HelloNewman Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Now the airlines are getting cheap and asking you to pay for your own in-flight meal. Get a load of this...they want to charge you $5 for a snack box or $5 for a crappy sandwich in flight. To hell with that.....once I found that out I went to the grocery store and bought my own stuff for the flight. What happened to the days of free meals....they weren't great but come on.....talk about nickel and diming you to death.....and the fares have gone up over time. One cannot truly experience how overpopulated this earth really is with people until you experience flying in an airplane. Now the airlines have cut back on the number of flights so every plane you board from now on will be 95-100% full and even overbooked. If you want the best fares you better book at least 6 months in advance or else the plane will be sold out. This is the worst I have ever seen it in the airline industry. Planes these days are just cattlecars with jammed with overly-stressed passengers and unhappy employees. Soon we will all need valium just to get through the flight.....what the heck happened here??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acantha Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 what the heck happened here??? 634894[/snapback] It's exensive to fly a plane. Now, with oil prices though the roof, airlines can't afford to have half empty planes flying around. The meals? Who cares. Like you said, buy a sandwich and a drink before you get on the plane. Not only will it taste better, it allows airlines to bring overall ticket prices down a few bucks. The planes are packed, and that sucks. No way around it. Airlines get paid by the passanger, and they will get all the money they can get. The reason all of this happens is because Americans, by a wide margin, will travel on the cheapest flight...period! They will scour the the internet and different companies to find a flight that's about 5 bucks cheaper than the previous one. that's why they don't offer meals. That's why they have to jam so many people in. If American would pay $500.00 for flights with great service and lots of comfort, those options would be there. But until then, everyone will keep going to cheaptickets or orbitz or the dozen other agencies to get the low fair. Go to Japan/Asia and see the difference. The airlines there charge more but it's like heavan in comparison. That's what sells there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyMark Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 One cannot truly experience how overpopulated this earth really is with people until you experience flying in an airplane. Now the airlines have cut back on the number of flights so every plane you board from now on will be 95-100% full and even overbooked. If you want the best fares you better book at least 6 months in advance or else the plane will be sold out. 634894[/snapback] Interesting summary. I would think by flying one would learn how UNDERpopulated the earth is. Have you looked out the window when flying from the Left to Right coast or visa versa? There is a lot, alot, of open space. Flying does give people perspective. And it is rather interesting how different those perspectives can be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taterhill Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 yes $300 to get across the country in 6 hours is a terrible deal...maybe they should make planes big enough, so everyone gets there own room..you want room and special treatment...buy a first class ticket... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv's Neighbor Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Now the airlines are getting cheap and asking you to pay for your own in-flight meal. Get a load of this...they want to charge you $5 for a snack box or $5 for a crappy sandwich in flight. To hell with that.....once I found that out I went to the grocery store and bought my own stuff for the flight. What happened to the days of free meals....they weren't great but come on.....talk about nickel and diming you to death.....and the fares have gone up over time. One cannot truly experience how overpopulated this earth really is with people until you experience flying in an airplane. Now the airlines have cut back on the number of flights so every plane you board from now on will be 95-100% full and even overbooked. If you want the best fares you better book at least 6 months in advance or else the plane will be sold out. This is the worst I have ever seen it in the airline industry. Planes these days are just cattlecars with jammed with overly-stressed passengers and unhappy employees. Soon we will all need valium just to get through the flight.....what the heck happened here??? 634894[/snapback] What happened is called DEREGULATION and it happened in 1978! You think the snack boxes are bad, the maintenance is farmed out to the lowest bidder, mostly outside the USA with little or no FAA oversight. Many of the DC-9's (NW) and 737-200's (DL) are 30-35 years old. All those "Lawn Dart" jets are flown by kids who make NO money and have NO experience. Every 2-3 years the Lawn Dart holding companies have to rebid their services with the respective airlines, the seniority deck gets shuffled, and you get another group of young pilots who have agreed to work for less money than the one's they replaced. They all think they'll someday make the big $$$, but those days are gone. Many of the pilots are foreign nationals-not US citizens- who are allowed to work in the USA while if we went to their respective countries to ask for a job they would throw us out! The Lawn Darts choke the Air Traffic System so you see monster delays in EWR, PHL, ORD, SFO almost daily. Everybody gets a cheap fare but the US Taxpayers end up getting stuck with paying airline pensions. Having said all that, I wish I could tell you it's going to get better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBob2232 Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Dont forget about 50 bucks of every airline ticket goes to the government in the form of taxes. Oil Prices (up) Union Labor Costs (up) Taxes (up) Not hard to do the math... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Did you hear that NWA now charges an extra $15 for "premium seats" in the exit row and select aisle row seats? These are the "desirable" seats, so they're trying to make extra money off of it. The report said that they'd make roughly $22,000,000/year by doing this, assuming people paid. Wow, all those nickels add up.... CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Expensive?? I flew last month from SF to Buffalo round trip for $185 on American. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kegtapr Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Did you hear that NWA now charges an extra $15 for "premium seats" in the exit row..... CW 634990[/snapback] Exactly how can they determine if the person buying the ticket for the extra $15 is capable of being in the exit row? Would they refund the difference if a little old lady showed up with that ticket? My problem with the airlines is the over-booking practice. You're gonna tell me I got bumped because you over-booked the damn plane? Hell no, sell one ticket per freakin seat and no more! I'm waiting for the government to get off their ass and make this illegal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Exactly how can they determine if the person buying the ticket for the extra $15 is capable of being in the exit row? Would they refund the difference if a little old lady showed up with that ticket?My problem with the airlines is the over-booking practice. You're gonna tell me I got bumped because you over-booked the damn plane? Hell no, sell one ticket per freakin seat and no more! I'm waiting for the government to get off their ass and make this illegal. 635087[/snapback] They're not selling the seat directly by the exit door, just the other two seats. Go to NWA.com, try picking a flight, and then look at the seat map and you'll see it. It was reported in the news a few days ago. The whole "physically capable" thing is a crock anyway, IMHO. CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diver Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 My last 3 flights. Lost luggage twice. Stranded in Chicago twice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Jet Blue...about $175 coast to coast. New planes (jets), leather seats, 30-some channels of Direct TV for every passenger. No meals (who cares? ariplane food is almost as bad as Denny's) but their snacks are top-notch and they welcome outside food. Beer, wine and booze at $5 is a little high, but cheaper than the airport. (Want to save a few bucks? Put a water bottle filled with vodka in your carry-on. Then you can mix your own cocktails with their free mixers and ice...ya cheap bastards.) All-in-all, a pretty good deal, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv's Neighbor Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 It's all a numbers game! Not as bad as the CBA but still all numbers. The Airlines are betting that a certain percentage of passengers will no-show so they overbook by a more or less equivalent amount to try to fill ALL the seats. They win some and they lose some but when they lose they end up with pissed off passengers. As for the government stepping in-forget about it! The airlines are deregulated. If they were regulated or re-regulated the government would tell the airlines where and when they could fly and also approve the fares. The fares would be based on the actual recovery of operating costs...including fuel... and that would be the end of cheap fares. That would also solve the air traffic delays because there would be fewer airliners in the system. Before you hold your breath waiting for the government to do something keep notice of the government politicians. When was the last time you saw any of them flying on an airline? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kegtapr Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 The whole "physically capable" thing is a crock anyway, IMHO. CW 635142[/snapback] Maybe, but it always gets me one of the best seats in coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of BiB Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Go to Japan/Asia and see the difference. The airlines there charge more but it's like heavan in comparison. That's what sells there. Got to agree there. And the food is actually good. Choice between western style and Japanese meals. ANA leaves a self service galley open, you can make sandwiches, noodles, ice cream and stuff. Along with the individual TV and movie screens, tons of video games. Comfortable seats with footrests in coach. If one finds themselves going that way, book JAL, Cathay Pacific or ANA. Korean Air leaves a bit to be desired. Oh, all young and pretty flight attendants, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestojan Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Are you serious with this thread? Bitching about paying $5 for a sandwhich? If you don't like it, drive. I used to fly round trip from West Palm Beach to Buffalo for $150-$180 on a regular basis. Took 5 hours. Then, when I moved back, I obviously drove. Took me 20 hours, and about $120 in gas, plus $90 for a hotel room after the first 16 hours. Yeah, air travel is a rip off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjeff215 Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Are you serious with this thread? Bitching about paying $5 for a sandwhich? If you don't like it, drive. I used to fly round trip from West Palm Beach to Buffalo for $150-$180 on a regular basis. Took 5 hours. Then, when I moved back, I obviously drove. Took me 20 hours, and about $120 in gas, plus $90 for a hotel room after the first 16 hours. Yeah, air travel is a rip off. 635331[/snapback] If people will pay, let 'em charge. There are alternatives. The "budget" airlines, the cars, government-subsidized Amtrack. Major airlines are pissing money so they're obviously not charging enough to cover what they do offer (the reasons for this can be debated to no end, unions, fuel, poor practices, and so on...). It'll cost you a hell of a lot to drive, just not in one place.... take 2000 miles, 4 tanks @ $35 a tank... two nights @ $150 a night, two meals a day @ $10 a pop (per person).... that's $460 for a single person. Driving is much more economical if you're traveling as a family, but for a single person, flying is almost always cheaper from what I've seen. Hey, at least they let you keep the headphones now. Personally, I'd *rather* drive. Not because of the price, but because I *loathe* flying. I've flown probably 75 times and I still panic at every take-off and landing. Never fails. Each time.. "We should have stopped by now. We shouldn't be moving. The plane should have come to a stop!" Or, at take off, "why aren't we in the air yet? This is taking too long. We should be in the air. He needs to stop or he's not going to have enough room and we'll run off the runway!" Throw in the fact that travel (air, car, train, any form) always brings out the worst in people and I'd rather spend 2000 miles behind the wheel of my XTerra listening to the same CD spin over and over and over. -Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Dont forget about 50 bucks of every airline ticket goes to the government in the form of taxes. Oil Prices (up) Union Labor Costs (up) CEO pay way UP Taxes (up) Not hard to do the math... 634988[/snapback] union labor cost down . WAGE cuts . just what i want to do get on a plane when the guy that made $28 dollars an hour is now making $15 . or they are farming it out to XYZ company with cheap labor . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Did you hear that NWA now charges an extra $15 for "premium seats" in the exit row and select aisle row seats? These are the "desirable" seats, so they're trying to make extra money off of it. The report said that they'd make roughly $22,000,000/year by doing this, assuming people paid. Wow, all those nickels add up.... CW 634990[/snapback] Does anyone else think that when Northwest went to NWA it was pretty funny. So what's their slogan? Fly NWA, we'll get you out of the 'hood for good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 What happened is called DEREGULATION and it happened in 1978! You think the snack boxes are bad, the maintenance is farmed out to the lowest bidder, mostly outside the USA with little or no FAA oversight. Many of the DC-9's (NW) and 737-200's (DL) are 30-35 years old. All those "Lawn Dart" jets are flown by kids who make NO money and have NO experience. Every 2-3 years the Lawn Dart holding companies have to rebid their services with the respective airlines, the seniority deck gets shuffled, and you get another group of young pilots who have agreed to work for less money than the one's they replaced. They all think they'll someday make the big $$$, but those days are gone. Many of the pilots are foreign nationals-not US citizens- who are allowed to work in the USA while if we went to their respective countries to ask for a job they would throw us out! The Lawn Darts choke the Air Traffic System so you see monster delays in EWR, PHL, ORD, SFO almost daily. Everybody gets a cheap fare but the US Taxpayers end up getting stuck with paying airline pensions. Having said all that, I wish I could tell you it's going to get better! 634956[/snapback] Yeah, and those "Lawn Darts" have been falling out of the sky left and right lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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