
Have you booked a flight lately? Even if you haven't--as I did yesterday--you've no doubt heard all the baggage hoopla. Apparently, if you need a toothbrush when you travel, you must pay to check it.
Okay, not a toothbrush, really, but any checked bag. The flight I booked yesterday? $40.00 per bag. Not a big deal for the lone traveler, but for the whole family? $200.00. And yes, I used a calculator.
No big deal, I think. We'll carry our bags to the gate. But then I see that gate-checked bags have the same fee. No worries. We'll use carry-on bags. Only official carry-on size is 2 by 3 inches and we'd need 40 bags to clothe our family of 5 for a week. We're sunk. One airline has even begun charging for carry-ons. What's next? "You have contact lenses, lady? That'll be an extra $10.00. Each." Here's a message to airlines everywhere: JUST RAISE THE STINKING TICKET PRICES.
Not only are we being nickled and dimed in the baggage department, but we're also being charged to reserve seats in advance--between $10.00 and $14.00 per seat per leg of trip. That's a minimum of $50.00 for us, each leg. (Leg of flight that is, not our legs, which they won't charge for until next January.) So we'll have to take our chances with the seating. And hey, if you end up by my 11-year-old, I'm sorry about all the questions. Tried to get us together, but hey, what can I do? You should've paid for a premium seat.
So we may not sit together and we may be lugging around 10 carry-ons, but I'm still making room for a baggie of quarters. After all, we may need to use the restroom in flight.
Labels: airlines, flights, luggage