Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Flights not so fancy (vs Flights of Fancy)!


Learnvest.com recently posted what they called the "Eight Crappiest Things Airlines Are Doing To You"...Now I know that gas costs have sky-rocketed, I'm ok with bringing my own food on (generally better than what they sell on-board anyway) and I've learned to deal (and play the odds for a free ticket) with getting bumped from the occasional flight. Frequent fliers are an adaptable bunch by nature.

But there were a few things the site listed that I just don't agree with! First, this "pay for a pillow or blanket" scheme seems a bit over the top. Maybe they should go with free ones for flights over 3 hours (sort of like the food deal - peanuts only on short flights, snack boxes for sale on medium flights and meal on overseas or coast-to-coast flights)...I could live with that!

Then they noted that some airlines are charging for infants even if they ride on a parent's lap. Perhaps this is to encourage the safety of a child seat in its own space...not sure, but really glad my kids are over 18 now!

Finally, and this one I'm still pondering, the site suggested that United Airlines has arranged the buttons on its check-in kiosk screens so that you are more likely to hit "purchase" than "next" based on where they've placed the buttons. One quick click and "oops!" you have upgraded to business class. I am a fan of United and a long-time member of its Mileage Plus program. While I admit this could be confusing, I would like to ask why anyone wouldn't take an extra few seconds and read the buttons before clicking on them!

Any pet peeves you'd like to tell us about from your summer travel experiences? Please share!

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