I have just returned from a trip to visit my family in the Montreal area. It’s the first time I’ve flown since Canadian airlines implemented a $25 fee for the first checked piece of baggage. As I forked over another $100 for a flight for four I’d already paid, I started thinking about how things have changed since I flew as a kid.
Back then, you paid one price, the price on the ticket, and you got to bring all the baggage you wanted. And if it was a longer flight, they even gave you a hot meal as part of the deal, free drinks and a free movie, as well.
OK, yes… people smoked on the planes back then too, so there were a few negatives. You also couldn’t choose the movie and it wasn’t on the back of your chair, but rather on a teeny tiny screen in the middle of the aisle. And the food was notoriously bad… but at least it was all free. You felt like a guest. You paid one price and you got service.
Today, you buy your ticket after searching for a reasonable price on a flight that doesn’t have you stopping at a half dozen other cities first. Then keep your wallet out, buddy, because everything is going to cost you. If, like every other normal person, you have luggage, it’s going to cost you more. Unless you are like some on my recent flight who tried to sneak rather large “carry on” bags onto the flight, that is. Since when is a refrigerator-sized suitcase considered “carry on,” buddy?
And if you want more than a bag of pretzels or couple of stale cookies to tide you over on the flight? That’s more money, too.
How about a good movie? Better have a credit card, mister, because in-flight entertainment, other than a couple TV channels, is extra now too. Heck, they’re even thinking of phasing out all seatback TVs now anyway because we all have iPads and tablets with our own entertainment now. But that won’t mean savings for us, though. They’ll get us with new and outrageous onboard WiFi fees.
The fact is airlines are making record profits these days. That’s thanks to lower jet fuel prices and all these new fees, according to industry experts. But, all I want is to pay the one price again. Add it up. Average it out. I don’t care. I’m not pining for the “old days” but I do want to feel more like a guest again, and not a cash cow for airlines wanting to milk every dollar they can.
