The Price of Flying...

[ruaround]

as if the price of flying was high enough already... you better take some cash on the flight if you want what used to be perks... this is just ridicuois IMO...
Paper ticket vs. e-ticket (domestic, $20-$30; international, $50)
Telephone reservations by airline ($5-$10)
Changing a seat once booked (low-cost carriers, $25-$50; traditional airlines, $50)
Assigned seating ($10 per flight leg)
Fees for exit row, bulkhead, or aisle/window seating ($15 trial this summer)
Booking travel using frequent flyer award miles/points ($10-$50)
Switching a ticket to standby status ($25-plus)
Unaccompanied minor child ($40-plus each way)
Overweight bags ($25-$50 for any bag over 50 lbs.)
Extra bags ($40-$80 per bag beyond two checked per person)
Curbside check-in of bags ($2-$3 per bag)
Checked bags ($4-$7 per bag on international flights)
Food on board flights ($5-$10 per meal)
Soda ($1)
Snacks ($1)
Blankets ($1)
Pillows ($1)
Headsets ($1-$5)
In-cabin pets (under seat, $50-$100 each way)

 

[lovethesea]

some of those have been around for awhile
tickets, reservations, overweight bags, extra bags, unaccompianed child. I would guess at least 2 years for these.
Its all getting very crazy IMO. Those blankets and pillows are gross, and if they are gonna charge, the least that they could offer is a clean one.
The aisle/window is about the dumbest. There is no good seat in coach anymore. They cram everyone in like sardines and almost everyone insists on carry on baggage. Its comical to watch people try to fit their overstuffed baggage in the overhead bins while we all wait behind them.
Soad and snacks......no thanks, I bring my own. I have gotten to the point of dreading the whole airport/flying thing. So much hassle and time wasted. I know security is needed, but I hate the whole "hurry up and wait" thing.

 

[phixer]

Man that stuff makes me mad , especially when I see how much of it is wasted on CEO salaries.

 

[bloodhound]

Well, what do you expect?! A lot of the flying public think that flying is a right and not a privledge. They expect to be able to fly somewhere for next to nothing. Thus, the airlines struggle to make money. Obviously, not all of the of the airline woes are due to this, a good chunk of it is mismanagement. But when people refuse to pay a reasonable rate, the airlines have to try to make money somehow. As an airline pilot, I see flights at least 75-80% full and yet companies can't make money. What's wrong with that picture? Is it management's fault... yes. Is it your (the flying public) fault... yes. The list is long. But people refuse to pay for a ticket that will even cover the cost to carry them on the plane.

Rant over.

 

[darth tang]

If you don't like it, ....................you can drive, go by train, take a greyhound, or ship if over seas. Stop your whining. It is a business and they have to make money too.

 

[sinner's girl]

we flew last labor day, seems our bags weighted too much on the way back...only we were watching a movie with headphones on and never heard them calling our names...We found out about it when we went to board the plane, seems they had been trying to reach us for awhile (we were there a few hours, left the ship and headed to the airport, no where else to go), they didn't sound too happy. But they had put our bags on the plane and when we landed we got our bags and never paid a fee.
When I was little, it didn't cost extra to fly as a child, I was 6 the first time I fly by myself. Now you have to be 12 to even fly by yourself.
But, hey they have to make money, and beside with the cost of gas going up, I would expect the price of flying to go up.
I noticed a few years ago they cut back on meals and snacks. They don't give you the whole can, they pore some in a cup.

 

[phixer]

Originally Posted by Darth Tang
If you don't like it, ....................you can drive, go by train, take a greyhound, or ship if over seas. Stop your whining. It is a business and they have to make money too.
Thats true, but why would anyone throw their hands up and just accept being ripped off. Its foolish to complain about things you have no control over you just vote with your feet.
Personally I could care less about the excuses they give to try to justify the fleecing of the consumer, and some are pretty creative. Its difficult to believe that these fees are legitimate when you are charged 8 bucks for a tongue depressor and then learn how most CEOs salaries are not tied to the performance of thier companies i.e Enron...etc. If they were honest they would have an obligation to the customer to provide a quality product at a reasonable price and not the ambition to take advantage of them. How else can you explain the what these big corporations are doing. The ones in the news are the ones who get caught.
There are some good companies out there that remember who put them there, many small businesses. Yes a business has to make money, but how much is enough, is a 400 million dollar retirement package enough when the average American strains to make ends meet. We all work hard, and when did capitalism get replaced by greed? Whats your limit? How much is enough until every ounce of freedom and every dime is taken away and given to those who seek to control? or do you just accept the laim excuse that its a business and they have to make money too.