,” says Antho.
