Quote:
Originally Posted by billybob123
This isn't quite the perfect analogy. It would be more like one restaurant (let's call it Westrestaurant) sent out a series of TV, bus, and print ads that say their competitor (let's call them Air Restauranada) charges for soda. We don't. We promise we won't charge you for soda. That's one of the many reasons we're better than Air Restauranada.
And then, less than a year later, inform your customers that you're now charging for that soda you said differentiated you from the others.
Why go to Westrestaurant anymore? They're no different than Air Restauranada.
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Fair enough, no analogy is perfect.
But as other have already said, they would already fly Air Canada if it were cheaper (end of sentence, no qualifiers - cheapness is the lone deciding characteristic in far too many purchasing decisions). And since the VAST majority of people don't check two bags, and of those that do a huge number is discretionary, it became apparent that guests (no doubt like yourself) don't buy a fare with one airline over another simply because they offer things you don't need for free (like a second free bag you don't have) - but rather for that low fare.
This allows WestJet to continue to fight for the lowest fair while not impacting the vast majority of their guests.
You say 'why go to westrestaurant anymore?' but the real question was how many people were going there for that free bag (or soda/pop) in the first place?
Obviously there has been a change in leadership at WestJet, and across the industry, not just at WestJet, the industry is becoming about having guests pay for what they actually use. I find it funny that many of the same people that get this weird feeling of anger around 'being nickle and dimed' are also staunch conservatives who believe in a user pay free market... (Resistance and alarm to the prospect of change no doubt being the linking characteristic.)
Claeren.