[AADFW]

Originally Posted by jonm1961

The question is why are the domestic airline companies offering such poor customer service compared to most foreign airlines?

Two answers. First, many of the foreign airlines enjoy government subsidies that allow them to spend more money on service. Second, U.S. airlines tried in the past to compete on the basis of service on deregulated domestic routes. (Remember all those TV commercials in the 70's & 80's touting great service?) American consumers have consistently responded by voting with their wallets, indicating that price is the single most important factor when making an air transportation purchase by far. The fact that an airline as horrid as Spirit has managed to last so long is strong evidence of this. It's amazing how some people will connect twice and endure other hardships to save $30 on a base airfare. Consumers are actually just as much to blame as airline management for poor service performance in this sense -- we've demonstrated what we want most and they've served it right up with ridiculous cost cutting measures, flippant and unhelpful service, and ancillary fee-based revenue models.

What's perhaps most disconcerting is that many domestic carriers have actually allowed some these changes and attitudes to seep into their domestic and international premium products, where service is actually what should matter most of all. That's something I am at a loss to understand.

Still, I've got to think that foreign competition would shake things up sufficiently that one might see some improvements in service levels - at least for a period of time and certainly where the premium market is concerned.