Yeah, it must be price fixing and collusion if a different airlines have different policies, and some allow for larger carry on while other allow only smaller pieces.[quote=“stevelaudig, post:26, topic:34413”]
Flying was a pleasure in the 60s, okay in the 70s, tolerable in the 80s, not all that bad in the 90s, unpleasant in the 00s and now something to be dreaded, hated.
[/quote]
If you want to pay '60s prices flying can still be pretty pleasurable. You’re probably not interested in hearing that the '60s, pre-deregulation, flying experience existed because of strict government regulations that fixed airfares at high levels (and which also meant buying a last-minute ticket was no more expensive than booking ahead), leaving airlines to compete in terms of higher service, since they weren’t allowed to lower prices.
AFAIK - They used to all be the same pretty much worldwide when I was travelling a lot (20 years ago). Checking BA today : 22in x 18in x 10in AND a personal bag 18in x 14in x 8in. Tiny little internal American airlines used to have smaller limits. But most EU airlines were pretty much the same because almost all flights were international.
Actually gate checking is free on the major airlines listed.
Eh, add ten years, things get a bit fatter, trust me, I know…
So instead of charging actual cost, they re-arrange their policies to sneakily try and hit people with up-charges? How does that work as a business? “You wouldn’t have been our customer if we advertised the actual cost, so we changed our rules for no other reason than to bill you an extra $25-50 when you least expect it.” I’m a big fan of the rules that force the airlines to market the actual cost of a ticket. I’m pretty sure WalMart would go out of business if they tried these kind of up-charges on their customers. If this is how the airlines think businesses succeed, those profit margins are not going to increase.
Perhaps you haven’t seen that episode of South Park. The joke is that someone invents the absolutely absurd means of travel shown, and everyone flocks to it voluntarily, because “it beats flying”.
[quote=“smartr, post:46, topic:34413”]
So instead of charging actual cost, they re-arrange their policies to sneakily try and hit people with up-charges? How does that work as a business?[/quote]
It’s mixed. Airlines keep going bankrupt, but at least for domestic travel, they can’t get away from this model. It’s a side effect of the cutthroat competition fostered by booking sites, which are not good about including extra fees in the prices they show.
It’s dumb too, because they could easily do it. Just ask up front “how many bags do you plan to check” and add the results to those prices. Do that and it reduces the need for this fee dickery and lets airlines perhaps compete on features as well as price.
Ever gotten bacon or avocado on your sandwich at a Subway?
They’re doing the same thing with a different spin. Selling at a tested advertised price, and adding in premiums. It’s nasty, but it isn’t uncommon. I don’t wear jewelry, but a few years ago I was with my aunts while they were shopping. It was when the new charm bracelet fad was so big. (Pandora is one company.) Basically, they’d get you to buy a bracelet with a few introductory charms, and that would hopefully get you to buy even more right while you’re standing there looking at the display. My aunts went nuts falling for up sales.
Using the airlines is like using any business: buyer beware.
Here’s a link to a watchdog site that tries to post current info on pricing for various airlines. I can’t say whether or not the info is up to date. They last checked it April 8, 2014.
It’d be more like Subway advertising $3 classic meatball subs, classic being a special 4" Sub you have to specifically ask for. The problem I have with this kind of practice is that the marketing is meant primarily to deceive, which is commonly known as fraud.
To give an example of a case of how this deception on a very small scale works, go no further than Wendy’s. All the prices for their combo meals are at a given price. Ask for a combo, and the order-taker will ask you authoritatively “medium or large” like there is no other option. This is how they train their employees. Both of those being an up-charge you have to specifically know how Wendy’s operates to get around what basically 50 cents of fraud if the customer was under the impression they were getting the advertised price for the combo they asked for. I’m kind of surprised a lawyer has not tried to ding them for a class-action, but apparently fraud is an acceptable business practice these days.
Don’t most American’s have quite enough baggage as it is?!? 
Not really. The size limits are posted for you to see before you pack your bags. Most people do their prep for travel via the internet, and do check what they may carry-on. Size limits are posted on that page. This came up in one search for “Delta carry policy”
http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/traveling-with-us/baggage/during-your-trip/carry-on.html
This posting from February 2013 shows Delta’s size restriction as: 22x14x9
So it really doesn’t seem that they magically changed overnight. This has been the size policy for some time.
OTOH, us emptors do have a responsibility to caveat, no? That’s not fraud. That’s asking if you would like it medium or large. Maybe i just listen responsibly? Maybe I assume everyone is trying to get a little more than I agreed to, maybe that’s life and if we’re going to get the state involved then fer chrissakes lets target the fat cats and not the hourly drive-through employees for retraining.
Let’s all be as shitty as possible to each other when we do business, C’est la vie!
I like your BOHICA attitude.
I would rather see most luggage put on board by the professionals, and the most efficient amount of fuel put in the plane. I’ve been on 4 flights lately, and we passengers are total amateurs at loading and unloading airplanes, slow and clumsy, and nevermind the 10 to 50 lb bags looming right over my flipping head. Gate space is a limited resource.
Your example is a wonderful one, of the change you wish to see in the world.
Have a beautiful, thoughtful day. Bless your heart.
It’s almost as though, if people actually gave even the slightest shit, the world might actually be a better place. Also, if part of your business is to deceive people into paying you extra money for things they were not aware they were getting… or if part of your business is to deceive people into getting less than what your deception made them think they were getting, that’s called fraud.
That’s called your opinion. Stating it as fact is called fraud.
If you state a nondescript example of the definition of fraud as a fact it’s fraud?
You have lost me.
