The airlines charging for every little item has got to stop. I am losing my mind. Charge me extra on the actual fare (because the client pays for that), but give me my free can of coke!
There was a time when all airlines charged the same fares for flights between the same cities. You could choose your specific airline and the client didn’t care, for obvious reasons.
But with the deregulation of fares, the existence of online travel agencies etc. things have gone too fucking far. For instance, today I am flying on US Air. Third time this year I have gotten on this airline. Why? Obviously the travel agent for my clients has found cheap fares. But they are only cheap to the client. Myself, they want 15 bucks from me for my first bag. Luckily I have a United premium frequent flyer card. US Air waives my 15 buck fee. I feel like a winner already.
But when I ask for a window seat, they want another 15 clams. I don’t pay it. But when I get on my half full flight, I see plenty of extra seats. Not only do I get a window, I get the whole row to myself. This is good, because the seats are so jammed together on this plane that I cannot open the laptop far enough to see the screen. Need the extra seat just so I can sit sideways and write.
I haven’t used this airline since the 80’s when I resided in NYC. They didn’t impress me then and I certainly despise them now. Why? They just wanted 2 bucks for a can of coke, So I asked for water. They wanted 2 bucks for that. “OK, how about a cup of Joe”? I ask. The waitress looks at me bewildered. I say, “that’s coffee here in America”. “Oh”, she answers, “that’s only a dollar and you get a free refill”.
I hate coffee, but I had to ask. So next I look at her and I ask for a good old fashioned glass of tap water. She’s confused. I can tell she’s trying to figure this one out. Finally she tells me that they just don’t have it onboard planes anymore. I accept that and decline to purchase anything to drink since I am only on a 70 minute flight.
10 minutes later I get up to use the restroom. I notice there is a water distribution outlet by the lavatory door. Complete with those miniature paper cups the dentist gives you to rinse out your mouth after drilling. Hhhmmm.
I walk over to the waitress and ask her if I could possibly get a cup of ice. “that sir, you can have for free”. Voila, I take my glass and fill it with the fine water station coolant and I am satisfied. Well kind of. I still want a coke.
So I look behind me and notice that the flight attendants have sat down and their drink cart is sitting there unattended. I can almost taste that coke and can visualize the drawer that it may be in. But then I realize that this airline is so cheap, they probably will charge the poor flying waitress for the missing can of pop at the end of the flight. While I have no trouble stealing some soda from an airline, I don’t want the gal to have to pay for it. Especially since I just read that certain airlines are temporarily paying their flight staff half salary to get over this gas crisis hump.
