United Airlines Gets My Vote!

This past Sunday I had the good fortune to fly from Seattle to Chicago on United Airlines. I have to tell you that I had the best experience with the gate agent at United in Seattle. This Agent, was so friendly and helpful that it made it a pleasure to be a passenger. I wish I would have gotten her name, but she was the Best!! Kudos to United in Seattle. You made my flight back home to Chicago just a little less stressful.

$15 to check a bag on your flight? What’s Wrong with this picture?

This is getting ridiculous. American Airlines stated today, May 21, 2008 that it is going to start charging $15 to let you check one bag on your flight. How nuts is that. First they tell you that you cannot carryon items and they make you put them in your checked baggage. Now they tell you that you have to pay to check that bag that you can’t carryon! What is wrong with these airlines. If you need to increase your fares to cover your costs, then raise the fare, but don’t nickel and dime the customers to death. This is an insult to the intelligence of the everyday traveler.

I sure hope that no other airline follows American’s lead.  Let me know what you think.

Gas Prices Are Artificially Inflated!

Well, I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore! That’s right, gas prices in the US are through the roof! And do you know why they are so high? Well, it’s not because there is a shortage of oil, because there is plenty of oil in the world at this time. It’s not because China is using more oil then they did last year.

So why are oil prices so high? IT’S THE DAM FUTURE TRADERS! It’s all speculation on the futures market. We have a bunch of greedy future traders that are bidding up the price of oil. An just yesterday another jerk that call himself an investment analyst predicted that oil will go to over $200 a barrel! Yah, if you bid it up to $200 it will go to $200 because it’s all speculation. What the hell is wrong with these people. 

What needs to be done, and quickly is to sell off  the oil futures and the price of oil will plumit overnight. Otherwise, people are going to be pushed to the breaking point and will find other ways to get around. Then the demand will drop and the price will come down. I have parked my car and I am taking public transportation. I refuse to give these jerks anymore of my hard earned money.

So here is what you can do. Park your cars or cut back your driving by 1 gallon a week. If everyone that drives in the US cuts back 1 gallon a week we would send a clear message to everyone from the traders to the oil companies.

Get Mad as hell and let’s stick it to the very people that are sticking it to the American Public!

Great Website for Airfares

Everyone that travels knows the drill. You need to find the best airfare for your trip. But where do you go to find these elusive fares? Do you go to Travelocity or Oribtz? Should you look at this site or that site? Should you call all the different airlines? What should you do.

Well fear no more. I have found this great website that will find the best airfare and tell you if you should buy your ticket now or wait a few days as the price may come down. Take a look at www.farecast.com. After you find your fare, you just click on the fare cost and farecast will take you right to the site where you can book your ticket.

Try it, I am sure you will love it!  Let me know what you think.

 

If it has wheels, some people think it’s a carry-on

I guess this is my rant for this week. I just returned from a flight on American Airlines from Las Vegas. I was in boarding group 4, I don’t know how I always get in boarding group 4. I check in at home 24 hour in advance and I still get boarding group 4. But anyway, I board the plane and get to my seat, an aisle seat on a 757 and sit down. Within 30 seconds, this women comes down the aisle dragging this huge suitcase and bumping into everyone that has an aisle seat. She gets to my row, row 21 and stops. Now mind you, there are maybe 15 people behind her and now she is standing in the middle of the aisle with this suitcase (yes it has wheels) that should have been checked. I have no Idea how she got it through security. Now everyone is backed up out the door of the plane waiting for her to hoist this boulder into the overhead rack. So she tries to lift this thing by herself into the overhead rack. After the first try, it fell on an empty seat. The second try it fell on the passenger in row 20. I get up to try to help her and it falls on me. There was no way that the suitcase was going to fit into the over head rack the way it was packed. So she starts taking things out of this suitcase and putting it in her carryon bag. Well, to make a long story short, the flight attendant was able to finally cram that thing into the overhead after she emptied about 2 pounds of stuff into her carry on bag but now there was no space for any ones carryons except hers.

So, please the next time you fly. Be respectful to your fellow passengers and bring a small carryon that will fit without any problem in the overhead rack. And remember, just because it has wheels, does not make it a CARRYON!

Ok, I feel better now.