Who spends $100,000 to save $12
Last week, a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu was diverted back to LAX over a blanket.
Shortly after takeoff, a sixty-six-year old man was cold and requested a blanket. The steward returned with a blanket and requested payment of $12.
It’s ridiculous to charge someone $12 to borrow a blanket for a few hours, when it’s cold inside and they can’t go out for a walk.
The upset passenger made an inflight call to Hawaiian Airlines and said, “I’d like to take someone behind the woodshed for this.”
If I were on the other line, I would have laughed and gave the old guy a blanket. But the airline did not see it that way.
So they decided to dump their fuel and land back in L.A.
In case you did not know, a full 747 carries around $200,000 in fuel. What are the odds that a flight to Hawaii is less than full at takeoff?
In addition, there is a landing fee every time you set wheels down on a runway. And at LAX, the cost to land a full jet is roughly $3,000.
Finally, there is no way to calculate the cost to the passengers who were delayed. People were cheated out of vacation time or missed business meetings.
It’s incredible to me that they went to all of this cost and commotion to make a measly $12.
This is how airlines define cost saving these days. My Dad would have said they are walking past dollars to pick up pennies.
We’ve all had something similar happen to us. And it drives me up the wall. That’s why one of my principles in business (and life) is to treat people like family.
When your ready for a better experience, give me a call at 615-519-0983.
The Daily Deal in Nashville is a historic Victorian home in downtown Springfield for less than $100,000.
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