In a court ruling certain not be please the airlines, the Supreme Court of Canada reaffirmed the rights of obese fliers:
The present system of pricing air travel may be antiquated. Airlines are developing new ways to price air travel and increase profitability. American Airlines will be offering an ‘a la carte’ fare system:
“…Starting next year, American, which led a stampede by U.S. carriers to charge customers for checking even a single suitcase, plans to imitate the a la carte pricing structure pioneered by Air Canada, airline officials say. There are likely to be a few basic fare plans, and travellers can pick additional services — for a fee.”
link: American Airlines Considers a La Carte Pricing
The task for airlines that use this system will be convincing the customers how it is value added. That is, how does it benefit the customer? With the changes in air travel, the advantage has been decidedly one sided. With the economic pressure and customer anger at these extra charges, the airlines may have to increase their public relations budget. The flying public does have a limit to what they will tolerate. This may be an opportunity for airlines such as Southwest Airlines, which as hung onto traditional measures such as service and loyalty.
Catherine Forsythe
Students going to buy text books at their local campus bookstore may have encountered sticker shock. Perhaps a better term is ‘oversticker shock’.
The prices of text books are exorbitantly high. Many campus bookstores are adding to that price with overstickers. This is a tag that covers the original book cost on the cover and increases the sales price. It seems that the range of the increase is between ten and twenty per cent.
The rationale for the increase is that shipping / fuel costs have increased. However, most of these text books were ordered many months ago, prior to the present fuel prices. Apparently the book publishers, the shipping companies and the campus bookstores are not absorbing these shipping charges and reducing their profits. Instead, the cost of doing business is passed along to the students, who have to have the books.
Students are in the unenviable position of being forced to buy the product. And, unfortunately, the campus bookstores count on that.
Catherine Forsythe
