A Canadian Reporter Called Recently ...

... doing a story on the impact of airline mergers on airports. Looking beyond the obvious angle of the potential for the loss of air service, she was interested in the cost and hassle of changing signage at gates and the like – that is, the direct impact on the airport itself. My point to her was that the greater impact on airports has to do with the customer experience, and that airports more and more are taking on the responsibility of taking care of the passenger. That was before the recent onslaught of announcements by the major carriers regarding checked baggage. As someone who has always preferred to check my bags, this is not welcome news. Those luggage manufacturers that are now scrambling to redesign carry-on luggage have a new customer. Actually, they probably have thousands of new customers. We have been incentivized to trudge through security and the airport with our bags. This is not good news for airports. Consider the experience Disney Magical Express is having at Orlando International. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Disney handles some one million bags annually via its hotels under the program. Initially, Disney’s service provider, Bags, Inc., got the airlines to waive the luggage fees – but no longer. The Sentinel reports that customers now must call Bags, Inc. and pay the luggage fee up front. Longer term, it reports that the company is considering installing payment registers at airline check-in counters in each Disney hotel, so guests could pay their baggage fees directly. One challenge is a lack of standards; fees vary, as do airline policies. At the end of the day it would appear more customer service is being dumped on airports. The baggage policies have the potential for jamming up already clogged screening lines. Will the result be a need for more space? For more up-front concessions and other services? For more screeners? If the latter, we know the feds aren’t going to step in and help on that score. Must be time for Congress to pass the Airport Responsibility Act. Hey, it’s in the bag. Thanks for reading. jfi