The Luggage Blog

Upgrade: Travel Better posted this video that pretty much sums up the state of air travel lately.  It seems that the comedians of the 70s forsaw the grim future of aviation…

Tim Conway, Harvey Korman, and Carol Burnett.  Enjoy.

Good news from the airlines today?  The only airline we’re hearing good news from is Southwest Airlines, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, flies over 104 million passengers a year to 64 great cities all across the country.

I myself, look to Southwest before looking to any other airline today.  They make travel so simple.  Actually, I call them the “airbus” of the airline industry.  You buy the ticket, get in line, and board the plane/bus.  Simplicity at it’s finest!  What is everyone else doing???

Not to mention, they’re probably the ONLY airline still offering the 1st AND 2nd checked bag for FREE!!!  Yep, have you heard that word lately from any other airline, FREE, which is especially great when you have to travel with a lot of luggage. Wait, it doesn’t end there.  They also still offer a FREE snack, and even FREE non-alcoholic beverages. WOW!

I  happen to think their marketing campaign is brilliant.  They’re capitalizing on the known fact that ALL OTHER airlines are charging their passengers for EVERYTHING they possibly can.  I’m flying with Southwest since they’re the only airline not doing this!

Sharon Laudenbach “loyal Southwest Airline traveler”

Picture by GirlieErin

Latest Airline Fees

• American Airlines to charge $50 for frequent-flier upgrades (Starts Oct 1)
• United backs off buy-on-board meals on international flights
• Northwest Airlines adds $80 fuel surcharge (Starts Jan 10)
• Continental has added a $15 charge on the first checked bag (Starts Oct 7)

Wierd Attractions

• Germany’s upside-down house (Photos)
• Liverpool gets attacked by Giant Spider!
• The Most Alien-Looking Place on Earth (Photos)

Ask Metafilter: American Travel?

• Where Should I Go?
• What can I do to make one perfect night in Chicago?
• How to make the most of a very brief trip to Arizona
• Traveling to Cape Cod, Bay of Fundy & PEI

Photo by Sean Gallup

Charging Military $100 Checked Bag Fee: Generous? Not so much.

American Airlines has agreed to now waive their $100 3rd checked bag fee for military personnel.  Previously they had only waived the fee for the first and second checked bags and felt that this policy was “generous.”

“I am not aware of any ability by our agents to waive an excess baggage fee, even for military personnel—since they already have the common checked bag fees waived in our policy,” [an American Airlines spokesperson] said. “Otherwise, our policy is very generous as you can see, and intentionally so.”

After recently receiving some bad press they’ve changed their tune.

“We always understood that soldiers traveling on duty were reimbursed by the military for the fees on required excess baggage. However, after recently hearing of the burden the military reimbursement process put on soldiers traveling to war zones, the choice for us to forgo payment for a third checked bag from the Department of Defense was clear,” said Tom Del Valle, American’s Senior Vice President.

Despite American Airlines’ previous stance that the military should be covering baggage expenses, the fact remains that policies like this hurt the soldier who generally has to jump through a lot of hoops to get reimbursement (and obviously has much more important things to do).  Whether or not the bill should be on the military or the airline, most would agree that it shouldn’t be on the soldier.  So kudos to American Airlines for addressing the problem realistically (rather than letting it get lost in a sea of bureaucracy and backwards PR speak).

UPDATE: American Airlines Agrees To Waive Extra Bag Fees For Soldiers [The Consumerist]

Photo by ReneS

Don’t forget—If you’re flying with Northwest after today your first checked bag will now cost you an extra $15.  Stay up to date on new airline fees with our airline fees chart.

Photo by Cubbie_n_Vegas

Alternately, “BLOGS ON A PLANE!“

As what was once an addictive fad grows into a modern necessity, it’s no surprise that someone would develop a way to get WiFi on a plane.  American Airlines now offers in-flight WiFi with Aircell’s Gogo internet service.  It’s currently available on select flights within the US for $12.95.  According to LaptopMag’s Joanna Stern, the service is sound, which she tests by multitasking—streaming video, chatting, email—it all works just fine.  And if you’re not exactly tech-savvy,  Stern mentions that there’s a Gogo rep right on the plane to offer assistance.  It seems that there isn’t any content being filtered, however Gogo blocks VOIP (voice over IP internet phone service) for the obvious reason that in-flight phone conversations would be extremely distracting to other passengers.  (Of course, as she mentions there’s already a way around the block).  Currently American Airlines is the only airline offering Gogo, but Delta and Virgin America will be soon to follow.

It’s actually surprising to see an airline offering a service like this for so little when you can find free ways online to entertain yourself… with all the price gouging lately you’d half expect to see them charge an additional $2 to access YouTube and Hulu. (I hope I didn’t just give them any ideas!)