I just stumbled on a small article about airline fees. A friend had mentioned that American Airlines has instituted a new charge for your first bag of $15, as well as a second bag for $25. I was surprised by this new cost-saving strategy by the airline, considering that there are few trips (with or without children) that can be made without luggage. I suppose that is the point. 150 seats times $15 is about the equivalent as adding 8-10 more payed passengers to each flight without the overhead.
However, I was taken back a little by the following article. We all knew that it was a matter of time, but now it looks as though they (at least US Airways and Spirit Air, for now) are going to charge us $2 for soft drinks, juice and water. Maybe this means that they will be more willing to relinquish the entire can, I mean we did pay for it. Some additional fees seem reasonable, considering that not everyone uses all of the services, however this seems unfair considering that you can not bring liquids through security. We are usually well stocked with snacks, knowing that food service is limited and that we are traveling with toddlers. We have the opportunity to pack lunch outside of the ridiculously over-priced terminal.
Other fees include: Seat assignment (no, not class preference - we all know that we pay too much for this upgrade), lap infants, headphones, "comfort kits" for a pillow and blanket, snack boxes and over-the-phone booking.
So here is my question... Would you rather pay the additional "amenity" charges for each flight or have the fees bundled into the fare?
P.S. We will be posting our Mexico photos soon...
2 comments:
Funny list of fees . . . I'm sure it's not as far-fetched as we would think.
Considering I tote on most of what they're charging for (except for the checked-on bags—it'll get to the point where we will just buy a whole new wardrobe wherever we're traveling!), I'm fine with the extra fees. But, when are they getting us to pay for this? Are we all carrying around a million ones and stuffing them in the flight attendants shirts? Or is this going to double the time at the check-in counter?
Looks like I'm borrowing your hair dryer when we come! :)
Well written! When I think to much about these things I tend to get myself all worked up. I usually say something like, "this is ridiculous!" With that said, I don't know what would make me happy. "Nickle and Diming" just drive me NUTS!
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