Quote :

"And for those bitching about the price of drinks on a plane, who the fuck even buys shit on a plane anyway? I always take on my own drink or food."

i guess you haven't flown since 2001?

5/22/2008 3:49:36 PM

Flown plenty of times. And as long as you buy said food or drink inside the security gates you are allowed to take it on the plane. Sounds to me like you haven't flown since 2001.

5/22/2008 3:52:28 PM

I fly all the time and I've never been allowed to take any liquid on board. They even have a trash can at the gate for you to dispose of your drinks before you board.

5/22/2008 3:54:44 PM

You're wrong. They will allow you to take anything on the plane you buy within the security gate. If they didn't, then they would be searching everyones bags for a 2nd time at the gate before they let anyone on the plane, which they do not do.

[Edited on May 22, 2008 at 3:58 PM. Reason : .]

5/22/2008 3:57:34 PM

As long as you buy it after you go through security you can take whatever food/drink you want in with you.

5/22/2008 3:58:05 PM

^Thank you. Its amazing how many people still don't realize this.

5/22/2008 4:06:02 PM

Quote :

"If they didn't, then they would be searching everyones bags for a 2nd time at the gate before they let anyone on the plane, which they do not do."

(not trolling) but clearly you've never flown on a US bound flight from abroad.

5/22/2008 4:12:50 PM

Not since 2001.

Ok, so for all domestic US flights then.

5/22/2008 4:15:51 PM

I just flew American Airlines from RDU to Boston today...

freaking Embry Air tiny ass jet... only got 1/2 a can of pepsi...

MISERABLE.

Last saturday I flew United back from London to Charlotte... that was PIMP.

first came drink service... full can... 1.5hrs later came lunch. 30mins later coffee. 2hrs later snack. then drink service the remaining hours...

Made teh $900 round trip ticket seem worthwhile, I also read a book and caught up on all the movies I hadn't seen this semester...

5/22/2008 4:20:23 PM

you can take an empty nalgene bottle through security, fill it up at terminal water fountain and take it on board with you.

there's no issue with that

5/22/2008 4:20:43 PM

NjCeSwU said:

Quote :

" If $15 or $30 is going to have any impact on your travel budget, then you don't need to be flying in the first place, your ass needs to stay at home and work. "

i agree with you, but i'm calling bullshit on you being a jew.

5/22/2008 4:22:36 PM

I wish I could run my business like the airlines do and get away with it.

Seriously, the whole industry is an upside down joke. What other service can you be with 125 other people and NONE of them paid the same price for the exact same product you are getting at that moment.

5/22/2008 4:53:00 PM

^well at the same time (and I know this isn't nearly on the same scale)...car dealerships and hotels, or really any retail product. Smart shoppers always come out on top.

5/22/2008 4:56:07 PM

But that is situations where you are bargaining with someone, or a coupon, sale, etc.

With airlines there is no reason why you paid 174 dollars, and the person next to you paid 325. It just doesn't make sense, and it isn't a time thing, because sometimes it is last minute cheap, sometimes in advance cheap, sometimes last minute expensive, you just never fucking know.

And another thing, airlines should do everything in their power to make sure planes don't take off under capacity. The cost doesn't hardly if 2 people are on a plane, or 75. So if I show up at the airport an hour before a flight half empty leaves, and offer 50 bucks to be on the flight they should take the money.

The industry is all fucked up with how it works, think about how many millions of dollars they waste a year in customer service just dealing with all this crap.

5/22/2008 5:41:53 PM

This policy is guaranteed to cause increased airline delays, and fuck things up for the people who typically don't check bags out of convenience. Seriously, just raise the price of my ticket by $15, my company doesn't care how much airfare costs. All it's going to do is make going through security take more time and planes don't have enough overhead bin space for everyone who wants to carry a bag onto a full flight as it is. Causing more people to miss connections when excess baggage brought onto the plane has to be planeside checked on a plane that isn't set up for it sounds like a great way to save money.

5/22/2008 5:58:51 PM

Quote :

"I've never had a situation where I have to be on a plane and have to take more than just a single carryon bag that stows under the seat in front of me."

conversely, i've never had a situation where only a single carry on would suffice.

I've considered American Airlines to be pretty ghetto for a while. I don't see how they've stayed in business at the level of service they provide.

5/22/2008 6:36:29 PM

i always carry an empty nalgene bottle and drink mixes with me when i fly...no one's ever given me trouble, not even at security with my mysterious powders

5/22/2008 6:46:34 PM

soon it will be $50 for first check in bag and only one, and just one, carry on (better yet, charge $25)....yeah, train sounds better these days...avoid airlines, on time arrivals and canceled flights have been terrible this year and will only get worse....

5/22/2008 11:37:47 PM

haha, you have obviously never taken a train for a long distance trip. If you think planes are bad about being delayed and not on time, you are gonna fucking hate trains.

5/22/2008 11:40:54 PM

carry-ons ftw, but this is a bullshit charge.

next is no free refreshments or having to pay to get through security.

5/22/2008 11:46:12 PM

I've never had a problem with foreign carriers, but I loathe flying domestic.

5/23/2008 12:46:30 AM

US Air is charging $25/bag beyond your allowed one checked bag.

5/23/2008 6:45:30 AM

Well, at least I am confident in my abilities to travel anywhere in the world with only one piece of luggage. This just sucks if we ever want to take the kiteboards or snowboards on trips...

5/23/2008 6:58:48 AM

Quote :

"With airlines there is no reason why you paid 174 dollars, and the person next to you paid 325."

not true. This still applies to retail items. You could have paid $300 for an item and since i'm a smart shopper and know where to go and get deals etc...I end up paying half that. Still not quite the same but the concept is there. People paying different prices for the same thing.

Also real estate can be the same. When the availability of homes in a certain neighborhood become scarce and the demand is still high you'll see people paying way more for the same floor plan as their neighbor.

Quote :

"next is no free refreshments or having to pay to get through security."

there is no 'next'. Refreshments are already not free on American Airlines.

[Edited on May 23, 2008 at 11:06 AM. Reason : .]

5/23/2008 11:04:13 AM

Quote :

"So if I show up at the airport an hour before a flight half empty leaves, and offer 50 bucks to be on the flight they should take the money. "

well I guess like the cell phone industry...America is just way behind in this. Germany for example, has this in place. You go to the airport and you'll see a list of last minute flights posted in the Thomas Cook office that are dirt cheap.

5/23/2008 11:09:21 AM

doesnt the us already have this?

standby flying?

5/23/2008 11:43:39 AM

no, its not the same. This isn't stand by flying...this is 'hey we have left over tickets...plz buy them'

5/23/2008 11:46:13 AM

^ Yeah that system is awesome. I wish they did it in more places than just Europe.

[Edited on May 23, 2008 at 11:39 PM. Reason : grammar]

5/23/2008 11:39:15 PM

Quote :

"I just flew American Airlines from RDU to Boston today... freaking Embry Air tiny ass jet... only got 1/2 a can of pepsi... MISERABLE. Last saturday I flew United back from London to Charlotte... that was PIMP. first came drink service... full can... 1.5hrs later came lunch. 30mins later coffee. 2hrs later snack. then drink service the remaining hours... Made teh $900 round trip ticket seem worthwhile, I also read a book and caught up on all the movies I hadn't seen this semester..."

if eating reheated food at 32,000 feet and watching movies on a 9 inch screen gets you off, you should try first class.

[Edited on May 25, 2008 at 1:42 AM. Reason : .]

5/25/2008 1:27:44 AM

I remember the days (mid 90s) where you would get a huge meal (not first class). It was my first time flyig....I was impressed (cross country to CA)....it also cost around $300-$350...round trip.

5/25/2008 10:31:48 AM

Yeah I remember visiting my grandparents in California and you'd get the meal. The food wasn't great but it was nice to know you didn't have to worry about food.

If you want to fly an airline that gives you some good food, fly Asiana. Last summer I flew them to Korea and their "snack" was HUGE.



I couldn't believe how much food it was. It kind of looks like crap but it actually tasted pretty decent too. And this was for a 1.5 hour flight. I can't imagine what they give you on longer flights.

5/25/2008 6:57:01 PM

5/25/2008 7:33:39 PM

Last week I flew to St. Paul on American, and while I sure missed my bag of peanuts with my drink, what really pissed me off was the sheer amount of carry-on luggage that folks brought on the plane. It actually delayed my last connecting flight by almost 20 minutes while they tried in vain to stow it all.

I paid nothing to check one bag. An additional bag would have been 15 bux. But for 2 nights and just me, a single bag was more than enough.

My total flight cost? 224 dolla.

I remember the last time I flew commercial, aboard United, they had specific size limitations on carry-on luggage, so EVERYTHING except my backpack got checked. Same for Delta.

I really do not like some retiree or lady with a full-size piece of luggage trying to cram it in the overhead bin, when clearly they should have checked it.

15 bucks isn't outrageous, but I do think they ought to just add to the cost of the tickets.

Obviously some of you have no recollection of airline service before the days of the Reagan administration and deregulation of commercial passenger flights. Was definitely more expensive in relation to the dollar value of the day. It's now a dog-eat-dog world, and fuel costs are definitely making it that much harder to deal with. Airlines come and go with regularity now...and we haven't had the likes of the greats like TWA and Eastern in 20 years or so.

Oh, and by the way "Embry Air" would be the Embraer 140/145. Brazilian up-and-comer in the commuter/small craft sector. Most of American's planes are Douglas S80's (Super MD 80) derived from the venerable DC-9, but much more efficient. Today's 737s are MUCH cheaper to operate than the first ones, as they have high-bypass turbofans, engine nacelles designed to minimize drag, optimize lift, and channel air into the engine more efficiently...and of course the neat wingtips.

[Edited on May 27, 2008 at 10:06 PM. Reason : blahblahblah]

5/27/2008 10:02:13 PM

I'm surprised no one has brought up the idea of how things like this can cause some travelers to stop flying their "preferred" airline.

By that, I mean: supposed someone has been a loyal Delta/AA/etc. customer and don't mind paying an extra $100 or so to fly on their preferred airline. Now you tack on more fees like $15/first bag, $45/second bag (I think I read that somewhere), etc., etc. - now it becomes less feasible to just pay the extra $100 to fly your preferred airline because the price difference has now almost doubled.

I'm not sure how much brand loyalty comes in to play in this type of industry - but I wonder if it's a valid consideration - I was talking about this with a friend whose company has a lot of employee travel and upon hearing this, AA was significantly downgraded on their preferred airline list for booking all employee travel.

5/28/2008 12:10:27 AM

I don't have a preferred airline list but I definitely have an "airlines to avoid" list. I don't mind paying some extra money not to fly on Northwest for example.

5/28/2008 2:29:14 AM

Quote :

"15 bucks isn't outrageous, but I do think they ought to just add to the cost of the tickets."

So people going for a short trip who have no problem fitting all their stuff in a small carryon should have to pay extra for checked bags no matter if they check them or not?

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

5/28/2008 3:01:05 AM

You scrotard. It's a 15 dolla charge to offset operating costs. They just happened to conveniently tack it onto the whole baggage thing. Unless of course they plan on laying off a bunch of baggage handlers...that don't make squat money-wise anyway.

Would you rather have them tack 15 bucks extra for a "lavatory maintenance fee" when you might or might not pee or shit on your flight? For the record, I never piss or shit on an airplane because I do it on the ground before I go.

Quote :

"I fly all the time and I've never been allowed to take any liquid on board. They even have a trash can at the gate for you to dispose of your drinks before you board."

Do you fly Air Cambodia or something?

[Edited on May 28, 2008 at 7:15 AM. Reason : blah]

5/28/2008 7:13:45 AM

Quote :

"Do you fly Air Cambodia or something?"

shit, I wish. at least that would be a huge step up in service/quality. I was referring to domestic airlines such as American Airlines, US Air, Delta, etc.

5/28/2008 11:25:32 AM

Azn airlines have baller service

5/28/2008 11:28:50 AM

Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, British Airways, Emirates Airlines are among some of the best that I've flown.

5/28/2008 11:35:27 AM

Checked baggage fees make me glad I fly short enough trips/pack smart enough to use just a carry-on.

I REFUSE to fly any United flight, and have debated flying airlines other than US Air due to the merge - United is the only airline to screw me over on every single leg of any trip I've taken with them (3 business trips before I told my travel people to stop booking me on their flights).

The air industry sucks and it doesn't seem like there is much getting around it... for short travels the train may be another option, but for trips to destinations further away (ex. Chicago, for example) it just doesn't make sense to use the train as it takes so darn long. (imho, at least).

5/28/2008 1:01:25 PM

Quote :

"The US air industry sucks"

5/28/2008 1:50:15 PM

Quote :

"Azn airlines have baller service"

True. But, I find that JAL is the crappiest out of the Asian airlines. Still a lot better than what's in the US, but crappy compared to all the other airlines in this region.

5/28/2008 8:32:12 PM

^^ fair enough - it's been a few years since i've flown exclusively international, but even airlines like easyjet were better than current u.s. airlines (at least, a few years ago).

5/29/2008 3:15:22 PM

I like the idea of paying by the pound that has been tossed around. The USA has lots of over weight people living here. It would be a reason for some people to cut off some weight.

5/31/2008 12:25:06 PM

paying your airfare by your personal weight will never, ever happen.

5/31/2008 2:49:19 PM

^ agreed

blah, blah, blah, whine, whine, whine, .... "discrimination"

5/31/2008 2:56:51 PM

Yeah they need to charge fatties before they charge everyone.

5/31/2008 3:35:41 PM

^ a great idea, but i dont think it will ever happen

maybe don't let fat people bring as much luggage as healthy people, so total equivalent weight per passenger will be very close

5/31/2008 4:03:21 PM

set'em up

and yes they seriously need to do something about fat fucks first if theyre that worried about weight. i know it will probably never happen--but it damn sure should

5/31/2008 4:14:50 PM