View Full Version : Airlines are out of control!
We're going on a cruise with our entire family in December. DS1 is in charge of everything and he found a sale on plane tickets. Direct flight from Baltimore to San Juan $325. BUT-- I cannot believe all the extra charges! $6.00 per ticket just to get on line and book! (That's $6.00 each way!). $20 per checked bag; $20 if you want the exit seats for extra leg room; I'm sure there is more but I can't remember. Anyway, the tickets came close to $400! Why not just price the tickets to include everything?
Lucky you! And in December too!!! Perfect time. But the nerve, the nerve of you leaving us all all behind to shiver and think about you while you're gone! :laff:
About the prices, whenever I come across marketing strategies like this it irks me. I hate being nickel and dimed!
Given the price of fuel, airlines now have to operate with a different business model, and fees are here to stay. Personally, I'd love it if they charged the fliers who insist on carrying their bags on board, rather than those of us who check bags. It makes boarding and deplaning take so long now, and I think those people should pay for that convenience.
But I'm sure once you're on the cruise it will all be worth it!
I really don't care to travel all that much but somehow I got this particular bug and I've heard DH talk about how great the Carribean is for more than 40 years. Our three sons and DIL were so happy that I wanted to go that they all decided to come too. We haven't all been together since DS2 got married over 2 years ago so I'm very happy this is going to happen.
I agree that passengers that carry on baggage should be charged also. But all these extra charges are so annoying!
I agree that passengers that carry on baggage should be charged also.
I gotta say I disagree with this. When you are only carrying a small pilot size bag that fits in the overhead space, that you are handling yourself - why should you be charged extra for that? Now I have checked baggage when I've had to take the large size baggage on a longer trip, but I'm not going to pay for a small one for a short trip that I am handling myself, and I don't know why anyone would expect someone to be charged for that! It may slow down a little on the departure of the plane, but goodness it's never bothered me or anyone else I've flown with. Have patience, people!! LOL ;)
Enjoy your cruise, Glo! :)
It is getting crazy with the airlines, the cruises etc.; but its so wonderful that you are all getting together! What a memorable trip! When you come back you will have to tell us all about it!
I really like Southwest since they still include all that in the price of a ticket. The past few years though I have gotten really good at packing everything into one carry on...its forced me to be a minimalist when I normally wouldn't have...I've always been an overpacker. Someone here showed me this site some time ago and I got a lot of useful tips - http://www.onebag.com/
the last few week long trips I've taken, I was able to carry only my backpack and my purse. It's a small backpack, the size of what a high school kid would use for books for school. I loved it, being so lightweight as I traveled. One of the trips included my parents' 50th anniversary party, my sisters' wedding, and a job interview for me. It lasted 8 days, and everything fit in the little backpack.
I have a small-sized LL Bean Adventure duffel. I can pack for a long weekend in it (probably longer) without issues. The key (as I learned from Miss Minimalist's blog) is using packing cubes. Makes all the difference. I've not flown with it, but it's small enough that I believe it would possibly fit under an airline seat. I have an LL Bean Quickload travel pack I love. It's one of the convertible bags that can work as a backpack, too.
But I'd probably also work with a regular school size backpack with an outer pocket for my iPad - something that is lacking on the otherwise great duffel, as my purse is a small one.
I've created my own sort of packing cube by using zip lock bags for similar things. I've never used them for the clothing itself. I wonder if a gallon size zip lock bag would do the same thing ...
I travel very frequently and take only two small carry-ons: one laptop bag and one 17" x 12" x 8" case. Both will fit under the seat in front of almost every plane out there - not at the same time, but it does mean that I can put the laptop bag in the overhead if space up there is tight. This weekend I'm going to try traveling with just the one case, to get it down even more.
I think that the whole carry-on thing has got out of control though. I've seen some amazing sights - people thinking that they can put a baby car seat in the overhead (?!?), people who are almost the last on with cases that will never fit anyway, people who complain bitterly about someone else having used "their" spot in the overhead bin.
I'd rather they just included checking bags in the overall ticket price, honestly.
Ticket prices have increased dramatically. I just booked a flight to England for November (not exactly high season for England), and the cost of that ticket was more than double what it was for me to make the exact same flight in October last year. And yes, I did shop around extensively.
I don't exactly mind higher ticket prices in the grand scheme of things, but I do wonder if I'll still be able to afford to visit my parents in 10 years (when they will really, really need me, if they're still alive).
Checking baggage? Are you kidding? With all the high potential for theft and the hassle when the bag doesn't arrive as it should. Who knows what condition the bag will show up in when it does arrive. If you check a bag you need to carry on items anyway, just in case your luggage doesn't arrive as you do. UGH!
A carry on is the logical way to go with the way airlines handle baggage. In a perfect world checked baggage would be a beautiful thing.
And YES I do want "my" overhead bin to be available. Too often I have to travel w/extremely important documents such as POAs, medical records w/personal information, tax records, etc due to yet another PCS. I want to be able to watch that bag at all times. For a simple vacation I'm not so uptight but when I need that overhead bin free, I want "my" overhead bin!
One wheeled carry on and a small backpack style purse are all I need for weeks of around the world travel. It really is amazing the amount of crap people carry around the world with them.
My BIL & his girlfriend came to visit my husband and I overseas for about 3 weeks. Halfway through they asked to use the washer which I was happy to show them how to use and went about making lunch. A couple of hours later I noticed 9, yes, NINE pairs of jeans hanging from the line. And they were each wearing yet another pair of jeans! Together, my husband and I don't even own 11 pairs of jeans let alone the desire to drag them to the other side of the world!
i agree about the jeans. i own one pair, and when i travel in cool weather i wear them, and pack one pair of yoga pants, and that's it. i wear the jeans everyday, and sleep and lounge in the yoga pants. if there is some business or dress up part of the trip, i just pack one more pair of black pants. i wear the one pair of shoes that i use the whole time. if you choose a dark pair of shoes that are not athletic wear, it goes with everything. i wear one top and pack 2-3 others. everywhere i go there are laundry facilities. i always plan to do a load of wash halfway through the week. nobody has ever said a word about it, and i doubt they have even noticed.
my packing so lightly i also do not use the overhead bins. i just put the backpack under the seat, and it always fits with lots of extra space. i prefer to avoid the fight for the overhead bins. i also sit there and meditate until the rest of the people have exited the plane, as I refuse to stand up and fight to exit first. it's not worth the effort to me, especially when i'm on vacation. rushing and fighting is the opposite of vacation in my world.
I've created my own sort of packing cube by using zip lock bags for similar things. I've never used them for the clothing itself. I wonder if a gallon size zip lock bag would do the same thing ...
I find the actual packing cubes, especially if you have one large one, or perhaps one of the packing folders, give shape to your bag, especially important if you have a soft sided bag. My LL Bean quick load travel pack is great with the large packing cube or folder as the base for everything else.
Checking baggage? Are you kidding? With all the high potential for theft and the hassle when the bag doesn't arrive as it should. Who knows what condition the bag will show up in when it does arrive. If you check a bag you need to carry on items anyway, just in case your luggage doesn't arrive as you do. UGH!
A carry on is the logical way to go with the way airlines handle baggage. In a perfect world checked baggage would be a beautiful thing.
Exactly. Once when I had checked my baggage I had to wait hours after reaching my destination before my luggage arrived. Often they send checked baggage on a seperate plane I was told. My DD's luggage was completely lost and it was 2 days before they found it. Thank God, we both had our carry ons with the most important things that we needed in them....
Checking baggage? Are you kidding? With all the high potential for theft and the hassle when the bag doesn't arrive as it should. Who knows what condition the bag will show up in when it does arrive. If you check a bag you need to carry on items anyway, just in case your luggage doesn't arrive as you do. UGH!
A carry on is the logical way to go with the way airlines handle baggage. In a perfect world checked baggage would be a beautiful thing.
And YES I do want "my" overhead bin to be available. Too often I have to travel w/extremely important documents such as POAs, medical records w/personal information, tax records, etc due to yet another PCS. I want to be able to watch that bag at all times. For a simple vacation I'm not so uptight but when I need that overhead bin free, I want "my" overhead bin!
One wheeled carry on and a small backpack style purse are all I need for weeks of around the world travel. It really is amazing the amount of crap people carry around the world with them.
My BIL & his girlfriend came to visit my husband and I overseas for about 3 weeks. Halfway through they asked to use the washer which I was happy to show them how to use and went about making lunch. A couple of hours later I noticed 9, yes, NINE pairs of jeans hanging from the line. And they were each wearing yet another pair of jeans! Together, my husband and I don't even own 11 pairs of jeans let alone the desire to drag them to the other side of the world!
Well the problem with claiming overhead bins as "yours" is this: there's about enough room in one overhead for 3-4 small suitcases. But one bin covers two rows, or six seats. The fact that there's not enough bin space is normal. They don't even design enough for everyone in the seats!
Added to that - I tend to sit in the last row of the plane often (I have a kid, I sit there to be less annoying and near the bathroom), but there's extra plane-type stuff back there, so there's usually one whole bin that is not even available.
I try to limit checked bags because I'm cheap AND the airlines have lost my luggage many many times. At least only twice it was on my WAY somewhere. But one of those times, I didn't get my luggage until I got back home after a 5 day trip.
Well, we managed to get to NZ with 8 bags (and a car seat) which only cost us $250 in charges for the excess baggage, and of those 8 bags, two were carry-on. One was a backpack with our computers, camera, documents, and snacks. The other was a carry on for the baby -- toiletries, small toys, changes of clothes, his blanket and his boppy pillow (which was necessary at the time).
I figure for moving across the planet, that's not too shabby.
When we travelled to scandinavia for 3 weeks (both times), we carried a back pack (book bag) for both. Inside, a compression bag each for our clothes, our documents, camera, and guide book. I find I don't really read when I travel, so I didn't bother to take any other books. Just wastes space. Then, I carry a small purse for snacks, water, and light toiletries.
Now that we have DS, I usually pack DS and myself into one bag, and DH carries a second bag. I just like to keep it simple. And do the laundry every few days.
No business other than the airlines makes a common practice of keeping its customers on the very edge of emotional breakdown.
I saw a woman passenger argue with an airline clerk until she got arrested at National Airport in DC recently. I understood where she was coming from, even though asking for her luggage and going to the Greyhound station would have been a far better choice.
What is the angst about carry-on luggage?? You're going to have to wait for your checked luggage to reach the carousel anyway...I simply sit quietly and wait for the rush to subside, then stand up, pick up my carry-on luggage, and sashay on my way. I find a rucksack that'll fit under the seat in front of me will hold all the clothes I need for several weeks abroad. I expect to wash stuff while I'm away, by hand, in a basin if necessary; I don't bother to carry toiletries as they're really not expensive to buy when I get where I'm going, and I simply abandon any left-overs. I roll my clothes up really tightly, and they take up very little space. One pair of walking shoes, worn on the plane, one pair of good shoes for dressier occasions. My travel documents go in the inner pocket of the jacket I wear aboard, and my minimal toiletries (toothbrush, paste, comb, nail file, lip balm) in another pocket, in a small ziplock. If I bring a book to read, it goes into the top of the rucksack.
gimmethesimplelife
6-7-11, 10:32pm
I fly Southwest to avoid many of what I perceive to be airline hassles. I recently left Phoenix for 5 1/2 months at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and flew from Phoenix to Las Vegas quite cheaply and was able to take two suitcases up to 50 lbs. and a computer backpack admittedly stuffed to the brim and also a blanket for no extra charge. Pretty much that was all that I really needed but I did ship a few boxes of books to my address at the North Rim - need to have reading material, just absolutely need to! But I digress, for those for whom it is an option, I highly recommend Southwest, and this is after they lost one of my bags - returned to me later that day. Rob
I fly Southwest to avoid many of what I perceive to be airline hassles.
That makes two of us. Southwest runs by a simpler system that usually delivers what they promise, while United and others run much more complex businesses that break down more often because they are overly complicated. Examples: luggage fees, first class on domestic flights, having almost all flights through a few hubs, and complex frequent flyer systems.
I am Southwest's biggest fan. I don't fly often, but when I do, I try to use them. They are reasonable, responsive, and have a sense of humor....very refreshing.
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