One less bag to fly

The airlines of America have announced they are going to start charging $25.00 for the second checked bag you take with you to your destination. Having traveled a lot, what that means to me is the airlines are going to charge me extra for destroying my bag and its contents shortly before they lose it. I have the distinction of watching my baggage loaded on a small non-stop flight only to have it lost somewhere between Lubbock, Texas and Amarillo, Texas. Go figure.

Quickly on the heels of this great news, is the news that American Airlines is going to charge $15.00 for the first bag their passengers check. Having reluctantly flown American Airlines a lot, I am amazed at their capacity to stay in business. Their employees hate them, hate their customers, and in turn, their customers loathe them. In some parts of the world, mention American airlines and Americans who must use them break out in a rash. My latest American story is from my secretary who was traveling from Abilene to St. Louis. Apparently, the crew overslept themselves, got lost coming from the hotel and as a result, the plane was late, the passengers missed their connections, and American was their usual unhelpful self.

Some wonder where it is all going to end. I am a cynic and proudly carry that title. So, I believe we have only seen the beginning of parceling out the pieces of what makes an airline flight. First you will buy the ticket. Next, you will pay extra if you want good seating. Of course there is 1st class and business class, then there will be apple crates, (which are the cheapest and have more foam than the economy seats) and then there is economy (in which only half the seats are broken) If you want access to a clean working toilet, that will cost more. The luggage thing we have already covered. If you don't want the scary flight attendant, of course that costs more. Each passenger will take their turn in the co-pilot position because unfortunately, that position got caught in the last round of layoffs. Finally, on the back of one ticket, there is a black spot. This person must load the luggage, wait until everyone is on board, guide the plane out of its chute whereby they have 15 seconds to catch the plane before the scary flight attendant slams the door shut and taxis off for the runway.