Aug 14 2008
By now I’m sure most everyone has heard how American Airlines is charging our military men and women baggage fees (overweight and extra bag). The airlines are justifying this practice by claiming that the military reimburses the members.
Let me explain to you why this is wrong…
Jul 05 2008
Crossposted from over at Fire on the Mountain.
The flailing US airline industry continues to tack on charges to the price of a ticket, as soaring jet fuel costs hammer bottom lines already shakier than the crate the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk.
The pre-$140-a-barrel-oil adjustments were mostly of two types:
Fuel surcharges added directly to the cost of a ticket–$65 these days.
Cost cutting, like how free in-flight meals dwindled to li’l bags of peanuts and then tiny ones of pretzels, which have evaporated entirely on some flights, replaced by the $8 airline-food sandwich.
But in the last month or so we’ve seen the announcement of:
* $15 fees to check a bag, $30 for a second bag. Another $2 each if you want to check in at the curb. This insures super-crowded overhead bins.
* A charge to select your seat–$15 for aisle, $10 for window, $5 for middle. So let them put you wherever, you say? That’s because you aren’t traveling with a spouse and kid. If you are, that’s another 30 smackers right there. (Me, I’ve always gone for window in a “Serve The People’ gesture-it means there’s at least a 50% chance that when I fall asleep I won’t start listing gently to the other side and drooling on the shoulder of the party next to me.)
* $5 to watch a movie. On a tiny seatback screen. Oh, yeah, if you want to actually hear what’s going on, add on a $3 headphone upgrade.
* $2 for a smallish bottle of water. Of course, you can’t bring water from home. Well, you can, but they’ll make you throw it out at the bag scan, and if you make a big fuss about it, you’re asking for a session with the national security proctologist. Needless to say, you can opt to buy a somewhat larger but more expensive bottle from the pricey shops inside the concourse.
* And when you cash in your frequent flier miles for the free ticket they promised you? Well, their idea of “free” involves you forking over $50 cash.
What next?
May 29 2008
As aviation fuel prices continue to rise several air carriers have launched crash programs to search for alternatives and cut costs.
There were high hopes for one experimental program in which Jumbos were allowed to graze for their sustenance.
The experiment started out extremely well and a sense of near euphoria set in as Wall Street began to smell green.