Timeline for Do airlines in North America make around $10 profit per customer?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
29 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26, 2017 at 6:37 | answer | added | user17967 | timeline score: 2 | |
| Apr 19, 2017 at 18:54 | comment | added | T. Sar | 10 bucks of pure profit by customer is a really good deal, after you consider how well paid airliner staff is usually paid and how expensive the stuff they operate is. We are talking about pure profit, after operational costs - so, surplus money! | |
| Apr 19, 2017 at 15:41 | comment | added | Glen O | The reading of the claim as given by Kevin Laity in the question, as indicated by the questions about flights being cheaper suggesting airlines taking a loss at $10 profit per customer, deserves an answer. Unfortunately, answers to that (entirely valid) interpretation are being deleted by the mods. Since moderators seem to be dismissing premises left, right, and centre, I figured I'd go for a comment: if you read "profit per customer" as "profit from each customer", then you're after Unit Contribution Margin, and its value will be larger than $10. | |
| Apr 17, 2017 at 13:47 | history | edited | Oddthinking♦ | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Removed speculation leading to answers that don't address the claim.
|
| Apr 17, 2017 at 0:22 | comment | added | Calchas | @jamesqf The problem is your most profitable customers demand flexibility (and are happy to pay through the nose for it if you want to offer it). When you look at major finance houses or whatever who have people commuting twice a week between London and New York in business class on unpredictable schedules, any airline that stuck with such a hardline policy would lose a lot of very lucrative business. That said, the airlines' biggest customers get significant (often upwards of 40%) discounts on the public fares. | |
| Apr 16, 2017 at 6:34 | comment | added | Ian Newson | Maybe this is inference, but the question seems to suppose that $10 profit per customer isn't much profit. It sounds like a reasonable profit to me in a mature and evolved market. | |
| Apr 15, 2017 at 20:04 | vote | accept | Kevin Laity | ||
| Apr 15, 2017 at 10:02 | answer | added | chx | timeline score: 8 | |
| Apr 14, 2017 at 2:40 | comment | added | Oddthinking♦ | @KevinLaity: I would dismiss your premise - that there is a qualitative difference between a "cash grab" and "necessity to avoid running a loss" for a business motivated to make a profit for its shareholders. | |
| S Apr 14, 2017 at 1:47 | history | suggested | jwodder | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Proofreading
|
| Apr 13, 2017 at 23:39 | review | Suggested edits | |||
| S Apr 14, 2017 at 1:47 | |||||
| Apr 13, 2017 at 23:24 | history | tweeted | twitter.com/StackSkeptic/status/852663827657355265 | ||
| Apr 13, 2017 at 23:12 | history | edited | Sklivvz | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
question has nothing to do with overbooking; "very little" is subjective and can't be asked about --- used the amount from the question instead
|
| S Apr 13, 2017 at 23:03 | history | suggested | Glorfindel | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
proper capitalization in title
|
| Apr 13, 2017 at 22:14 | comment | added | David Schwartz | @NateEldredge Exactly. Obviously, an airline would prefer to sell every seat for top dollar. But it certainly is plausible that they might take a loss by selling some seats cheaply so long as it's less of a loss than they'd take if they didn't sell those seats at all. If the business was perfectly competitive, we'd expect the airline to make pretty close to zero on the average seat which means they must be taking a loss on some of them given the wide variation in prices. | |
| Apr 13, 2017 at 20:41 | review | Suggested edits | |||
| S Apr 13, 2017 at 23:03 | |||||
| Apr 13, 2017 at 17:45 | comment | added | JAB | @jamesqf By my understanding, most lower-cost ticket sales are final (nonrefundable, nontransferable, etc.). Refundable tickets tend to be more expensive. | |
| Apr 13, 2017 at 17:37 | comment | added | jamesqf | @JAB: If making money was the goal, it would seem more reasonable to have an "all ticket sales are final" policy, then if the passenger doesn't show up, make more money by selling the seat again on standby. | |
| Apr 13, 2017 at 16:59 | comment | added | Nate Eldredge | I don't understand the first point. The $10 per customer claim is clearly an average, and it doesn't contradict the possibility that some tickets are much more profitable (e.g. those where the airline charges more for a nonstop than for an onward connection). | |
| Apr 13, 2017 at 16:53 | answer | added | PoloHoleSet | timeline score: 12 | |
| Apr 13, 2017 at 15:49 | answer | added | A Bailey | timeline score: 103 | |
| Apr 13, 2017 at 15:36 | comment | added | Kevin Laity | @Jan Doggen I've removed the mention of the video, but not all of my cited information applies worldwide, and the picture of 'what does the average airline make from each customer' could vary widely if asked about the whole world. | |
| Apr 13, 2017 at 15:33 | history | edited | Kevin Laity | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Removed unneeded reference to video, and clarified the question more
|
| Apr 13, 2017 at 15:27 | comment | added | Kevin Laity | @JAB You're of course correct, but the question is, is that merely a 'cash grab' or is it truly a necessity to avoid running a loss? | |
| Apr 13, 2017 at 15:25 | comment | added | JAB | Note that overbooking has more to do with the fact that quite often, not everyone who buys a ticket shows up, and airlines want to make as much money as they can regardless of the actual per-passenger profit. post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2017/04/13/… | |
| Apr 13, 2017 at 15:01 | comment | added | user22865 | Also, the North America reference in the title can go, the IATA article linked to addresses other flights and companies as well. | |
| Apr 13, 2017 at 14:29 | review | First posts | |||
| Apr 13, 2017 at 15:01 | |||||
| Apr 13, 2017 at 14:28 | history | edited | Kevin Laity | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Fixed grammar to clarify that airline made claim, not customer
|
| Apr 13, 2017 at 14:26 | history | asked | Kevin Laity | CC BY-SA 3.0 |