11 Ways Airlines Could Save Money (Without Asking Staff to Work for Free)

BA Leaving Town
Image via: Irargerich

Once upon a time, to fly was seen as a bit of a luxury. Not everyone could afford to jet from country to country on a whim. Economy offered more than the bare minimum of service during a flight, and it was more often than not an exciting experience for all. Now, unless you’re one of the lucky few who can afford the joy of business class, most people have very little time for airlines and their shenanigans. They are frequently viewed as nothing more than a basic service provider and are talked about with much eye-rolling. And, instead of working to regain the grace of the old days, airlines are cutting costs at every opportunity to survive in an incredibly competitive market.

Yet, there are workable ways and means of saving money instead of asking staff to work for free, or insisting fliers pay to use the loo. Those moves are only going to alienate staff and customers and drive them towards the less unscrupulous airlines.

Here, we offer a few simple money-saving strategies that we hope will save any failing airlines from a tragic end.

1. Celebrity Endorsement

Airlines are akin to kids in a sweetie shop – as soon as one airline thought of having a celebrity chef design their menu, they all had to have one. But is it really necessary? Business and first class passengers are not going to change from their favored airline just because the menu has been created by an unknown, as long as it’s of the same standard. There are hundreds of perfectly capable chefs available who would be just as likely to produce an excellent quality menu, without charging the celeb price tag. And because they probably wouldn’t have the same overinflated sense of self, they’d be so much easier to deal with!

2. Reduce Wine Wastage

Business and first class passengers pay a lot more for their seats, and for the service they receive on board, so having a good wine list makes sense. What makes no sense at all is how the wine is wasted on a regular basis. When a wine has been opened, regardless of the price or how much has been used from the bottle, the remainder is chucked at the end of the flight. It’s sad, but true. Surely it would be better to use the rest of the wine on economy passengers – heaven forbid – or carry it over to the next flight. And, there’s little doubt the biz and first class wine drinkers would be appalled if they knew the wine was discarded in such a way; they might even secretly shed a tear.

3. Slash the Number of Sick Bags

Few people actually revisit their last meal when flying, yet most airlines have a sick bag on every seat. By reducing the number of sick bags available in the seat pockets, production costs would be reduced. This doesn’t mean cutting them out altogether – that wouldn’t make for a pleasant flight – but there could be one per row, or be available from the air stewards. However, this move could induce some of the more shady airlines to start asking passengers to pay for them… if they don’t’ already!

4. Toiletry Tip

While some people may be excited that moisturizer and mouthwash is available in the toilets on long-haul flights, most people wouldn’t touch them for fear of what they may pick up from their lovely fellow passengers, and most people carry their own supplies anyway. So their presence seems a little overenthusiastic and slightly desperate to please. It wouldn’t be so bad if it was slightly less foul smelling and more pleasant looking – anything dispensed from a bulk buy carton doesn’t cut it with most fliers, so why not save on costs, and the hassle of visiting the cash ‘n’ carry?

5. Forget the Freebies

This point is very likely to cause mass hysteria, but is most definitely a cost cutting measure that would save airlines a lot of money – stop leaving combs, toothbrush kits and shaving packs in the toilet drawers. Many people seem to have a tendency towards kleptomania and will take way more than they need, just because they can. Think: hotel toiletries and accessories. Instead, the stewards could keep a stash on board and should people really need them, they can ask. Again, most people on long-haul flight will have their own toiletries with them.

6. Reuse In-flight Magazines

It would be absurd to get rid of in-flight magazines completely; they’re one thing that airlines have got right, especially on short flights with no on-board entertainment. A good in-flight magazine enables fidgety passengers to while away the hours in the comfort (questionable) of their seat, but to save money airlines should stop encouraging passengers to take them off the plane. Keep them in-flight and change them when tattered and dog-eared, that way less would need to be produced. When productions costs are high, reduce the amount from monthly to bi-monthly, and then, when the market recovers a little and advertisers have a bit more cash to flash, go back to monthly production.

7. Considerably Reduce Number of Flights

It’s astounding how many carriers are in the skies, and when you think of how many flights each one does per day, it’s a wonder there aren’t more mid-air disasters than there are. And while it’s great that we can, on a whim, choose to fly anywhere in the world, it’s unlikely that there needs to be so many flights put on every day by the same carrier to get us to our destination. At present, there are just too many carriers chasing too few passengers to not reconsider how the whole industry operates. Auditing each flight could save money in the long run – if flights on some days or at certain times of the day/year are almost empty, cut those flights.

8. Pay Bosses What They’re Worth – A Lot Less Than They Think

OK, so the airline bosses have a lot to contend with, and because they’re the boss they naturally get the highest pay check every month, but do they really need to get double or triple most people’s yearly salary per month? No, we don’t think so either. It came to light recently that the CEO of British Airways, Willie Walsh, earns £61,000 (over US$100,000) every month, and even though the company he runs is dying a slow and very public death, he was awarded a £35,000 pay rise, and is set to receive around £1.1 million in deferred share bonuses sometime this year. If all CEO and top manager’s salaries were cut to reasonable levels it could be the difference in whether a company lives or dies.

9. Have More Premium Economy Seats

Business class passengers are turning to economy in their droves. Everyone is cutting costs at the moment, so if it means they can travel more, business class passengers will downgrade. Though, if there were many more Premium Economy seats available on flights at a slightly reduced price than what they are at present, not only would business class fliers take the bait, but the more lucrative coach passenger would be lured into upgrading.

10. Go for GPS

An ancient traffic network system in the US forces planes to take much longer, zigzagging routes across the country, which sees airlines paying ridiculous fuel costs – one of the main reasons many airlines are seeing a huge drop in profits. Upgrading all networks to a GPS system rather than the redundant radar system would mean planes could fly as the crow does, or as close to, reducing fuel consumption dramatically.

11. Give Economy Customers More… If They Pay for It

Most, if not all, economy passengers would love to be able to fly business class but can’t afford to. This does not mean they can’t afford anything. It would be great to be able to buy a bottle of champagne on a long-haul flight, but it’s simply not allowed. Sparkles and all things fancy are reserved for business and first class passengers only, and often without reason. If economy passengers were allowed to buy champagne on board it would make quite a lucrative side line for any airline, and make for a very happy flier, which after all, is what it’s all about. Isn’t it?