The Food Scout

I can only imagine what you’re thinking about this provocative headline. No, I’m not talking about airlines’ lack of fresh food quality (or pure lack of food, period). Nor am I talking about flight delay issues, customer service & satisfaction issues, bankruptcy issues, labor issues, baggage handling issues, etc.

No, I am talking about how airlines (and even car rental companies and hotels) handle their perishables seats so they don’t go empty. When there is an abundance of seats on a plane, they resort to discounting, as do grocery retailers with too many ripe bananas or meat on the verge of expiring. But what is more interesting is how some airlines have begun to handle scarce seats, like the roomier economy seats in the front, exit rows, and bulkheads.

At one time, these primo seats were held back for premium frequent flyer members. But now, any yahoo with some money to burn can buy these seats online or at the gate. Just this morning, leaving Calgary, I heard the United airlines gate agent pimping the availability of “Economy Plus.” I got in line to standby for this earlier flight (which I could have confirmed for an additional $100 - no thanks), behind two women who approached the desk to ask about the Economy Plus upgrade. The only feature the agent could offer was an additional 6 inches of legroom. The cost? $29 each. You know what? They bought it. For a one-and-a-half-hour flight.

Now when are restaurants and grocery retailers, or even packaged goods manufacturers, going to catch on to this concept? “Want a particularly nice table at 7 pm this Friday? That will be a $20 fee” ($50 or more in NYC of course). “Don’t have time to wait in line at the grocery store? We have an express service counter for and additional 1% of groceries charge - and we’ll carry the groceries to your car” (a FREE service at some supermarkets - imagine that). America has a class system, and they’re willing to pay to climb the ladder occasionally for certain services and products. So it’s time for the food industry to stop leaving money on the table and start leveraging scarcity to their advantage.