The adjustments are outlined in an internal United Airlines memo that was distributed to flight attendants Monday and obtained by The Chronicle. The changes are all in the name of the "cost reduction and revenue-generating opportunities" United is focused on, the memo reads.

"In the wake of high fuel prices and a challenging economic environment, we must continue to examine every aspect of our business and find new ways to improve our day-to-day operations through efficiencies that still meet our customers' expectations," reads the memo, titled "Catering Changes Provide Value and Options."

"These are difficult but necessary changes," said United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski, in Chicago. "We are looking at everything we need to do to offset fuel prices, which are still skyrocketing."

The memo also says that United plans to do away with complementary meals from Washington D.C. to Europe.

"We'll monitor customer feedback," said Urbanski. "The industry is changing."

Since they're so interested, we think you should let them know how you feel about this change. Is "buy-on-board" food a good way to offset fuel costs without raising fares?

United Airlines to drop free snacks (Thanks, Ari!)
(Photo: So Cal Metro )

First, I am active duty military and I only get so many days of leave; when extenuating circumstances happen to delay travel - I still get charged for the leave.

So there I was on Monday, 11 Aug in the Detroit Metro Airport which happens to be NWAs worldwide hub. I am there a little more than an hour and a half prior to my flight. I was scheduled to leave around 130p on a Monday.

When I checked in at the E-ticket console a message flashed stating that the flight was overbooked and that I was being offered a voucher. I arrived with the intention of checking my only bag because I needed to check a firearm - something that I have done several times. Current TSA policy on firearms is that they need to be in a hard-sided case and locked (my case was a standard manufacturer's case that is completely hard-sided and has been through airlines checks numerous times).

I usually have a lock, but TSA always ends up taking it off and telling me I don't need it. Of course this time I didn't take a lock. The NWA agent told me, after I informed her of my firearm, that TSA wouldn't check it because it didn't have a lock, I told her I would talk to them and see what they would say.

The TSA agent told me that she wouldn't take it without a lock. Trying to minimize time-damage, I asked her if a zip tie would do - logicizing (that absolutely has to be a word) that since law enforcement and military use zip ties in lieu of steel handcuffs to detain people, a zip tie should work instead of a mini lock that I could bend with my bare hands.

She said, mockingly, that I could not use a zip tie. I asked, "what constitutes a lock?" She replied, "A lock." I politely thanked her for clearing that up for me. The NWA agent, who was trying to be friendly and helpful at a very busy point in the day, actually left the desk to go look for a padlock that they could sell me.

Okay, fair enough, rules is rules—get your OP-blaming out of the way now, because this is where it gets very silly.

While [the NWA agent] was gone, the TSA agent told me that she "can't let this through, even if it has a lock on it it's still accessible".

I was confused and said that I did not understand what she meant. She again stated that the case was accessible even if it had a lock. I explained that I did not know what she meant but that TSA's policy and website state the only two requirements (ammo notwithstanding) are a hard-sided case and a lock. She said, "Even if this has a lock on it, I'm not letting it through."

I pulled out my 3g iPhone, pulled up TSA's website and found the firearm policy and showed it to her. She said, "TSA sometimes gives us different policies than they give you."

I responded, "Are you kidding me? I don't think when it comes to firearms TSA is going to surprise passengers with some magical policy to prevent them from checking firearms they're allowed to check." She responded with, "I'm not letting it through."

I asked, "Who do I talk to about getting this through?; she replied, "A supervisor." I asked if I could please speak with a supervisor and she said, no kidding, "I am a supervisor." Does anyone really believe that a supervisor of any kind is actually going to be on shift at the ticketing counter inspecting baggage and tossing it onto the belt?

I asked to speak to a supervisor, [and was told] iit would be 30 minutes before he arrived. Foreseeing a possible "late arrival" and subsequent loss of seat, I asked the same NWA agent if the vouchers were still being offered, she said yes and I asked if I could sell my seat back for one and she said, "No, you have to be at the gate."

This I know to be untrue for two reasons: I've done it before and it's a ticketing counter and I was asking for help with ticketing. I didn't contest; I waited a few minutes and then went back to her and asked if I could call the gate from the counter and try to do it over the phone; she said "No, you have to be at the gate."

Again, I know this to be untrue because I had just done it with NWA a few weeks prior, not even for me but on behalf of my fiancee. Regardless, I dropped it. The TSA supervisor was great: I gave him a quick explanation, asked him if my case was within policy, he said "Yes, what's the problem?" To which I responded, "Your agent doesn't know your policy and is trying to tell me that you guys have secret policies."

He essentially ignored that, [but] he actually went and got me a TSA lock and gave it to me for free, inspected my bag on the spot and checked it through. After asking, he agreed to escort me to the front of security so I wouldn't miss my flight.

Hooray! Through security! But of course they delay set up a chain reaction.

I asked the NWA agent for my boarding pass (she had taken it earlier when I'd asked for the voucher) - she told me I wouldn't make the flight - it was about 15-20 minutes prior to takeoff, she had told me that at 10 minutes you are checked as late and the seat is given away.

I told her I would still like to try because I still want to try for the voucher, I explained TSA was going to escort me right through security and that I thought I could make it. She said, again, "You won't make it," and she took it upon herself to cancel me off of my scheduled flight and put me on the 730pm flight.

So after I got through security, I went to the NWA customer service center, picked up a "reservation" phone that automatically dials a reservations rep and after a couple minutes of explanation to her she gave me the number of the NWA Detroit Director of Operations (I don't think she realized whose number she'd given me - especially considering the NWA agent at a desk didn't know the guys name when I told her I needed to call him). This guy didn't answer, I left him a message, I never got a call back.

I also called - because the TSA supervisor told me I might be able to get reimbursement - the Detroit TSA customer support manager. He called me back within an hour. I explained to him what'd happened. He stated that he would do an investigation and talk to his people to see what they say happened; gee, I wonder what they're going to say. I asked him what their reimbursement policy was, should he conclude that I was right, he said "we don't have one." He went on to say that his agents err on the side of security. I said, this is absolutely not a case of someone erring on the side of security, she flat out told me hat she didn't know the policy. He then changed his statement to "well, she erred on the side of safety." I laughed and told him it was still the same, that she essentially told me she didn't know the policy - not safety, not security. He said he'd do an investigation and get back to me, that was over a week ago.

I ended up volunteering for a voucher and was put up in a hotel overnight. I asked where my bag would be and was told it would be waiting for me in San Antonio. When I got to San Antonio, the NWA agent first told me it was on the carousel; the same agent, after the carousel was empty, told me she probably had it at the counter. When she finally met me at the counter, she told me she didn't have the keys to the room and I had to do a claim.

After all of that, there's a happy ending, but only because Matt wouldn't let the matter drop. Here's a good example of how persistence can pay off.

Later in the week I spent approx. an hour dialing various numbers and holding and pushing buttons until I finally got through to a person. At first, this woman was surprisingly friendly; she listened to my tale and told me that absolutely I should have been able to do the voucher at the ticketing counter; she told me she'd never heard a case like this, wanted to give me a voucher, but she said she had to go check with her "Sup"[ervisor] first.

When she came back, the warmth was gone and all I got was, "You were made late because of TSA, there's nothing I can do for you."

I told her I was delayed, but not made late and the NWA agent didn't give me a chance to get the offered voucher. She responded, "Yeah, you didn't get to the gate so it wasn't NWAs fault," to which I responded, "It was NWAs fault that I didn't get to the gate." I had to repeat that a couple time. She eventually said she would put down "rude behavior/treatment" by an agent and offered me a $75 voucher.

I said that I wasn't treated rudely, and that I should be getting the flight voucher. She repeated the usual, I said "I don't accept your premise" and she just stated that there was nothing she could do for me. I asked to speak to a supervisor - you know, the "Sup" she just talked to 5 minutes ago - and she said, I thought it was deja vu, "I am a supervisor." I almost laughed; confused by her short memory I asked if I could speak to her supervisor; she said she could do an "escalation," I said that would be fine; she took down my phone number and a good time to call and said that I would receive a call within 24 hours. I never received that call.

I waited a few days and then wrote an email to Kristen Shovlin (from your website) and Beth Reed (from some other website) - both listed as executive types. When I clicked on the "Beth" email link on the other site, Kristen's email address came up; I manually typed in Beth's. Within 3 hours I got a response from Jodee with the usual humminah humminah and I got the voucher.

Thanks for everything you do; hope this is helpful.

Matt

We won't reprint Matt's entire email, because we're running out of space on the web for this story, but basically it was a slightly shorter version of what you just read with the TSA part reduced to "TSA delayed me." At the end of the email, Matt states clearly,

I am sorry for my verbosity, but I feel strongly that I should receive a flight voucher. I tried all of the proper channels first and received essentially no resolution.

(Photo: Getty)

Winning the Battle Against Low Quality Generics While Still Saving Money [The Simple Dollar] "The next time you go to the grocery store, actively replace all of your regular purchases with the low-end generics."

7 Nasty Airline Fees and How to Avoid Them [Smart Money] "Here are seven instances when fees are assessed and how to avoid them."

10 ways to spot 401(k) abuse [Bankrate] "Warning signs to help employees discover if their 401(k) contributions are being misused."

9 Things You Should Not Buy New [Crosswalk] "Here are the top 9 things you
will be better off buying used."

— free/ MONEY FINANCE
(Photo: Kevin Dean )

Adam says:

I've been mulling this one over for awhile, and by "this one" I mean what I want to do about my experience last week on Virgin America's anniversary flight from JFK to LAX. I flew out on one of the first last year and had an awful experience, which involved a four hour delay and a MacBook Pro power adapter that melted on me, and received a free flight as an apology. I really didn't mind the delay or the melted power adapter. Chances are it wasn't their fault as Apple makes crappy adapters, and they handled the delay very well. One year later it seems they've forgotten how to operate as an airline that serves its customers to the point that I've decided any compensation on their part would be unsatisfactory. Well, that's not entirely true, but it would involve cash and lots of it. But really I'd rather they get a bit of bad press and hope they change their ways. They should be the best airline around.

I got on the plane around 11:00am on Friday, August 8th. I didn't get off the plane for a little more than ten hours later. When we boarded we had a 30-40 minute delay that one should be accustomed to if they've ever flown out of JFK before, but by the time it was our turn to leave one of the air conditioning units broke. So, we went back. They figured it would take about half an hour to fix but quickly realized it would take much longer. They informed us we'd be let back into the airport to hang out in comfort but the messages stopped and the pilot went radio silent. The flight crew didn't know what was going on and no one was let off the plane for a good hour and a half. Those who were finally let off were not let back on. The rest of us, who stayed, ended up waiting well into the afternoon when the plane took off five hours late.

Fine, delays happen. However, you'd think during the delays that someone from the flight crew would have the opportunity to stock the plane with food. Apparently they were only able to grab a few sandwiches and chips. Being a vegetarian I could only have the chips. My fault for my abnormal ethics, I suppose, but they were almost out of sandwiches when they got to my row. I was in row 10. By my estimation, half the plane went without food. To their credit, they did have plenty of water. For ten hours most of us didn't eat or had very little. I always bring a few snacks on board just in case there isn't much to eat but nothing to survive for an entire day. Luckily I did bring plenty of entertainment because their entertainment system was down as well. We never got the free movie we were promised. Supposedly we were given a $25 flight credit none of us will ever use, but I haven't bothered to check.

All of this I can deal with. I had no intention of complaining. The whole event, thus far, was almost a blessing in disguise as I wasn't looking forward to being in Los Angeles and by the time the flight was over I couldn't have felt more glad.

Then I got my luggage. One of my bags had been ripped open. It could have easily been unzipped, but it was ripped. I'm not going to speculate as to how it happened but only my Apple TV and some DVDs were missing from the bag. No clothing or other small items fell out, oddly enough, but I wasn't in the cargo bay of the plane so I can't say whether or not it was stolen or simply lost via bag damage during the trip. Either way, I wanted someone to check and see if it had fallen out on the plane. I walked into the bag office and Joyce greeted me, before I said anything, with "all I can do is file a courtesy claim."

Throughout our conversation she continued to tell me there was nothing she could do when all I asked is that she call baggage and make certain they hadn't found any stray items. After half an hour she finally called, but this was long after her numerous accusations that I was trying to defraud Virgin America by claiming they stole my items. To be fair, those are my words and not hers. What she said to me was that her experience can rule out the TSA and airport employees so the only possible option is that it was my fault.

I asked her why she thought it was okay to accuse me and not them. She said, "you want me to accuse the TSA of stealing from you?" I told her "no, I don't want you to accuse anyone at all," at which point she decided to start filling out my claim. Throughout the process she asked me the same questions repeatedly. Given this is the sort of thing you do to a criminal I pretty much assumed she wanted to make sure I remembered my answers, but maybe she was just a complete moron. I feel I should give her the benefit of the doubt there. I could go on endlessly with examples of why this woman was horrible and cruel for no good reason other than what joys one might assume her job can bring, but I would like to mention one more thing. When I let her know which items were missing and how much they cost she laughed at me. She actually laughed at me.

I had a nice cab driver. The cab was cheaper than expected. Those are my silver linings. That and the plane didn't crash nor was anything else of value stolen or lost. What a great day. Thanks Virgin America.

Hey, why not let the DOT know about your baggage complaint? They keep track of that sort of thing. The TSA has admitted that it has a problem with theft. You should give them a heads up as well. Finally, when your baggage seems tampered with, you should report it to the airport authorities so they can investigate. A spokesperson from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport once said: "We find that people often make a claim for an item to the airline, but never report it to the airport or the police, and then we don't know that a theft problem is developing."

(Photo: Maulleigh )

"We do not agree with the FAA's [latest] findings and characterizations of American's action in these cases," the airline said in a statement. "We believe the proposed penalties are excessive."

The FAA defended the fine in a statement of its own:
"The FAA believes the large total amount of the fine for these violations is appropriate because American Airlines was aware that appropriate repairs were needed, and instead deferred maintenance."

As for the drug testing issue, the FAA wants to fine AA $1.7 million for warning its employees ahead of time when they were scheduled to be tested. The tests are supposed to be unannounced.

The FAA proposed $7.1 million in fines against American for violations that included:

•$4.4 million for improperly deferring maintenance in December

•$1.7 million for problems with its drug- and alcohol-testing program

•$1 million for operating planes without properly inspecting the emergency- path lighting system

American Airlines faces $7.1M in fines for safety violations [Dallas Morning News]
(Photo: Joshua Davis jdavis.info )

Later that day Hawley called back and said that the TSA had changed its policy and would no longer be adding forgetful fliers to the database if they could prove their identity.

Later Tuesday, Hawley called the newspaper to say the agency is changing its policy effective today and will stop keeping records of people who don't have ID if a screener can determine their identity. Hawley said he had been considering the change for a month. The names of people who did not have identification will soon be expunged, he said.

USAToday says the database contains the following information:

TSA can keep records for 15 years of someone's name, address, Social Security number, nationality, race and physical features, as well as identifying information about a traveling companion, according to a report by the Homeland Security Department privacy office.

Fliers without ID placed on TSA list [USAToday]

I am a 56-year-old grandmother who has never had so much as a speeding ticket. But on July 26th, I was taken by armed officers, in handcuffs, off JetBlue flight 195 for refusing to delete a video I had taken of a minor altercation between passengers over a screaming kid.

The flight crew made up a charge of interfering with the crew. My recording proves I did nothing wrong. I never even stood up. I was left with the threat that I will never be able to fly on JetBlue, that I will go on the no-fly list, and have a report written about me filed with the FAA.

Parver has turned the footage over to ABCNews (apparently we should watch for her on Good Morning America) so that ABC's legal team can fight off the pitbulls at JetBlue.

The Kingman Daily Miner also has a description of the incident:

Approximately 30 minutes after the dispute, Parver said she was approached by the flight crew who were asking passengers questions about the altercation. When Parver told them she had recorded the incident, they requested she accompany them to the back of the plane, Parver said.

There she showed the video to three or four crew members, Parver said.

"After viewing the video, they demanded that I delete it," Parver said. "I asked, 'Why?' The head-stewardess went as far as to tell me that I had broken a law by using an electronic item during the flight."

At that time, another flight attendant accused Parver of wanting to put it up on YouTube, a video-sharing Web site.

"I do not even know how to download a video on the Internet," Parver said.

After refusing and returning to her seat, the crew asked Parver to return to the back of the plane again, she said.

"This time they told me that the captain demanded that I delete the video," Parver added.

Parver requested to speak to the captain by telephone to confirm the demand. She was not granted this request.

"If the captain had nicely asked me to delete the video, I don't think I would have disobeyed a pilot," Parver said.

Parver again refused the flight crew's request. At that point, one attendant told Parver that if she disobeyed the captain, federal agents would be involved and she could face criminal penalties.

"This was all a case of bullying," Parver said.

Grandmother arrested after refusing to delete JetBlue fight video [Elliott]
Woman detained by airline over video [Kingman Daily Miner]

"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 — Airport Services in a press release.

Consumerist first picked up this story a few weeks ago from a local El Paso paper. In that article, a spokesperson for American Airlines called their policy of waiving the $15 first checked bag fee and the $25 second fee, but not the third $100 fee "very generous as you can see, and intentionally so." Unfortunately, several troops on their way to training before being deployed to Iraq didn't agree.

"I have flown Southwest, Continental, and when they saw me in uniform, they didn't even ask," Staff Sgt. Ashley Serrano told the El Paso Times. "I flew American a couple of times before, but I never had this problem."

Military personnel are supposed to be given vouchers and reimbursement for any baggage fees they incur, but realistically, that wasn't always happening.

American Airlines explains, "The new waiver policy for military personnel begins immediately. American Airlines will work closely with the Department of Defense on issues such as this in the future. "

American Airlines Will Waive Third Excess Bag Fee for Military Personnel (Press Release) [MarketWatch]
(Photo: crazybobcat )

• Holding $5,000 in tickets from a family for six months, then telling them the day before that the flight has been canceled;
• When confronted with the fact that the flight hasn't been canceled, telling the family that the reservation has been lost;
• Finally admitting that they've bumped the family from the flight and were lying about the cancelation and the lost reservation;
• Offering replacement seats on multiple planes and days, splitting the family up on different flights and depositing them at different islands;
• Offering to get them there 5 days into a 7 day vacation, part of which was scheduled to spend time with a family member who was dying in a hospice in Hawaii;
• Refusing to write a letter on the family's behalf so that they can collect their insurance payment on the house they rented but never used.

How could United mess up a trip so badly? The mother who arranged all of it, Anita Cabral, suspects it has to do with the bottom line:

Cabral has a theory for this shabby treatment: fuel prices.

Between January and June, as the oil industry mounted its historic shakedown of consumers, the price of those tickets tripled. The folks who paid the most got to fly.

The columnist who wrote about the Cabrals' problems said he called United directly for a response, and was never called back.

"Bad airline stories are nothing like this" [Sign On San Diego] (Thanks to Randy!)
(Photo: Cubbie_n_Vegas)

The site also details operational improvements that the pilots want to make, (avoiding delays by using all the open gates at the United terminal, for example.)

The Chicago Tribune says that the pilot group feels Tilton has been distracted by the recent airline merger orgy.

Tilton neglected the airline's day-to-day operations over the past two years as he attempted to merge with Delta Air Lines, Continental Airlines and US Airways, said Captain Steve Wallach, chairman of the United Master Executive Council, the leadership team of the Air Line Pilots Association.

"I think that there's been a lack of leadership, which is why our airline has been dragged to the bottom of the industry," Wallach told the Tribune. "Glenn's only plan outside of bankruptcy was to merge."

Glenn Tilton Must Go
United pilots call for resignation of CEO Glenn Tilton [Chicago Tribune]

These flight simulator jockeys want more fuel, but that isn't likely to happen anytime soon even with oil at $117 a barrel and crashing fast. The FAA finds the situation perfectly acceptable.

"We can't dabble in the business policies or the personnel policies of an airline," said FAA spokesman Les Dorr. He said there was no indication safety regulations were being violated.

The September 2005 safety alert was issued by NASA's confidential Aviation Safety Reporting System, which allows air crews to report safety problems without fear their names will be disclosed.

With fuel prices now their biggest cost, airlines are aggressively enforcing new policies designed to reduce consumption.

Just look at the complaints flooding into NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System:

"I know our program manager is ranking captains on landing with less fuel. I don't care to be ranked. I think this is a safety problem and I believe fuel is your friend," the captain said. "Looking back, I would have liked more gas yesterday, and I was already carrying tanker fuel. If I wouldn't have had this extra there would have been real problems."

The captain of a Boeing 747 said he began to run low on fuel after meeting strong headwinds over the Atlantic en route to JFK in New York in February. After contacting his company to discuss a refueling stop, the captain said he was told by his operations manager that the flight actually needed less fuel than had been loaded on board and would have enough to get to JFK without stopping.

But by the time he reached JFK, his fuel was "far below my comfort zone and probably less than the minimum fuel required by the FARs (federal aviation regulations)," the captain said. "Our fuel situation had not become critical yet, but had we had any delay, I would have had to declare a fuel emergency."

"I am not sure if the 'flight plan' as given to me by my company was a real flight plan, or if they were just telling me it was so that I would continue to JFK ... thus saving them time and expense. ... In the future, if such a situation presents itself again, I will divert to my initial destination regardless of what my company says I can do. The safety of my crew far outweighs any financial burden to the company."

The captain of a Boeing 737 en route to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in February said he was forced to divert in bad weather to Palm Beach International Airport to refuel because less than the normal amount of fuel for the flight was loaded before takeoff.

"This was probably the new fuel-saving initiative by the company management to save money," the captain said. "North-South operation is very unpredictable along the East Coast. I don't think this is a place where we should skimp on fuel."

The captain said he had a "lengthy discussion" with his company's dispatcher "relaying my opinion on the reduced fuel load and my suggestion not to compromise fuel loads in and out of Florida." But the captain said he received the same reduced amount on his next flight.

"So much for my professional input!" he said.

The airlines have made it clear that pilots who don't stop whining and start flying will be fired.

American notified dispatchers July 7 that their records on fuel approved for flights would be monitored, and dispatchers not abiding by company guidelines could ultimately be fired.

Union officials responded that "it appears safety has become a second thought" for the company. American and US Airways blame the complaints on labor negotiations - both are in contract talks with the complaining unions.

Look people, it's been 18 years since a plane crashed because it ran out of fuel. That means there isn't a problem anymore. Besides, 85 people survived.

Pilots forced to fly low on fuel worry about safety [AP]
Pilots' reports on low fuel [AP]
Avianca Flight 52 [Wikipedia]

American Airlines blamed high fuel prices and rising airfares for the change.

"The disparity between discount and premium tickets is too great to be offset by miles alone," an AA spokesperson said.

From the Dallas Morning News:

Timothy Sieber, an aviation consultant for the Boyd Group in Evergreen Colo., said the high fuel costs are to blame for the new fees, which may be reaching a tipping point.

"At some point, it becomes like a Saturday Night Live skit, where you're paying for a seat belt and to use the bathroom," Mr. Sieber said. "They're running out of things to charge us for."

American Airlines making more changes to AAdvantage program [Dallas Morning News](Thanks, Travis !)
(Photo: benh )

When my family were ticketed for an overseas flight at Boston's Logan International, the clerk processed our tickets but then asked an unexpected question: "Would you like to upgrade to seats with more legroom?" When I asked how much that would cost, he responded "$231." I declined, since my flight was being paid for by my employer and the upgrade would have come out of my pocket. After a moment of discussion with another clerk, he processed our tickets. We received our tickets and proceeded to the gate for the first leg of our flight.

While waiting for the weather to clear at Dulles to continue our trip, I was attracted to a display from United Airlines that was playing on an LCD TV at the gate. United was showing off their "Economy Plus" seating option, which featured additional leg room in a specific section of the plane, in this case rows (Boeing 777) 17 through 26. (See http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/United_Airlines/United_Airlines_Boeing_777-200_2.php) I pulled out my boarding pass to check my seat assignments, and my entire family was seated in Row 18, within the "Economy Plus" area, even though I had declined to pay the additional fee.

At this point, I recalled the short conversation between the two clerks at Logan, which I had not paid much attention to at the time, but now made sense. My clerk asked the other clerk what "they are supposed to do when the traveler declines." The other clerk replied that "the company makes them ask, but if they say no he just books them anyway."

It is now clear to me that Economy was already full, and that additional Economy passengers were being seated in Economy Plus, whether or not they paid to upgrade, which means that the poor schmucks that were booked and ticketed weeks earlier (I made reservations only twelve days prior) for Economy Plus likely paid an upgrade price for the privilege, where I did not. Or, other passengers like myself who were being seated in Economy Plus anyway were subjected to an attempt by the airline to gouge us out of a few more bucks. That sure doesn't seem right to me.

Best Regards,

Joe S.

Economy Plus Page [United]

The fees are:

1) Beverages— Bring an empty water bottle and hit the drinking fountain.

2) Checked luggage— Avoid certain stupid airlines or become a carry-on ninja.

3) Award tickets— Fuel surcharges are making award tickets suck. Cash in your miles, or use your awards for something else.

4) Unaccompanied minors— Avoid airlines with insane fees or fly with your kid. At these rates, it might be worth it.

In depth explanations and more specific advice on how to get around these fees is given here, but we liked this way the best:

Of course, the best way around all of these fees is to fly on an airline that doesn't have them. Southwest Airlines still allows you to check two bags at no extra charge. JetBlue still serves free drinks and snacks and charges $25 less than the big airlines for unaccompanied minors. Supporting these less fee-prone companies will hasten the inevitable demise of the airlines that erroneously believe they can surcharge their way back to a profit.

Four new airline fees — and how to avoid them [CNN] (Thanks, j!)
(Photo: hellochris )

According to US Airways policy, coffee and tea are $1, but bottled drinking water is $2. So, can you order tea and ask them to "hold the tea" and save a $1? Shouldn't you be able to get a boring old glass of water for free?

Jeanne Leblanc from the Hartford Courant thinks so:

It's hard to understand why the laws that require free potable water in such public places as movie theaters and amusement parks don't seem to apply to airlines. But then, it shouldn't have to be a law. It should just be a matter of common decency.
...
Now, I'm not saying US Airways should have to hand out free bottles of water, although that would be nice. I'm saying it should pour a cup of water out of a quart bottle for any passenger who's thirsty. And for no other reason than that they're thirsty.

US Airways says that if you're "desperately thirsty" and you don't have any money, they might give you some water... so that you don't try anything embarrassing like drinking out of the bathroom sinks.

“Frankly, [drinking from the sink is] just not classy,” a US Airways spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal.

So what do you think? Should there be non-fancy water for anyone who is thirsty?

US Airways' Fee Too Far [Courant]
Starting Today, No More Free Water on US Air [WSJ Middle Seat Blog]
(Photo: caseywest )

The flight attendants say that not only does this "nickel and dime" approach turn flight attendants into "cashiers," it could cause an already irritated traveling public to become enraged:

"In the current industry of customer frustration, the last thing flight attendants want to do is add fuel to the fire," said a spokesperson in a press release.

Bloomberg reports that US Airways is trying to calm fears of a violent uprising by instituting a policy of non-confrontation with potential insurgents.

“We’re trained to keep order on an airplane and defuse confrontation,” Mike Flores, president of US Airways’ A.F.A. chapter, said in an interview Thursday. “If it takes giving a free beverage to somebody to do that, so be it. I expect there will be flight attendants who just give everything away.”

No Free Coffee on US Airways (Unless, of Course, You Insist) [NYT]
US Airways Aircraft Turn Into Flying Vending Machines (Press Release) [Portfolio]
US Airways' air-rage incentive [Economist]
(Photo: Jenna Belle )

JetBlue to Start Charging for Pillows [NYT] (Photo: Lil Erna)

Shame the cry for good service came from the Chinese government, not the FAA.

Chinese officials aren't the only ones playing hardball. Americans and our Executive Email Carpet Bombs look like pushovers compared to our Chinese counterparts:

State media reported this week that scores of Chinese passengers smashed computers and desks and clashed with police after a night stranded at an airport without accommodation.

More than 170 passengers were due to leave Kunming, capital of southwestern Yunnan province, on three flights operated by China Southern Airlines late Monday, but the flights were cancelled due to bad weather, Xinhua news agency said.

The report blamed the melee on China Southern staff's "inappropriate working attitude."

Yang said customers must also be kept better informed about delays, especially those caused by bad weather, a big issue in China.

"If there is bad weather, for example, we will tell the media to publicize it so that passengers can be informed ahead of time and avoid long waits at airports due to the weather," he added.

Another worry, with the Games a week away, has been ensuring Beijing's main airport does not suffer delays from thunderstorms, which often strike the capital over the summer, just as athletes and other visitors arrive.

During last year's Spring Festival, riot police had to be called to Beijing airport after passengers angry at fog-related delays roughed up airline staff, attacked service counters and tried to storm grounded aircraft.

Airlines that fail to improve their service will lose runway slots at popular airports. China's centralized government may not be able to secure their food supply, but we sure do love their can-do attitude towards the airlines!

Punishing airlines whose passengers misbehave [Reuters]
(Photo: Getty)

[via BudgetTravel] (Photo: Cubbie_n_Vegas)

The cancellation seems legit—the plane simply won't be there when it's scheduled—but because United is calling it weather-related, they don't have to compensate Jonathan or find him a seat on another carrier.

I bought tickets on United for my friend to fly from Boston (BOS) to Chicago (ORD) leaving last Friday and returning today. On the way out she was delayed nearly four hours due to mechanical and paperwork problems. At this point I was already expecting some form of compensation as a loyal United customer for years.

Yesterday United calls to say her returning flight has been canceled. She was supposed to leave at 8am to get a half day of work in, but apparently the next available United flight leaves at 1pm. That won't work, I explain, and ask for the ticket to be endorsed to another carrier that can meet our schedule. The customer service rep responds that the cancellation is weather-related and therefore not eligible for endorsement.

This sounded pretty fishy - a flight canceled a day in advance due to weather? I first check other United flights in the morning and hers is the only one canceled. How could that be if there’s bad weather? The rep explains the weather's earlier in the morning; the plane couldn't make it to Chicago for her flight. Same problem - only the one flight in from Boston was canceled. In addition, flights on other major carriers were all still scheduled. So at this point it's not weather in the early morning either.

I finally get a supervisor who explains that the bad weather was yesterday night, and United canceled a flight to Boston which would have positioned the plane to head to Chicago early today and finally back to Boston for our flight. To verify this new story I checked the FAA's airport status site, which said there were only delays of up to 45 minutes in Boston because of thunderstorms. And again, other United flights and carriers were making it into Boston, albeit with substantial delays. Doesn't sound like a forced cancellation to me.

United's claim to weather isn't the usual and understandable problem, then - storms between the endpoints during the flight. Nor is it even weather for the flight inbound, which is a bit of a stretch for me; if the skies are clear I feel it's up to the airline to find a plane. If other carriers can fly the route, it's not weather. United’s claim is bad weather the day before that seems to have selectively impacted them. No way does weather - which may not even have been cancellation-worthy - the day before, two flights before, justify this cancellation. I’ve heard stories of airlines stretching what counts as a weather-related delay / cancellation before, but this is a whopper.

Jonathan asks, "How would you suggest approaching an airline in future when they claim weather is a factor when you feel it isn’t? How would you frame a request to United for compensation? And what compensation do you feel it would be appropriate to ask for?"

Jonathan, you might want to try calling the FAA's hotline to ask them if there's any sort of regulation about this. You should also escalate this up to the executive level and demand some clarification about United's official "weather cancellation" policy. Finally, you may want to try contacting the travel writer/advocate Christopher Elliott at www.elliott.org—this is the kind of topic he might know more about, or he might be able to ask an airline representative on your behalf.

Readers, any suggestions? Do any of you know whether there's a statute of limitations on blaming weather for canceled flights?

(Photo: Getty)

Here's Anayah's letter to Delta:

To Whom It May Concern:

I have never felt as hustled by an airline as I have been on this day. When I booked the fee for my younger sister to come visit me in New York from Chicago, I called in to Delta to find out what the procedure is for a minor to fly on Delta. I was told on 2 different occasions by customer service representatives that if she was 14 or older, she would be able to fly without paying a fee in addition to the $306 plane ticket... only to have my mother and sister embarrassed at the ticket counter when they were told she would have to pay an additional fee that our mother (who accompanied her to the airline) cannot afford.

When our mother tried to arrange to have me pay it at the ticket counter, she was advised that it COULD NOT be paid in person, only over the phone. When I called to make the payment over the phone on her behalf, we learned that there was an ADDITIONAL $100 fee for paying over the phone to the already additional $100 unaccompanied minor fee on a $306 TICKET!

In speaking with a representative over the phone, we also learned that a previous representative had already entered that they advised us about the fee when they DIDN'T! Instead of telling us that we would have to pay the fee so we could make arrangements for that sooner, the person noted her age in the account and told us we WOULD NOT have to pay a fee.

In all of this confusion, my little sister has missed her flight and we're being made to PAY ANOTHER FEE to rebook her. In the past 12 years, I've missed countless flights in at least 5 countries - some missed flights were my fault, others the airlines' - never have I had to pay to be rebooked for them.

I am absolutely shocked and disgusted that at a time when our country is in an economic recession and people are choosing to travel by air less and less that Delta would see fit to discourage another customer from ever flying with your airline by extorting a series of irrational (at least irrationally priced, notified, and collected) fees. I know that they are irrational because the final representative with whom I spoke did not charge the ridiculous additional $100 fee to rebook by phone. While I greatly appreciated his gesture, I see that it was all a game to hustle as much money as possible from the beginning, or else I would have been able to make all of the changes by phone without the additional $100 phone fees (x2 for 2 different "services") and [my sister] would not have missed her original flight.

Sincerely,

Anayah

We looked up Delta's unaccompanied minor policy and they do indeed charge $100 each way, for anyone 14 and under. The fees are collected at the airport ticket counter when the child checks in.

We also took a look at some other airline's policies about unaccompanied minors. United Airlines and JetBlue do not charge unaccompanied minor fees for 14-year-olds, but many other airlines do.

Delta's policy is not unusual or unclear, and their customer service representatives should have advised you of the fee when you asked them about it, especially if they noted your sister's age on the account, and they should have waived the $100 "phone" fee before your sister missed her flight — not after.

What a mess!

American's policy allows military personnel "one checked 100-pound duffel-type bag, one standard checked 50-pound suitcase and one standard carry-on suitcase of up to 40 pounds." They're getting "a total of 190 pounds of free luggage," said airline spokesman Tim Wagner, in an e-mail to the El Paso Times.

Staff Sgt. Ashley Serrano doesn't see it that way. He says that other airlines see his uniform and waive their baggage fees. "I have flown Southwest, Continental, and when they saw me in uniform, they didn't even ask," Serrano said. "I flew American a couple of times before, but I never had this problem."

Serrano said he was confronted Friday at the El Paso International Airport with a demand for $100 for his third bag, and when he mentioned he was headed for Camp Bowie - where Texas Army National Guard soldiers train before deployment - he said they told him, without a smile, that the Army should have given him a voucher. Serrano's fellow soldier and traveling companion had three extra bags and was charged $300, he said.

"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. We're very proud of our military forces - and many of our employees began their flying careers with the military - so we're pleased to be able to help."

Serrano doesn't seem to think the policy is generous.

"You couldn't fit it all into two (checked) bags if you tried," he told the paper.

Airline baggage fees hit soldier flying out of El Paso for training [El Paso Times] (Thanks, Gabe!)
(Photo: benh57 )

You can avoid the charges by becoming an "elite" member of Delta's frequent flier program, or by flying internationally. The fees do not apply to First Class passengers. In addition to the fee for a second bag, the charge for checking a third, fourth or fifth bag, now $80 for each bag, will rise to $125 apiece, says the New York Times. Checking a third bag internationally will now cost coach passengers $150.

“Fewer than 20 percent of our customers check a second bag; I would imagine that it would be even less for a third,” a Delta spokeswoman, Betsy Talton, said. “It’s still a good value when compared with shipping or luggage services.”

Delta Raises Fee for a Second Bag [NYT]
(Photo: saramarie )

Delta is also raising fees on oversized items and heavy items.

First-class passengers, international travelers and elite members of Delta’s frequent-flier program will still be allowed to check two bags for free. First-class and elite travelers can check up to three bags at no charge on international flights; a third bag will now cost a coach-class passenger traveling overseas an extra $150.

Items that are 62 to 80 inches long, including athletic equipment like surfboards and skis, will cost $175 to check after Tuesday on all flights. They now cost $150.

Delta is also increasing its charges for heavy baggage, regardless of whether it is included in a free baggage allowance. A bag that weighs 51 to 70 pounds will cost the traveler $90 to check in the United States, and $150 on an international trip, up from $80.

A bag weighing from 71 to 100 pounds will cost as much as $300 to check on an international trip, compared with $150.

Although a before-and-after chart of the new fees is supposed to be available at www.delta.com, as of July 29th we couldn't find it (if you do, please post the link in the comments below).

"Delta Raises Fee for a Second Bag " [New York Times] (Thanks to Ken and Mary!)
(Photo: Getty)

If your flight is canceled or you're given a wrong connection, the airline might have to put you on another flight for free, even if it's on another airline. Airfarewatchdog blog has put together a handy table to help you tell which airlines follow these procedures, and to what degree. They also have links to the contracts of carriage for the airlines that have them posted online. Handy to check if you're covered before booking, and also good to print out and bring with you to the airport just in case you need to invoke your rights and the airline employee has forgotten their own policies.

Rule 240 Revisited [Airfarewatchdog Blog]

Martin Harrison
Chief operating officer
2800 Executive Way
Miramar, FL 33025
(954) 447-7965
martin.harrison@spiritair.com

Tony Lefebvre
Senior vice president, customer service
2800 Executive Way
Miramar, FL 33025
(954) 447-7965
tony.lefebvre@spiritair.com

Jeff Carlson, vice president of flight operations
(954) 447-7941
jeff.carlson@spiritair.com

Greg Kappen, senior director of flight operations
(954) 628-4856
greg.kappen@spiritair.com

Patsy Carlin, senior director, inflight & talent acquisition
(954) 447-7922
Patsy.Carlin@spiritair.com

Heather Harvey, customer service manager
Heather.Harvey@Spiritair.com

Heather's direct line is (954) 447-7957. If you get through to the phone tree, the transfer extension is 4957.

David W. Lancelot SVP and CFO
david.lancelot@spiritair.com

Barry L. Biffle SVP and Chief Marketing Officer
barry.biffle@spiritair.com

Denise Masella, executive assistant to CEO Ben Baldanza
Denise.Masella@Spiritair.com

(Props to Elliot.org where most of this info came from)

(pictured: Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza laughing because he just took your monies and is going to go buy some cakes)

Scenario of a typical Board Meeting of Spirit Air to encourage new passengers with profitable increase:

"Let's coerce them to buy tickets (with a price reduction), with us online, for flights that the customer customizes, to their benefit."

"Then we can go in and change everything so the customer squirms a bit and has to go by our guidelines to fixing the problem we made for them. Then, to top it off, any arrangements or pre-payment of "luxury" items (ie. Pre-checked baggage and seating arrangements) will not be able to be transferred to the new arrangements and we don't have to give them their money back, but rather keep that money and re-charge them for new arrangements on the new flight, made to our guidelines because of a problem we inflicted upon them."

"This is great, because we are the Spirit of the airlines, and we have the right to do it. Also, let's go one step farther... Let's make the flights un-refundable, so they HAVE to stay with our policies and guidelines. In the end, they will become so frustrated with our customer service that they will either succumb to our rules and live with the delay in destination plans, having to reschedule everything they had planned, or they will go to another airline, where we get to keep their money and they have to come up with new money to pay for that flight. It's a win/win solution to the economy, and
our longevity within the airline business."

"To make the customer even more frustrated, we don't have to contact them with the changes in their flight until 2-4 weeks prior to their flight. We will write this into our policy with a special note for them to be responsible for keeping "tabs" on their own flight, making our job that much easier."

Now David tells us what actually happened to him. David had sent both sections to Spriti Airlines mutliple times, and hasn't gotten a single reply.

We pre-arranged everything for our trip to Florida, and now everything has to be changed because our flight was cancelled, and we were placed on a flight with a 5-hour layover in Fort Lauderdale, putting us in our destination 5 hours late and all reservations made that evening will have to be cancelled.

It's not a matter of how could you do this to your customers, but rather how long you will remain in business once everyone has had an unresolved complaint with your airline, and tell their friends and families not to fly
on Spirit.

We were encouraged by the low airfares as the economy becomes unstable and gas prices soar out of control. We adjust our living to accommodate this, and one of the ways of doing this is by the companies that understand the problem and offer solutions. I assumed your offer to be sincere, in an effort to help people find cost-saving routes to be able to still get out of the house from time to time.

This hassle has caused more headaches than it's price in gasoline. I thought about cancelling the flight because of the way we have been jerked around, only to learn it is unrefundable. We are stuck. So, we changed our flight from the one YOU reassigned us on, to a non-stop to Orlando again. The time works better for us, as we arrive earlier than originally scheduled, and we get to keep our reservations, but now the pre-checked baggage and pre-paid seating arrangements are void and non-refundable. In order to get the seats we want, we have to pay you AGAIN to remake a new seating arrangement. This flight will have cost us the same amount, in money, as it would have to drive there, minus the time. None of this non-refundable problems would have happened if you hadn't changed our plans, and as a result, decided not to honor the US dollars we paid already for the necessary arrangements.

I would rather fly with Spirit Air, since my last flight with you was quite enjoyable. This time around, however, has me thinking the first time was a fluke.

How can we find a solution rather than inflicting headaches, lost money, and rescheduling issues? This policy you guys have is wrong and unjust. How many times will we be switched from jet to jet, having been left with having to pay for new seats? I understand it is affordable, but affordable becomes expensive after doing it three or four times.

Think about it, and please help us out, as returning customers. If something isn't done, we won't return. Another airline will not only become our new method of travel, but yours will not be recommended to anyone we come in contact with, should they be thinking about flying.

Thank you for your time,

David B

We would say to email Baldanza, but he might just make snide comments about you to his coworkers. Maybe try sending him a message via his LinkedIn profile.

The AP article says,

Each side agreed to pay its own legal fees, and American recovered nothing from Google, according to an order signed by Judge John McBryde.

American was upset that when Google users entered search terms such as AAdvantage, the trademark name of its frequent-flier program, the results included Web sites that had no connection to American.

The airline said the results could confuse consumers and divert customers from its own Web site.

Google compared its policy to grocery stores that give shoppers a coupon for Minute Maid orange juice if they buy Tropicana, or magazines that publish a Ford ad on the page opposite from a story about Chevrolets.

"Of course they are seeking to 'hijack' or 'divert' consumers who have indicated an interest in their competitors' products," Google lawyers wrote in a motion seeking to dismiss the lawsuit. As long as the companies don't falsely identify a product or service, it's legal, they said.

The Internet company has settled similar cases brought by other U.S. companies, including those brought by insurer Geico and retailer American Blind & Wallpaper Factory Inc., but lost cases in France.

Because what Google is doing does not meet the legal definition of false advertising, they seem to be in the legal clear to associate whatever keywords they want to whomever they want. Do consumers want search results that are unrelated to our search terms? No, but we will undoubtedly continue to use Google anyway, since they are the virtual god of the Internet, and they know it.

American Airlines and Google settle lawsuit [AP]

As Upgrade: Travel Better and Elliot.org point out, it's just another way to try to recoup costs without having to increase the "landing price," the upfront price shoppers see when they first encounter a merchant's offer.

There are two ways around the fee. You can either purchase your Spirit airlines tickets at the airport, or you can buy them on Orbitz. There's no "web convenience fee" for Spirit Airline tickets bought on Orbitz, and Orbitz's fee is less than Spirit's. Let's just hope the other obsessively copycat airlines don't pick this one up too.

Below, Spirit Airlines verbiage for the fee.

Convenience Fee of $5.00 per traveling customer per one way travel applies to all reservations with the exception of those bookings created directly at Spirit Airlines’ airport locations. All fares are subject to change until confirmed and purchased.

Money talks, B.S. flies [Upgrade: Travel Better]
Watch out — Spirit is socking passengers with surprise fees! [Elliot.org]

(Photo: Cubbie_n_Vegas)

Around 11:45am on Monday I was headed home to San Diego from JFK. As I arrived to the Jetblue terminal I noticed the lines inside were super long, so for the first time I decided it was worth a $3 fee to take advantage of the curbside check in.

Upon checking in, the attendant took my bag and brought it to the other check in station (if I were actually thinking and anymore paranoid I would have watched him weigh the bag). When he returned he told me my bag was overweight and there is a $50 fee for any baggage over 50lbs. Before I could even respond with "are you kidding me?" he told me he could he get it through if I "gave him a big tip". I quickly weighed my options and decided the tip option was clearly the way to go. As soon as I told him to go ahead with that option and handed him all the money I had ($15 tip + $3 fee) he took one look at the cash and asked "this is a big tip right?". He then counted it in front of me and was clearly unstoked with the amount, so I assured him it was all I had. He printed out my boarding pass and I headed to the gate.

As I sat on the flight I felt like A) I had been scammed, and B) it was my own fault. As soon as I got home I weighed the bag and sure enough, 46lbs. The following morning I called Jetblue to file a complaint, and also sent them an email. Their representatives were of course very apologetic and disgusted by the transaction, and promised to look into the situation.

I'd like to get my money back as much as the next guy, but I'm fine with leaving it here. My major issue is that in this day and age where the average traveler is being gouged for everything possible by the airlines, someone else has to take it one step further and take advantage of customers outside of the business bubble.

I wonder how often this happens at every airport? Do I blame the attendant, his employer, or myself?

Desperate times make for desperate measures.

We think everyone deserves a little blame here, but you shouldn't beat yourself up about it. JetBlue has certainly had its share of low-life scamming employees working at JFK. You only lost $15 and now you're sharing your story so that others can avoid this scam, and you reported the scammer to his employer. I'm sure that our readers, and JetBlue itself, appreciate your sleuthing!

And, just for those of you who are from out of town and flying through JFK, don't take anything anyone says at face value when you are in that airport. Stick to the straight and narrow, and if you know Obi Wan Kenobi, ask him if he'd mind picking you up.

(Photo: ellimac )

UPDATE: The 43.5% APR is the effective APR after you include the £150 annual fee. Like commenter Hanke wrote, "It's just like those payday loan places, where although the actual interest rate is low, the fees associated with the service give you a 300%APR." Makes you wonder, though, what about all those American credit cards with annual fees? Their effective APR is also higher then, and as far as I know, they don't have to include the fee in the stated APR (big print or no).

British Airways American Express [Official Site] (Thanks to Kerwin!)

Last January I purchased two tickets from Kansas to Sri Lanka from a travel agent to go on a vacation in May to June. When I went to the airport with two paper tickets in hand I was informed that my tickets were canceled by the Travel Agent. This was due to the negligence of the travel agent. So I had to spend two nights in a hotel w