American Airlines Takes Nickle And Diming You To A New Level
As fuel costs were rising, so were the fees that airlines were charging fliers. Now, you would expect that since the cost of fuel is actually decreasing that the airlines would stop with the unnecessary fees. Expecting them to repeal those fees as a result of lower fuel costs is just naive and not likely. But expecting them to stop tacking on fees seems reasonable, right?
Apparently not to American Airlines.
In an egregious attempt to nickle and dime every last cent out of you, American Airlines is preparing to introduce a la carte pricing. What does this mean? It means there will be some basic fares that include absolutely nothing. You will pay extra for your baggage check in. You will pay extra for drinks. You will probably even pay extra for things like blankets and pillows. And I would not be surprised to see a coin slot on the bathroom door. Okay, I added that one myself, but is it really that far fetched?
To give you an example of the motives behind this, check out this excerpt from a Yahoo news story:
UAL Corp.’s United Airlines expects to raise $700 million a year from fees. Northwest Airlines Corp. estimates baggage charges will bring in $150 million to $200 million a year. Continental Airlines Inc. predicts it will generate more than $100 million just from a new $15 fee for checking a single bag — that doesn’t include levies on additional bags.
Wow. If that doesn’t make you sick then there must be something wrong with you.
New JetBlue routes coming soon
JetBlue has some new routes that will be opening up soon. Here is a list of what is to come:
- Long Beach, CA and Portland, OR starts October 9
- Long Beach, CA and San Francisco, CA starts October 18
- White Plains, NY and Tampa, FL starts November 2
- Orlando, FL and Richmond, VA starts November 2
- San Juan, PR and Santo Domingo, DR starts December 3
- Washington, DC/Dulles and West Palm Beach, FL starts December 18
- Washington, DC/Dulles and Fort Myers, FL starts December 18
- Tampa, FL and Cancun, Mexico starts December 18
- Washington, DC/Dulles and San Juan, PR starts December 20
- Washington, DC/Dulles and Cancun, Mexico starts December 20
The Leading Hotels of the World USD 19.28 Promotion Postponed
Did you try to take advantage of the USD 19.28 promotion that The Leading Hotels of the World did this morning? I had to get up at 4:45am in order to log on at 5am. The result? Nada. The page was overloaded with requests. It was actually overloaded beginning at 2:30am PST. So, I went back to bed. When I got up later I had an email from The Leading Hotels of the World -
Demand for this promotion far surpassed our expectations, and due to the exorbitant amount of traffic to www.lhw.com/1928, we were unable to accommodate travel requests. Nonetheless, we intend on making every effort to honor the offer on a first come, first serve basis, and have devised a plan to enable you to apply for the USD 19.28 rate.
There was a link for a Word doc and instructions to email your preferences to them tomorrow at the same time as today. And requests would be granted on a first-come, first-serve basis. I groaned at the thought of having to get up at the same ungodly hour tomorrow.
Then I got another email from them.
Thank you so much for your continued patience with The Leading Hotels of the World. We are extremely sorry for the inconveniences we have caused and regret to advise you that the USD 19.28 email promotion scheduled for tomorrow October 2nd shall be postponed.
Although our original back-up plan provided a viable solution for the 150,000 people who were registered, it was met with some confusion over submission procedures and timing. In addition, we have become increasingly concerned that a large number of non-registered respondents plan to submit forms which would inundate the system and greatly diminish your chances of securing a USD 19.28 rate.
In view of this, please do not email your form tomorrow. You will most likely receive an error message we have put in place as a safety mechanism.
We are sincerely committed to restoring your faith in our brand and do not want to risk disappointing you again. We are working tirelessly to develop a solution that will be fair for you and all registered participants. We will email you next week with further details.
Hrm. I am guessing that I should probably just kiss that cheapie hotel room good-bye.
Want a sweet deal on a trip to Miami?
If you have been thinking about going to Miami, Florida then now just might be the time. Miami is the featured location this week as part of Travelocity’s Race to Savings Sale. You can get great deals on airfare and hotels in Miami if you book this week!
Disney for free on your birthday!
Do you enjoy going to a Disney theme park by yourself on your birthday? If so, I have good news for you. For 2009 you can get into one of the theme parks at Disney World or at Disneyland in California for free on your birthday.
You will need to have a valid ID including proof of birth date to get a free ticket on that day. Note that this does not start until 2009!
And of course you don’t have to go alone! But only the birthday peeps get in for free - and it has to actually be ON your birthday.
More info from the Orlando Sentinel.
Anxiety-detecting machines at an airport security checkpoint near you?
In their quest to continually scare the living daylights out us, the Transportation Security Administration is working on a new way of screening people at security checkpoints in airports.
Yes, you nervous flyer, you just might get mistaken for a terrorist!
Supposedly we are years away from a such a thing being a reality in US airports. But it still makes for one scary bedtime story!
Here’s hoping those things never see the light of day in a US airport!
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