Here’s a great money-saving tip for travelers planning to fly on US Airways (you know, other than the obvious tip, which is don’t): an easy way to get around the failing airline’s self-defeating checked baggage charge ($15 for the first bag, $25 for the second, and an insulting $100 for each bag thereafter).
Just bring your luggage to the gate and make them force you to check your bags there during boarding. This works great with any item you can squeeze through the scanner at security, as US Airways is simply unequipped to charge you at the gate or on the plane for something you’ve managed to carry that far.
Screw you, US Airways!
Coming soon, a full review of my flight yesterday from Fort Lauderdale to Seattle, which was far from the worst flying experience I’ve ever endured, but certainly the most intentionally humiliating, and the final straw that has turned my former first choice in flying into my last.
Heh. I haven’t flown in 10 years, it has pretty much always been my last resort.
The recycled air always ends up giving me some kind of respiratory virus.
But at least if you fly US Air, you have a chance of getting Sully as your pilot, which might be a good thing in case you need to make a water landing….
Goldy… maybe it’s a sign for Democratics who travel
I love watching left-wingnuts cheat to avoid paying their fair share.
All those obama cabinet picks not paying taxes and now goldy explaining how to cheat an American business.
Does goldy understand that they will only raise the cost on those that pay their fair share to make up for the cheaters?
Priceless.
Speaking of tax cheats, another democrat tax cheat has been exposed.
Of course the article doesn’t mention party affiliation, which means it’s a democrat.
Despite a tearful plea for mercy — including the proclamation “I am no monster” — former Ald. Arenda Troutman was sentenced to four years in prison on mail fraud and tax fraud charges Tuesday.
…
Alesia also revealed that on the day FBI agents knocked on her door to arrest her, Troutman was shredding documents linked to the Hired Truck program and a family member who had business in that controversial city program.
Like biden said, paying taxes is patriotic.
Priceless.
Hmmmmmmmmmmm….Goldy can justify anything that saves him a few sheckels.
Goldy is a Philly ‘burbs Jew.
Connect the dots.
OK, Cynical, I’ll connect the dots.
Y.o.u…a.r.e…a.n…a.n.t.i.s.e.m.i.t.e.
Again, the douchebags come out in full force. Just goes to show you that Republicans can’t really help but be pathetic assholes.
The bag check fees are an interesting study in behavioral economics. When you think about it, the difference between a $350 and $365 ticket to Ft. Lauderdale is pretty minor when examined on its own. But when airlines are doing their best to compete on websites like Orbitz and Kayak, every dollar counts as an advantage in getting folks in seats when price is their only concern. On the other hand, once the ticket is paid, we’re sensitive to that extra charge and are willing to go to greater lengths to save what amounts to the equivalent to a greasy meal in the food court.
Goldy,
Maybe it’s time for you to follow Joe Biden’s lead and start taking the train whenever you can.
Granted, going beteeen here and the other coast on Amtrak will take some time, at least a couple of train changes and a few other indignities, but, really, compared to what you’ve just been through (and which now appears to be a common experience these days) how could it possibly be worse?
For shorter trips, it’s a lead-pipe cinch. I wouldn’t fly between here and Portland if they paid me, and driving that route gets pretty boring. And the Coast Starlight, typical delays and all, is a great excuse to relax and do nothing for a day and a half. We’re going to be flying Alaska to our daughter’s wedding in Los Angeles in September, but that’s only because we got the tickets for free.
The Republican mantra of “market forces” being the solution to everything is largely bullshit, but in this case, if you don’t like the product, indicate your displeasure by taking your business elsewhere.
6 Cyn’s anti-semitism is no doubt selective. He probably thinks Jews are wonderful if they happen to be flying American-built airplanes to drop bombs on Palestinian schools.
I know how you feel, Goldy. While working for the state, I once flew to Spokane to fill in for a sick employee, and on the return flight I found myself stuck at the Spokane airport with around 5,000 passengers who were dumped there by several airlines because planes couldn’t land at SeaTac or Portland due to fog. Okay, I understood that part of it, but what I couldn’t understand or accept is that the airlines simply abandoned these people in an unheated terminal without adequate facilities (there was only 1 restroom for each gender, and the lines to use them were hundreds of people long), in the middle of the winter. It’s like 40 degrees in the building and most of these people came off the planes without adequate clothing to, in effect, spend a winter night outdoors. No one showed up with buses, blankets, or hot coffee. There was no food or coffee available, no transportation to hotels in the city, no nothing. There were no airline staff on the premises, no ticket agents, no airport employees — the only employees in the terminal were two teenage girls, one at the Hertz counter and the other at the Avis counter, who could do nothing but tell irate passengers (some of whom were threatening to riot) that no rental cars were available. It went on like that all night until I finally had the great good luck to hitch a ride back to Seattle with some Boeing guys whose buddy showed up in the wee hours with a car. After that experience, I didn’t fly again for over 15 years. I did everything I could to avoid flying. Even combat flying in Vietnam was better than this.
I’m going to Chicago next month on American Airlines and the ticket agent refused to sell me a first-class seat because he said there’s no first-class services on this route. The first-class ride is the same as the coach ride, he said. You can get a roundtrip ride to Chicago and back — a distance of almost 4,000 miles — for less than $250 which is dirt cheap. You couldn’t drive there and back for that. But for 4 hours each way, you’re a cow in a cattle car. The only thing you get for 250 bucks is 2 square feet inside an aluminum mailing tube — and 1 rest room for 200 people.
You get what you pay for, but in this case, you can’t get more even if you’re willing to pay for it.
I got a preview nearly 20 years ago of the sorry state to which the entire airline industry has devolved. I worked as a field applications engineer for a high-tech company whose owners were technical visionaries, but cheap as hell. They had some sort of sweetheart deal with Eastern Airlines during that company’s last few pathetic years. Goldy, if you’re from back east, you probably know what I’m talking about. It wasn’t just lousy service (On one transcontinental flight I got served the rectum of a chicken) but the condition of the equipment and the obvious disorganization of flight ops were such that many of us felt we were being forced to put ourselves in significant peril.
@4 Speaking of tax cheats, Alaska officials have decided that Sarah Palin owes state income taxes on $17,000 of state per diem she collected while living in her Wasilli house, i.e., they’re treating it as personal income instead of expense reimbursement, which of course raises the question of whether she got the per diem money legally in the first place.
@14 Those are back taxes, as in “not paid when due” or you could rephrase that as “tax evasion.”
@13 Speaking of peril, when booking my Chicago flight, I might absolutely positively certain not to fly on Alaska Airlines, because they not only outsource baggage handling, they also outsource maintenance. I don’t feel comfortable with the idea of traveling on an airline that flies planes with rudder jackscrews worn down to the thickness of a pencil.
erratum — “made” not “might” … there seems to be no edit function on this blog anymore.
@14: Hmmmm….I wonder if the IRS is coming or has already come to the same conclusion?
@7 Airline tickets are dirt cheap, and airlines are losing money hand-over-fist. The flying public is as responsible for the sorry state of flying as the airlines are. You can’t expect edible meals, functioning rest rooms, free drinks, or flight attendant service when the customers demand to fly from L.A. to New York for $98. Airline managements know all too well that if they charge people what it actually costs to fly most of them will take their business across the concourse to the smiling agent at the Here Today Gone Tomorrow Airline counter. Consumers get what they pay for, and the average American consumer wants everything for free.
16 All of ’em outsource heavy maintenance nowadays. That’s what keeps BFG Aerospace so busy in the second largest building at Paine Field.
Roger,
Can you spell “Reagan”….?
It was interesting to see obama and his fellow socialists determine the pay of CEOs of failed companies getting taxpayer money.
Does that also apply to government employees?
Postmaster got $800,000 in pay, perks
Postmaster General John E. Potter recently warned that economic times are so dire that the U.S. Postal Service may end mail delivery one day a week and freeze executive salaries. But his personal fortunes are nonetheless rising thanks to 40 percent in pay raises since 2006, a $135,000 bonus last year and several perks usually reserved for corporate CEOs.
I guess that explains why mail delivery might be cut back and the cost of postage is going up.
The government employees need mo money.
Thankfully they don’t have to earn it, just raise taxes.
I guess when you enter the press conference with a pre-determined list of reporters that will be allowed to ask questions, it’s not a big deal to have people hiding in closets and secret rooms to give obama the answers to the questions.
To that end, he says, the White House is looking to install a small video or computer screen into the podium used by the president for press conferences and events in the White House. “It would make it easier for the comms guys to pass along information without being obvious about it,” says the adviser.
The screen would indicate whom to call on, seat placement for journalists, pass along notes or points to hit, and so forth, says the adviser.
Using a screen is nothing new for Obama; almost nothing he said in supposedly unscripted townhall events during the presidential campaign was unscripted, down to many of the questions and the answers to those questions. Teleprompter screens at the events scrolled not only his opening remarks, but also statistics and information he could use to answer questions.
And to think bush was such an idiot that he couldn’t answer questions in a debate that he needed secret communications to help him out.
Change?
Not this time. Same as before.
@23: Marvin is off topic again – but yes, Marvin you are right. Bush IS an idiot. Bush did need help. Bush mixed up innumerable facts and was incoherent in answering questions. Obama is a much better speaker and communicator – thanks for making that point.
One other point – you are still an idiot and a fool. You supported the worst President in history who has caused the largest budget deficit in history while simultaneously causing the worst economy since the great depression. Not to mention ruining the standing and reputation of the US inthe world or causing an unnecessary war and lying to the American people about it. Hope you regret your votes for the fool and idiot Bush who was on vacation most of the time anyways.
Art @ 20: A lot of heavy “C Check” maintenance and internal reconfiguration work is actually being done in Xiamen, China.
The Chinese made a pretty smart move – they offered dirt-cheap heavy maintenance, which is very labor intensive (the airplane is stripped down to the skin, and every inch of metal examined for fatigue, cracks, etc. & repaired). The cheap costs made it difficult for lots of airlines to justify having it done elswhere.
But in the meantime the Chinese built up expertise in the aerospace industry, with lots of different types of aircraft, which they are now using to build their first commercial jet (rolled out of the factory last year, I’m not sure when it is scheduled for first flight). You can expect that most Chinese airlines who currently buy Boeing airplanes will be moving to the Chinese aircraft as they become available.
As for the non-checked bag ruse, don’t expect it to work for very long. I’ve heard of other airlines adding a special “gate handling fee”, in addition to the checked baggage fee, in order to penalize those who try this trick (I forget the details, sorry).
As for ticket pricing – airlines know that people searching for different travel options at Orbit, Hotwire, etc. will usually choose the “sort by price” feature, with the cheapest on top. That’s what they are aiming for, so they are trying to recoup revenue by making what should be standard services into “a’ la cart” pricing. The customer has to read the details of each option to really identify how much it’s going to cost them, after taking into account “service fees” for each stop the plane makes, baggage, meals, etc. One airline (which has since stopped flying) even prohibited passengers from bringing their own food on the plane, so they could charge them ten bucks for a stale sandwhich (cash only, no credit cards).
6. N in Seattle spews:
Actually, I’m just pointing out the irony
of Goldy’s actions he is professing.
Not all Jews are like Goldy…Thank God!
#24 wrote:
Leon Panetta is calling you about your lunacy…
Mantra
Obama
Mantra
Obama
Mantra
Obama
Say it again Dr NotRight. Didya figger out yet who writes US legislation?
22 Let’s see…John Potter, who became Postmaster General during Smirk’s first year in office. You know that story about him wanting to cut off Saturday deliveries? Exploring that story past the lead paragraph (which many papers didn’t print and most people wouldn’t bother to read) reveals that he’s really using that threat as a bargaining chip to demand permission to screw postal workers out of their pensions and health care.
So he’s one of the neocons’ dutiful little soldiers, working to abrogate the social contract and rot government from the inside out, and since the reoganization of the Post Office (during Tricky Dick’s watch) his job is outside the executive branch, so the administration’s going to have a hard time getting rid of him.
Nice, try, “Marvin”…
Obama needs teleprompters and computer screens to answer questions from preselected reporters.
Of course you avoided that like the plague.
Yet obama, not even in office for a month yet already took a weekend vacation. People losing their jobs and obama went flying home, with no regard to global warming, just to eat at his fav restaurant and play basketball with his buddies.
Obama enjoys Valentine’s Day dinner in Chicago
President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, are spending Valentine’s Day at an upscale restaurant in their hometown.
Change?
Not here either. Same as bush.
25 That’s rather interesting….it says the airlines are charging us extra for bags and socking people with “fuel surcharges” because jet-a is supposedly so dear, yet they’re paying to send planes halfway around the world for heavy maintenance.
Is there anything that really makes sense anymore?
That’s codespeak for taking responsibility for yourself.
We can’t have that in America. The government will have to change that so no one will have to read the fine print.
Just like not a single democrat that signed the biggest payday-advance-loan (aka stimulus bill) in history read what they were signing.
Priceless.
At least priceless for all those democrat tax cheats. Working people will be paying off this loan for decades.
Art @ 32: Well, jet fuel isn’t nearly as expensive as a C-check (by several orders of magnitude), but I get your point.
Marvin @ 33: Why don’t they include the usual charges in the base price, and offer consumers the option of reducing the charge if they want to go to the trouble of searching through all the terms and conditions? That would avoid the “bait & switch” which you see now. But I guess “responsibility” is only a one-way street, where companies are allowed to hide their additional charges in as obscure a way as possible, but a consumer is required to have a law degree and a magnifying glass to try to figure out how much something is going to cost them?
(Note: years ago, I knew a guy who had an auto lease, and was charged “excess milage” fees when he turned it in. He sued to get a refund.
The judge looked at the rental agreement which the leasing company submitted, took it back to his chambers, and came back two hours later with a perplexed look on his face. He proclaimed: “I’d dare say that after four years in college, three years in law school, fifteen plus years in private practice, and more than ten years on the bench, that I’d be qualified to read a contract and determine how much is owed. But I’ll be damned if this one makes any sense to me!”)
Marvin Stamn @ 33
Just like not a single democrat that signed the biggest payday-advance-loan (aka stimulus bill) in history read what they were signing.
Don’t you mean voted for rather than signed?
The only folks who actually sign bills are the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate, the President of the United States and perhaps some secretaries and clerks.
Yup, that’s what I meant. My bad.
Did you understand the point I was getting at?
That the people that voted yes didn’t even read what they voted yes on.
Obama on the other hand, he did sign something he didn’t even read. If only someone would have put the generational theft act (aka the stimulus bill) onto a teleprompter…
Given the sorry state of American carriers, I think it’d almost be worth it to fly a commuter to Vancouver, take Air Canada back east, then take another commuter back across the border to fly cross-country…..
Marvin @ 36: Few Congressmen ever get to read the final versions of bills before they vote, especially for large programs coming out of a conference committee. Maybe someone in their staff has read them and briefed them on the important points, but mostly the party leadership tells them the status. It’s been that way a long time, for both parties, I don’t know why you keep insisting that it’s some new event started with this one bill.
Actually, I remember pretty well the Republicans ramming through the tax cuts during the Reagan era over the objections of the Democrats, who insisted that they not only hadn’t had a chance to read the bill, but it hadn’t even been printed yet. The Republicans went ahead with the vote, and dared the Democrats to vote against it, under threat of using that vote against them in the next election. Come to think of it, the most recent renewal of the Homeland Security Act in 2006 went the same route.
Another false issue, Marvin.
Marvin @ 33 said: “That’s codespeak for taking responsibility for yourself. We can’t have that in America. The government will have to change that so no one will have to read the fine print.”
Marvin apparantly thinks this is the way to go in commercial aviation:
Crankshaft 19Feb2009
(Note: link may not work beyond today’s date).
i really don’t want to hear your bad flying story – but hey, it’s your blog.