US Airways says that their decision to start charging for water, coffee and soft drinks is working — because no one is buying them.
fees
United Airlines Is Apparently Crappy At Buying Fuel
By 9.19.08
United Airlines is just super crappy at fuel hedging, says Wired. Now that oil is trading at less then $100 a barrel, it turns out that United is paying more than that — and more than other airlines:
Oil Prices Down But Airline Fees Remain
By 9.18.08
Airlines have added all sorts of fees to compensate for their increased oil costs recently. Now that oil has dropped, the fees are gone, right? Nope. Now that we’re all acclimated to a la carte pricing, which airlines have lusted to implement for ages, don’t expect it to be going away anytime soon. $2 fee to have the window open, $4 to have it shut.
United: Did We Say $25 For The Second Bag? How About $50.
By 9.15.08
United Airlines has decided that $25 was too generous a price to check your second bag with their airline, and have announced that they’ll be bumping the fee up to $50.
Blockbuster Double Dips In PayPal Account; Naturally, PayPal Does Nothing
By 9.10.08
Blockbuster debited Anthony’s PayPal account two days in a row for the same monthly plan. PayPal won’t help—they say it’s between Blockbuster and Anthony, offering further proof that PayPal is a great service only as long as nothing goes wrong.
By 9.5.08
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Continental has added a $15 charge on the first checked bag for some economy-class passengers, effective on tickets bought for travel on or after October 7. [Reuters] (Thanks, CMU_Bueller!)
No More Cash On Southwest Airlines
By 9.3.08
Southwest Airlines will no longer be accepting cash for drinks on board their flights. The airline will “accept credit and debit cards and Rapid Rewards drink coupons for items that carry a fee, which also includes cocktails and energy drinks.” [CNNMoney]
Backlash: United Drops Plan To Ax Hot Meals On International Flights
By 9.2.08
United Airlines said it would listen to feedback from customers about its proposed plan to ax hot meals for coach passengers on international flights… and it did. The company has decided not to go ahead with the plan. Reader Jason forwarded us the following email from Graham Atkinson, United’s Chief Customer Officer.
Personal Finance Roundup
By 8.28.08
Using Your Health Savings Account as a “Super Roth” Investment Vehicle [Free Money Finance] “If you can afford to delay using your HSA funds and instead leave them invested, your payoff in retirement will be substantial.”
Northwest Airlines Begins Charging $15 For First Checked Bag Today
By 8.28.08
Reader Colin says he just got charged for his first checked bag on Northwest Airlines:
AirTran Agent Screams, Curses At Travelers While Supervisor Looks On
By 8.25.08
Forget about those dowdy old-school Olympics. What we need is an international competition to see which airline can suck the most, since everyone is getting so good at it. In the category of Random Rudeness, this AirTran agent and her equally hostile supervisor would have a good shot at the gold—especially since they aimed their hostility at a honeymooning couple.
U.S. Airlines Now Charging As Much As $400 To Carry Surfboards
By 8.22.08
Airlines and surfers must be involved in some secret war, because how else can you explain why airlines are targeting them so savagely right now? Sure, snacks cost us $9, bags are $50 each, and seat belts will probably soon be auctioned off during the preflight check—but if you’re a surfer, you can expect to pay up to $200 each way to bring along your board, pretty much blowing out the budget of any surfer who isn’t Patrick Swayze.
United Airlines Thinks You're Willing To Pay $9 For A Snack
By 8.22.08
United Airlines is obviously not to familiar with the dollar menu at McDonald’s because they’re convinced that you’ll pay up to $9 for their “Buy-On-Board” snack offerings, says the Wall Street Journal.
United Airlines Drops Free Snacks In Coach And So Much More…
By 8.20.08
The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that United Airlines will no longer offer free snacks in coach starting September 2nd. They are also dropping complimentary meals in business class except for “premium transcontinental flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles to New York.” Shockingly, this move coincides with the airlines’ expansion of their “buy-on-board” food offerings, says the Chronicle.
By 8.20.08
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American Airlines has launched broadband internet service on nonstop flights from New York to San Francisco, New York to Los Angeles and New York to Miami for a fee of $12.95 [Bizjournals]
Personal Finance Roundup
By 8.18.08
Using Your Health Savings Account as a “Super Roth” Investment Vehicle [Free Money Finance] “If you can afford to delay using your HSA funds and instead leave them invested, your payoff in retirement will be substantial.”
California Declares Free Market Broken, Recommends Price Controls For Phone Services
By 8.16.08
“There is no indication of any change in the near future regarding the current state of competition. Market forces have not yet met the challenge of controlling price increases.”
Poll: Is It Immoral For US Airways To Charge For Drinking Water?
By 8.5.08
Between the TSA ban on liquids and US Airways $2 fee for bottled water, if you want a drink, you’re probably going to pay for it. It may be annoying, but is it also wrong?
