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I HATE people sometimes
ok. most of the time
even my friends list - "people i hate"
:-p
but the airlines, sometimes i hate them more...
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By Christopher Elliott
Tribune Media Services
(Tribune Media Services) -- The airlines don't want you to read this.
They'd rather you fork over one of the new surcharges they've dreamed up during the last few weeks. They want you to pay extra for your first checked bag, for drinkable water -- even for "free" award tickets.
They don't want you to know there's another way. But there is.
Surcharges are not inevitable. A la carte pricing doesn't have to send the price of your next vacation into the stratosphere. Really, it doesn't.
Warning: The Air Transport Association, the airline trade group whose members evidently haven't met a surcharge they don't like, in no way sanctions the advice I'm about to give. The advice is not endorsed by airline apologists masquerading as analysts, experts and pundits -- the folks you see on TV foolishly arguing that new fees are essential to the airline industry's survival. Nor does it reflect the views of many elite frequent fliers, who think it's about time the "little people" sitting in the back of the plane paid more for their tickets.
No, they would not approve of what I'm saying. Which is all the more reason to say it.
Here are four outrageous new surcharges the airlines have imposed on us this summer -- and how to avoid them.
Beverages
US Airways will begin charging for soft drinks on August 1. That includes bottled water. Yes, bottled water. The airline is completely unapologetic about the new charge. "We've chosen to be more aggressive than our competitors," Doug Parker, the airline's chief executive, told his employees in an internal memo. You can say that again, Doogie.
Few people have a problem with an airline charging for soft drinks. But water? Come on. Given the fact that the tap water they serve on planes is often not potable, that leaves us with few alternatives.
ok. most of the time
even my friends list - "people i hate"
:-p
but the airlines, sometimes i hate them more...
------------
By Christopher Elliott
Tribune Media Services
(Tribune Media Services) -- The airlines don't want you to read this.
They'd rather you fork over one of the new surcharges they've dreamed up during the last few weeks. They want you to pay extra for your first checked bag, for drinkable water -- even for "free" award tickets.
They don't want you to know there's another way. But there is.
Surcharges are not inevitable. A la carte pricing doesn't have to send the price of your next vacation into the stratosphere. Really, it doesn't.
Warning: The Air Transport Association, the airline trade group whose members evidently haven't met a surcharge they don't like, in no way sanctions the advice I'm about to give. The advice is not endorsed by airline apologists masquerading as analysts, experts and pundits -- the folks you see on TV foolishly arguing that new fees are essential to the airline industry's survival. Nor does it reflect the views of many elite frequent fliers, who think it's about time the "little people" sitting in the back of the plane paid more for their tickets.
No, they would not approve of what I'm saying. Which is all the more reason to say it.
Here are four outrageous new surcharges the airlines have imposed on us this summer -- and how to avoid them.
Beverages
US Airways will begin charging for soft drinks on August 1. That includes bottled water. Yes, bottled water. The airline is completely unapologetic about the new charge. "We've chosen to be more aggressive than our competitors," Doug Parker, the airline's chief executive, told his employees in an internal memo. You can say that again, Doogie.
Few people have a problem with an airline charging for soft drinks. But water? Come on. Given the fact that the tap water they serve on planes is often not potable, that leaves us with few alternatives.
How to get around it: Bring an empty water bottle through the Transportation Security Administration screening area and fill it at the closest water fountain in the terminal. Remember, you can't bring liquids through a checkpoint, but there's no rule against empty containers. You can also buy bottled water inside the terminal, but that's not an ideal solution. Those bottles may cost more than the ones you buy on the plane. There have been isolated reports of overly vigilant screeners confiscating empty bottles, but it's still worth a try.
( Read more... )
