Thursday, May 22, 2008

My suggestion for weary travelers

Last night at a dinner group with friends, the topic of the recent airline fee war came up. Now, I had heard about this on my way into work that day and was quite appalled, specifically at American, for what I consider the straw that is breaking this camel's back.

A $15 fee for the first checked bag.

The Wall Street Journal is also covering this story in their "Middle Seat" blog, which is worth a read to get a bigger picture of the problem at hand. What irritates me the most is that they are not allowing the market to decide. Instead, they are restricting fee information to lure you into a reasonably priced fare, only to double the price of your trip at the gate.

Anyhow, at dinner last night, the thought occurred to me: I know how we can fight back!

The answer? Become Joey from Friends.

Here's what I'm talking about, for you Friends fans out there:



"Could I BE wearing any more clothes?"

Rather than get nickeled and dimed on checking what most would consider a normal amount of luggage, just wear it all. Heck, I'm always cold on airplanes anyways, so this would actually kill two birds with one stone. And you could always manage your layers if you are on a long trip, right?

Airlines: this is what you are pushing us to.

2 comments:

kimmie said...

A little love from the US DOT re: baggage fees in this article:

http://www.dot.gov/affairs/aviation080516/secretarysremarks.htm

The paragraph that starts with "Passengers should know what to expect..."

amar rama said...

I like that joey t. is doing squats with all those clothes on. Seriously how cool is that!