REAL TALK WITH DANIELLE - Why The Airlines Are Corrupt

While studying psychology, I learned a lot about the psychology of marketing. Advertising in the airline industry is so corrupt that it often ends in the consumer feeling bad for their choices AFTER paying hundreds of dollars for a flight. Flying has become more stressful than I can imagine. There are so many things the airlines could be doing to improve their service. These are some of the richest companies on the planet, and they choose to create issues that simply never had to be issues in the first place. In this blog, I’m naming some of those problems and also trying to help with some solutions.

Buying the Flight: To start, the only people benefiting from buying loyalty cards to any airline are the people who make enough money that they can afford to go on a few flights with one company in the first place! Second, you can’t just purchase a ticket. There are all these “extras” which are basically just hidden fees. Just a few things that you may pay extra for include: going quickly through security, your 1st checked bag, and where you choose to sit! The last two in particular drive me insane, and here is why...

1st Checked Bag: This was not a thing when I was a younger flier. EVERYONE except backpackers or incredibly stubborn people like myself need a goddamn checked bag. But since they implemented this rule, everyone (god bless the public) got smart and decided to only pack carry-on luggage that fits in the overhead compartment space. The airlines did not plan for this, so now every flight I take, the agent at the front desk says on the overhead, “We have a full flight which means we will be looking for volunteers to check their bag”. And then almost inevitably, about 10 people are forced to check their bag. Not only are they forced, it’s a process of shaming the passengers. Because they “allow” us to check for overhead space, but if it’s not available, we have to walk back through the aisle of angry people getting on the plane in order to check our bags at the front desk. But this is WRONG. Passengers shouldn’t feel ashamed because they were intelligent enough to come up with a solution that bypasses an unnecessary fee for checked bags. Especially after buying a plane ticket. The airlines have enough fucking money. They don’t need more.

Choosing a Seat: This used to be choosing an emergency exit versus a normal seat. Now it’s “extra comfort” versus “emergency row” versus “the usual trash (with additional fees)”. What’s more is that if you choose not to buy your seats, they choose for you sometimes. That’s right! Terrance and I just took a flight where we were not seated next to each other because of this asinine extra cost. 

Volunteering to Change Flights: Airlines offer the “opportunity” to earn NOT COLD HARD CASH but “Miles” or “Points” if you choose to bump yourself to a different flight. The only circumstance in which this is helpful is if you have...

1. A lot of time on your hands

2. A lot of future flights to pay for

...But none of us have a lot of time! And most of us aren’t paying for flights that often. You can’t even buy a flight these days with 100% certainty that after paying (driving this home) HUNDREDS of dollars, that you will get on that plane!

The Class System: Not only do the airlines have more money than God, they contribute to our culture’s class system by making first class seats affordable only to the 1%. They also seat these people first claiming these are the “business-class” or “loyalty members” or “premiere flyers” and it drives me crazy! Yes, they paid more money, but who cares? The message is, if you don’t have enough money, you don’t deserve to be comfortable. While simultaneously, all of their marketing ads show sunshine streaming through the window and out the asses of the passengers being served delicatessens and fine wine by the air-brushed, supermodel flight attendant. 

Credit Cards: Again, this is something that is only going to be used by people who fly a lot or just have money lying around. But the advertising is insidious because they announce “very exclusive offers” that “are only available in-flight” about 15 minutes before landing. The reason this is such a scam, is that they offer it knowing that people will feel the pressure of a time limit. This type of advertising is how companies get people to “stress buy” a product. The other manipulative tactic is that you’ve been on a 10-hour flight, and you are tired, so your decision-making abilities are much worse. You are much more likely to say “yes” when you’ve been waiting to go on vacation to beautiful Hawaii, which is now gorgeously unfolding outside your window, and you are exhausted, and you want to be able to vacation more. 

To be honest, there are so many examples of this type of advertising that I doubt I could name them all if I tried. But there is a way to counter some of this. Leonard Mlodinow wrote a wonderful book called Subliminal which discusses the psychology of consumerism and the underlying reasons why we make our decisions. He talks about a concept called “anchoring” in this book, which refers to the idea of naming the price that you are willing to pay on a product before you research the costs. In a sense, you are doing the reverse of what a company does before they choose a price for their product. Here is an example...

If I’m a company offering a flight from New York to London, I know that in the off-season, my flight is probably worth $600 and during the holidays, it is worth about $800. 

But as the consumer, I need to anchor my own pricing. For example: During the off-season, I’m willing to pay $500 to go to London, and during the holidays I’m willing to pay $700.

Here’s the thing: You may not be able to find a deal that matches your exact criteria. But if you are thinking about this “anchoring” number prior to researching, then your odds are much more likely that you will save money and choose a cheaper flight or choose to forego “extras”. I use this for almost every purchase I make, and I have found it to be an invaluable tool as a consumer. It works because rather than being told by a company what your price range is - you are deciding what your price range is, and you have much more justification to say no to buying things you don’t need if you’ve checked your wallet before going to the store. 

Thank you for listening to my rant. I hate the airlines. Some airlines are obviously better than others, but for the most part they are garbage. There are many rich, white men lying in hammocks in Aruba making millions of dollars off of people’s lack of knowledge around these things, so I hope this injects some knowledge and awareness into a world of people just trying to get to their destination without spending their entire 401k.

Want more blog-y goodness? Tips and tricks for travel? Insight into mental health conundrums? Shared experiences in creativity and artistic expression? Scroll to the very bottom and subscribe!

When you know you’re being fed bullshit