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One of the things that scares law firms the most about fixed pricing is the fear that clients will "take advantage" of them. That clients will use their services more than anticipated, driving up their costs (and cutting into their all-important, initial-capital-letters Profits Per Partner). "We can't charge them a fixed fee," they whinge. "We don't know how often they'll call. We don't know what the costs will be."
These concerns haven't stopped JetBlue Airways from doing what most law firms are ascared of. JetBlue announced that it is offering unlimited flights for a month for a fixed fee of $599. (See their press release.) The month runs from September 8 to October 8 — there are no blackout dates — and covers flights to all 57 JetBlue cities. (Sign up here.)
Now let's play law-firm lawyer: "But what if someone takes advantage of JetBlue and flies twice a day, every day during that month? That's 60 flights for $600? How can JetBlue make a profit on ten-dollar flights?"
Dumb question. First of all, no one's going to do that. Or at least not enough people to make a difference. (Maybe one guy, hoping to get on the "Today Show.") Who the heck wants to fly that much, even on a comfy JetBlue plane with individual TV screens? To be sure, some people will take an unusually high number of flights, lowering JetBlue's average revenue per flight for those passengers. But it's just as likely that some people will take only one flight (or even none), increasing the average revenue per flight. And even if it doesn't come out even, it's a safe bet that JetBlue will attract enough new customers to make up the difference — and some of them will become raving fans of JetBlue. And they'll tell their friends and relatives. (Or get on the "Today Show," attracting more publicity and more passengers.)
Keep in mind: airlines are among the most sophisticated of companies in terms of pricing. It is not random that the guy sitting next to you paid twice as much you did for the same flight. They know what they're doing.
How many law firms would admit to being less sophisticated than an airline? Probably not many.
We applaud JetBlue's fixed-pricing move, and hope that they give it a chance to succeed and make it a more-permanent option. (We also applaud their correct hyphenation of "All-You-Can-Jet Pass.")
Lawyers: how would you implement a legal version of the All-You-Can-Jet Pass? Drop your ideas in the comments. Happy Jetting!
