In the media and amongst the general public there is excitement/euphoria about about dirt cheap tickets. People that wouldn't dream of even catching a taxi to the airport now fly to various destinations around Australia. Off they go laughing and cheering none the wiser. Everyone is having a great time. Even the good Senator is a strong supporter of this. In fact, word is that since 03' fares have even become even cheaper! Yipeee. So where does the money come from? Is there such thing as a free ride or is there a trade off?
Everyone will recall the saying "you don't get something for nothing". My dad taught me this when I was in primary school. So how does it work?
Well I suppose, aircraft are becoming more technologically advanced and being flown a lot more efficiently than in years gone by. You also have to pay for your meal and drink on board with most airlines these days. Finally the airline working conditions aren't what they used to be. Airline staff used to be the envy of many in the old days when popular opinion saw them as 'set for life'.
So what happens at the end of the day when we have brand new aircraft, flex tracks direct tracking to the 5 mile final everywhere we go? On board we sell a lot of terrible meals for exorbitant prices served to you by contract flight attendants on minimum wage and rest. All is going well.
At the end of the day (3am) we gather around and count the money only to work out that at $49 a seat we really didn't make
that much money. Someone yells "we need more aircraft NOW!". Down the road in the meantime,
Airline X minus starts up with all facilities made out of recycled cardboard making our beloved
Airline E minus $49 airfares look expensive (RIIP OOFF!!
and right on cue while I'm writing the post comes a typical gem about AIRLINES ripping the public off Travellers furious over hidden airline fees | News.com.au).
Next day
Airline X minus advertises for the same destinations for $4.90! "Hell thats an extra 45 bucks
savin', I can get an extra 4 Jim n' Cokes into me for that - I'll go with them hahaha" says one punter to another whilst in the queue waiting for a doubleskinnymaxiCUPPAchino-larte at the aiport cafe. The cycle continues.
So there has to be a point where the yield from the low fares and rising cost of running an airline with a relatively fixed population cancel each other out. I'm no accountant but even
I can see that. Indeed the cost of living is going up and up and up everyday. There's even a talk of a carbon tax now. So how come fares keep getting cheaper? Before we get to that magic crossover point the little extra buffers that block up various holes in the swiss cheese model need to come out. "They are costing far too much!" one 'manager' announces assertively in a quivering tone to his non tertiary educated superior. Little things like extra training/retaining/attracting experienced and educated staff. "They've all go to go" "these things they fly themselves you know".
The reality is that the industry is now attracting the bottom of the barrel now all the way from CEO to the pilot. The top managers go and work for companies like BHP or Leighton where every year they improve their product whilst also still amazingly paying dividends to shareholders (GFC and all). The top pilots will probably head off overseas if unable to get a reasonable deal here. So when the 180 seat jet runs off the end of the runway due to "Pilot Error" (as exclusively reported on Today Tonight) I'm going to sit back and say to shocked friends and relatives: "Told you so" "Don't come a cryin' in yer beer to me".. "go take a holiday to the Gold Coast only $5 to get there".
The sad thing about this whole thing is that Joe average has no idea of what is actually going on. They're walking around thinking "how good is this? I"m off to the Goldie for a fiver" or "geez who would have thought little Johhny a big Airline pilot hey flyin them big ones and it only cost him 200 large". They buy the ticket just as the senator says and think its just as safe as its always been. Afterall "these things they fly themselves these days".
There is no such thing as a free ride people.