Baggage fees are a fact of life when flying these days, and while airlines claim to need the extra money to survive in a struggling economy, the practice is clearly not popular with the public. Travel clothing maker ScotteVest recently tried to run an ad in Delta’s own Sky Magazine that made light of the fees and was denied, a decision that has drawn significant negative coverage on the Web. A sample, from GearDiary.com:
Ever wonder if those fees airlines are now charging for carry-on items actually bring in serious revenue? Well, thanks to Scott Jordan and SCOTTEVEST we now know the answer — they bring in TONS of cash.
Turns out that while SCOTTEVEST clothing appears in the SkyMall Magazine in the pouch in front of each seat on each Delta flight, a recent ad the travel and gadget clothing company wanted to run that reminded people they can beat the ridiculous new carry-on baggage fees with the right garment hit a bit too close to Delta’s pocketbook. Delta rejected the full-page ad, although it ran in other publications.
Delta could have happily accepted the ad revenue and it hardly would have been a blip on the radar, nothing more than another clever ad that raised a bit of laughter. By refusing, the airline set off a chain of events that only served to remind the public of fees they are already upset about paying, resulting in more reputation damage and creating a need for crisis management.
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/