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Free Rides Fading Fast: Airline Workers Find Free Flights Harder to Get, With Carriers Packing Planes Chock Full

Posted on: Sunday, 21 May 2006, 06:08 CDT

By Dudley Price, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.

May 21--Used to be, Stephanie Morton would jump on a jetliner and fly from her Texas home to Atlanta for a haircut, or pop over to New Orleans for lunch.

Single airline co-workers took things a step further, wearing T-shirts that said "Marry Me, Fly Free," or piling into planes after work for several hours of airborne cocktails.

"It was like happy hour," said Morton, who became a Southwest Airlines customer service agent in 1980.

Not anymore.

Tough times in the industry have meant changes to a coveted perk that once symbolized the glamour of airline jobs. Using free standby flights, even the lowliest employee, their family and friends could roam the planet -- often in first-class seats -- for a small fee. Once they landed, hotels, car rentals and sometimes meals also were heavily discounted or free.

But airlines have had to become much more efficient filling planes with paying customers. Flyers trying for a free ride often can't get on packed planes.

That's not to say that the perk is gone. But airline workers more often are dealing with higher fees and more hassles because record numbers of paying passengers are traveling again.

"The way it is today is the way it should be," said aviation consultant Mike Boyd. "When you produce a product, you should sell most of your product. In the past we freeloaders could get on because there was excess product. Today, there is no excess product.

"They still have the (standby flying) perk but not the perk they had 10 years ago," Boyd said.

Consumers are feeling the pain, too, as the industry reinvents itself. With more than $40 billion of losses since 2001 and soaring fuel bills, airlines are cutting costs across the board. Most use smaller planes for some markets and work to fill seats with paying passengers.

Frequent-flier club members know it has gotten harder to cash in because airlines are keeping more seats for paying customers. If your flight is cancelled or you're running late, it's harder to get another seat.

In an industry marked by bankruptcies, shutdowns, pension and benefit cuts, and thousands of layoffs, a reduction in free flights for employees hardly stands out. But it is one more way life in the airline industry has changed, probably forever.

Boyd remembers how 15 employees at an airline where he formerly worked once flew to London for three days. The total cost: $60 per person.

Technically, employees, their families and even their friends can still fly standby anywhere in the country or often overseas. But with record passenger volume and smaller planes, actually finding an open seat is another matter.

"Our ultimate business is selling airline seats," said American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith. "Given the financial hardships of our airline and airlines in general and the incredible spike in fuel prices, it's necessary for us to operate at high load factors."

American, the nation's largest airline, has lost more than $8.1 billion since 2001. American last month reported a smaller first-quarter loss partly because load factors -- the average number of seats filled -- are hitting record levels. Ridership dropped way off at all airlines after the 2001 terrorist attacks, but record boardings are expected this summer.

In April, American's load factor was 81 percent, which "means a whole lot of aircraft on popular routes are going out (completely) full," Smith said.

American's international flights are so packed that the carrier several years ago restricted standby flying to some top summer destinations by employees' friends.

Airlines regulate employee standby flying differently. Delta uses a seniority system. At American it's who checks in first. Southwest relies on a first-come, first-served system.

US Airways, which merged with America West, hasn't resolved which employees get priority for an open seat. Policy at America West is first-come, first-served. US Airways, which has more veteran workers, goes by seniority.

With the fewest free seats available in years, rules matter more than ever.

The changes are especially bitter for some employees, because the promise of unlimited flying lured them into the industry in the first place.

Seeing the world was a big reason Tom Bagley became a American Airlines ramp worker 33 years ago. With his wife and three children, Bagley averaged two trips a year to places such as Disney World, Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

"I could always get on an airplane," said Bagley, who has worked at Raleigh-Durham International Airport since 1988.

But Bagley hasn't flown in three years and now drives to visit his family in Florida and New York.

"You can't get on the airplane," Bagley said. "Everything you see in here is full."

But "we're one of the lucky" airlines, Bagley said. "We haven't lost our pension."

Some employees have learned to navigate the new system by traveling at nonpeak times, such as Christmas day or the first flight out at daybreak. Cheryl Rakestraw, an administrator who has worked 18 years for Delta Air Lines, takes two or three trips a year with her husband and two children to Major League Baseball games.

"We take the earliest flights with the most seats available," said Rakestraw, who lives in Atlanta. "Even if we got split up, we were accommodated."

Standby tickets, which used to cost only a few bucks, also are more expensive as some airlines added service charges.

American, for example, gives employees up to 12 round-trip passes for their friends, but service charges on a round-trip "buddy" ticket to London from RDU now total $347. By comparison, an advance-purchase ticket could cost only $450 and the passenger gets a reserved seat.

In the modern era, it's nearly as cheap and sometimes less hassle to buy reserved seats on Internet sites such as Travelocity or Orbitz.

Morton, the Southwest Airlines employee, still flies standby a half dozen times a year. Her son plays football for Wake Forest University, and she never misses a game, even if it's at Boston College or Florida State.

"It doesn't inconvenience me, and I'm grateful to be able to do that," said Morton, who works at RDU.

But now she usually rides in an extra jump seat reserved for flight attendants, because coach is full. She also started driving to see her family in Savannah, because most flights there are full.

"I know I won't make it back. I know I won't get on the plane," Morton said. "It's getting tighter, and it's because they're trying to utilize every seat."

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Copyright (c) 2006, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.

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Source: The News & Observer

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