In all fairness, they're charging people who want to check in in person instead of using the online system.
And if it keeps costs down for everyone, go for it. Why should the people who use the online system help subsidize having in-person staff there for check-ins for the technophobes?

Here's a better idea... why not give an incentive DISCOUNT for customers doing things the quicker way instead of charging extra? It's gotten so that companies are expecting you to pay them extra just to offer the basic tools of service that should be expected and required of them. It really bugs me. Customer service has gotten SO bad.

I can see that working, too, but if the service is already advertised as bare-bones cheap, I can see the mentality that would make everything an add-on instead of a discount.

miss lynnster, it's just a question of semantics. Calling it a fee SOUNDS a lot more customer unfriendly than a calling it a discount. Either way, the online users pay less than the in-person checker inners. Maybe they don't care about the PR effect of the word "fee", or maybe they hope it will annoy more fliers into using the online checkin.

See, that's my point though. I'm a marketing girl. Wording things slightly different will make people WANT to do what is in your best interest without feeling taken advantage of. By calling it a discount, you're saying, "Hey, it's up to you. But if you want to save money, we're going to give you this opportunity." as opposed to "We're going to nickel and dime you with fees." It's better customer relations.

The thing that gets me is... people just don't CARE if they annoy their customers anymore.

This is a company that charges you a fee to use a credit card or to use a debit card. With the exception that if you use the least popular kind of debit card, they won't charge a fee. That's how they get away with not including it in the base price.

I'm just glad they've been slapped down from the government for claiming they had £0.01 fares, but then adding on £10-£20 in "fees" which were not optional.

Yeah, but did you hear about the Massachussetts school system that is charging kids $1 a day to ride the bus, no discounts for families with more than one kid?

Next year, you pay to flap your arms!