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Current Flight Costs - AND FEES
Aug. 19th, 2010 06:50 amAmerican Airlines just announced new fees - for front row seats in COACH! There are government subsidies that should be helping out the consumer, but all the subsidies do is help airlines fly empty planes!
Coach was always that place on the plane where the working class folks or normal travelers sat, fell asleep, enjoyed their Diet Coke and peanuts, then got off the plane to their destination. The "good travelers" had very few carry-on luggage and were polite. Sometimes they had reading material and some enjoyed chatting for a bit with their neighbor.
The Business Class was reserved for people whose companies were paying for the flight. Or First Class for those who could afford better seats, but not their own chartered airplanes.
Those days are really gone. The separation between coach class and business fares is getting narrower and narrower. Soon, just to be "done with all the mediocre extra fees for this or that", it'll just be easier to purchase a business class seat and not have the headaches.
Bigger airlines these days figure with all the business travelers, they can charge out the ass. But in reality, it's going to start killing domestic tourist travel. Better yet, the smaller airlines will get ahead. But then, they'll take over the routes of larger, more established airlines, which will fall apart, and the cycle will start again.
There are fees now for: 1) check-in luggage (higher cost if handled at the counter), 2) emergency row seating, 3) carry-on luggage (not all airlines), 4) snacks or food, 5) trip insurance (a policy to protect a trip were it canceled, bags were stolen or a traveler needed emergency assistance), 6) EARLY BOARDING (nope, not the frequent flier membership), and many many more things.
Matt and I have planned (and spent money for) our trip this next week to the NC Outer-banks, so that we only have to take carry-on luggage. Who wants to pay an extra $50 each round-trip for luggage? If we want more leg room, though, that will be roughly $180 extra round-trip for EMERGENCY SEATING. Yes, that would be $230 APIECE on extra fees for a more comfortable flight without the hassle of luggage. The round-trip ticket price for me is $250 and for Matt is $217, which is GREAT. But with the extra fees for this and that, the flight alone to NC would become almost $450!!
For our LA flight a couple of weeks ago, which started out at a "bargain" of $530 round-trip apiece, in actuality we paid $760 apiece - WITHOUT FOOD on the return flight! To LA. No, not to Paris, Aruba, or Cancun (no, those flights were actually cheaper than $760 apiece without extra fees for nonsensical crap).
How do you combat companies that piss you off or take advantage of people? Boycott them (starting to hate that term and process) or sue them? What if you need to get to Raleigh, NC, and the fastest way to get there is via the company you hate or want to boycott? If hundreds or thousands boycott that same company and they go under or nix THAT route, then what? It usually takes years of negotiations and agreements with airports, state governments, and the FAA for a new airline to get a new route or hub in a given city. I guess we're all SOL in a shitty creek without a blooming paddle!! I guess we'll have to straddle our coach seats, buckle in, and bend over. Makes for having an otherwise nice, relaxing vacation very frustrating from the get-go!
Here is a video of a "House hearing [that] addresses growing concern for the numerous fees air travelers are forced to pay." - from CNN
Coach was always that place on the plane where the working class folks or normal travelers sat, fell asleep, enjoyed their Diet Coke and peanuts, then got off the plane to their destination. The "good travelers" had very few carry-on luggage and were polite. Sometimes they had reading material and some enjoyed chatting for a bit with their neighbor.
The Business Class was reserved for people whose companies were paying for the flight. Or First Class for those who could afford better seats, but not their own chartered airplanes.
Those days are really gone. The separation between coach class and business fares is getting narrower and narrower. Soon, just to be "done with all the mediocre extra fees for this or that", it'll just be easier to purchase a business class seat and not have the headaches.
Bigger airlines these days figure with all the business travelers, they can charge out the ass. But in reality, it's going to start killing domestic tourist travel. Better yet, the smaller airlines will get ahead. But then, they'll take over the routes of larger, more established airlines, which will fall apart, and the cycle will start again.
There are fees now for: 1) check-in luggage (higher cost if handled at the counter), 2) emergency row seating, 3) carry-on luggage (not all airlines), 4) snacks or food, 5) trip insurance (a policy to protect a trip were it canceled, bags were stolen or a traveler needed emergency assistance), 6) EARLY BOARDING (nope, not the frequent flier membership), and many many more things.
Matt and I have planned (and spent money for) our trip this next week to the NC Outer-banks, so that we only have to take carry-on luggage. Who wants to pay an extra $50 each round-trip for luggage? If we want more leg room, though, that will be roughly $180 extra round-trip for EMERGENCY SEATING. Yes, that would be $230 APIECE on extra fees for a more comfortable flight without the hassle of luggage. The round-trip ticket price for me is $250 and for Matt is $217, which is GREAT. But with the extra fees for this and that, the flight alone to NC would become almost $450!!
For our LA flight a couple of weeks ago, which started out at a "bargain" of $530 round-trip apiece, in actuality we paid $760 apiece - WITHOUT FOOD on the return flight! To LA. No, not to Paris, Aruba, or Cancun (no, those flights were actually cheaper than $760 apiece without extra fees for nonsensical crap).
How do you combat companies that piss you off or take advantage of people? Boycott them (starting to hate that term and process) or sue them? What if you need to get to Raleigh, NC, and the fastest way to get there is via the company you hate or want to boycott? If hundreds or thousands boycott that same company and they go under or nix THAT route, then what? It usually takes years of negotiations and agreements with airports, state governments, and the FAA for a new airline to get a new route or hub in a given city. I guess we're all SOL in a shitty creek without a blooming paddle!! I guess we'll have to straddle our coach seats, buckle in, and bend over. Makes for having an otherwise nice, relaxing vacation very frustrating from the get-go!
Here is a video of a "House hearing [that] addresses growing concern for the numerous fees air travelers are forced to pay." - from CNN
