We first noticed it when we were kids buying candy bars with our own money. All of a sudden Snicker bars were huge! they seemed enormous, and were worth the jacked up price to $.25. And if you couldn't HANDLE it (wimp) the $.15 baby ones were around. But who wanted them? a little extra home chores, saving the allowance, picking up soda bottles, and you got the BIG bar. Hardly even noticed when the little bars disappeared. Candy bars are $.25. Completely didn't notice when the bars got smaller, less than a year later we were paying $.25 for the $.15 bar, and no one even flinched. After many of these cycles candy bars are what $.98? by the way - whatever happen to the "cents" key? this decimal dollar thing is annoying.
So this year I bought the annual ticket to Oregon for me and the girl child. It was expensive, more than I am used to paying. Of course, booking dates were more specific than usual, I bought far enough in advance to be sure I could get there and back with minimal problems, etc. Besides, gas prices are back up, the economy is in the tanker, and I'm doing my little part to boost the national morale. Then the airlines decided that they needed me to pay for bags. OK - I get the second bag. I try to travel light, I never take two bags, sometimes I bring two home, because I sort of raid my Mom's closet when I am gone, or bring home rocks, or wine, or whatever. But the first bag? They were selling tickets at the super reduced price, so people were not really complaining about the bag fees (sound familiar?) I got my ticket before prices went down, and I wasn't eligible for the waived bag fee, because I bought through an on-line discount thingy.
The girl child and I checked the big bags, took our little carry-ons - you know the ones that fit appropriately under the seat and in those little testers that insist "carry-on bags cannot be any bigger than this?" up to the plane. Chaos ensued. Americans are smart. And cheap. And have suffered the bait and switch too often. Everybody had those big rolling "carry-ons" that business travelers use as their only luggage. It took forever to board the plane. People that came on later had to check bags at the gate. People getting on the plane earlier had to maneuver around patrons and stewardesses going up and down the aisles looking for places to put all of these huge bags. We started boarding on time. Left the gate 13 minutes late. then sat on the tarmac, waiting to take off, because we had missed our window.
Brilliant! Casual travelers ought to check bags. Baggage ought to be included in the price of a ticket. Business travelers are typically frequent flyers, and typically the people that do not have time to check baggage. Give them a frequent flyer break, and don't link it to the number of bags. Raise ticket prices if you need to. We all understand inflation, we will bitch, but still fly when necessary. Ticket prices will go up, and we will all budget for the change; but let us have a bag, let the frequent business flyers get in and out with their bigger-than-regulation carry-ons, but don't penalize the rest of us for being courteous by checking baggage. Or - if you are taking the harsh line, make everyone put their bags in the little measuring boxes at check in. If it doesn't fit, check it! And if it is the only bag - let them check it for the price of the ticket.
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