Flying the not-so-friendly skies
I had a bit of a shock this morning. I went to go check in at American Airlines and discovered that I now have to pay to check luggage. Sure it was only 15 bucks, but it was certainly a surprise to me. The lady behind the counter said it was all over the news, but I guess I'm a bit behind.
Flying certainly has changed. As the child of divorced parents, I have a long history of airline flights. Not all changes are bad. I can still remember, from time to time, being stuck in the smoking section. You think walking by a bunch of smokers outside a building is bad - try being stuck with a group at thirty-five thousand feet. I also think the food has gotten better. Sure you don't get it nearly as often, but it seems like it tastes a heck of lot better than it used to. I don't mind paying for food either. At least then I have a choice.
I also don't mind the security changes. Sure a lot of it is for show. I have no doubts on that. But for some reason, the walk through security without shoes always relaxes me. (And temps to just start showing up barefoot - I wonder what TSA would make of that?)
I even don't mind the delays so much anymore. I do think airlines needs to be more forthcoming instead of giving vague snippets of information, but now I assume things will be delayed, canceled, whatever, and since I've relaxed about it it seems to happen less often.
I can now say that I'm pretty much down to just two main "beefs" when flying. I blogged this a while ago, but I still think that everyone should stop pushing their seats back. If the person in front of me pushes their seats back, my knees are in pain. Therefore I ensure the people in front know this. Your comfort shouldn't come from my pain.
My other beef is weird - you will probably laugh. But for some reason, it really bugs me when I hear all the preboarding crap for 'Platinum', 'Elite', and other groups. I mean seriously - we are all going to the same place, aren't we? Do you really need to board before anyone else? Shoot - the more time I have in the fresh(er) air of the airport is better for me anyway.
Comments
The quality of the food has not got any better. That you now have to pay for checking luggage on domestic flights just proves how badly the airlines are doing financially. The discount fliers are killing the bigger airlines.
That pain you feel from someone putting back the seat shouldnt be blamed on the person in front of you trying desparately to get comfortable it should be blamed on the airline for makeing it comfortable only for people under 5'5" to fly.
In otherwords if the airlines actually gave a sh*t about passenger comfort and not about trying to squeeze a couple extra rows of seats on the plane you would have plenty of leg room. But hey if you are flying cattle class you should expect to be treated as cattle right?
Cheaper is not better and those discount airlines, while they do indeed make money, they make it at the expense of comfort, and for a lot of people how they get there doesn't matter so long as they get there for the cheapest possible price.
I see no real end in sight, soon they will be charging extra to fill the cabin with breathable air.
@Kevin - I guess that makes sense. I just check my luggage. I bring one small carry on that I typically keep at my feet as it has my iphone and books.
Oh, and speaking of iphone. I filled mine up with 10 TV shows to watch for my long flight. I check it this morning and the dang battery had mysteriously drained over night. Luckily I'm in a 3 hour layover and it's already about 80% charged.
As a fellow "tall-ish" person, I have a lot of trouble on long flights. I saw your post just as I was on expedia looking for a flight for MAX, and trying to decide between discount, and regular airline flights. I actually thought I would save some money and drive to the conference (Vancouver to San Francisco is a nice drive, and can be done in one long day). I priced it out, and the gas alone would likely cost as much as a flight - and then there is parking. I just may walk there.
I loaned her my laptop case to jam her stuff into so she'd have a second "allowed" carryon and fedexed a few things she was taking down to give to my aunt.
But this was on a super cheap airline that just does flights from my town to vegas and tampa. I think the actual flight was 80 or 90 bucks each way, plus $20 or so in taxes and BS fees, not counting the lugage.
Depending on where you're traveling and how your time constraints are, sometimes it's better to take a train. They're much, much, much more comfortable and roomy, the food is way better, the prices are much cheaper... but they're very slow and can be unreliable. But if you're only going a few hundred miles, it might end up being close to a flight, since there's no security, few long lines, you just get on and off and show your tickets. Oh, and you're on the ground and no one freaks out if your celphone isn't turned off (though actually using them isn't particularly well-loved)
@JC - I'm with you on that.
I don't know why anyone flies between any of the cities on the Northeast Corridor. Outside of that, you have to look at when it would get to your city of choice, i.e., is it overnight, does it arrive in the middle of the night, etc.
Luckily I'm in a 3 hour layover
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Never heard that one before.
@Matt - All I know is it's plenty of time to get to my next flight.
;)
FYI, my second flight was delayed 1.25 hours. We sat at the gate, in the plane, sweating, but even that didn't bug me too much - gave me more time to read. :)
(And yes, I arrived in beautiful CA alive and healthy.)
My bigger gripes are that they don't have nearly tall enough seat backs unless you shell out for first class. It never feels good not having anyplace to rest my head back. And also the fat slob that spills over into the adjoining seats, which may be my #1 gripe. I am in favor of some people having to buy two seats if they are going to take up that much space. If I pay for a seat and only get to sit in half of it because Jumbo next to me can't stop eating a dozen doughnuts a day, that's a real problem.
I've heard people talking about this and sure it sounds silly, but so did paying for checked luggage about a year ago.
Ray -- you are now way ahead of the curve.