My answer is to not fly. I gave it up with poor service and the TSA. It isn't worth the effort. I drive and take my time. Other than Southwest most airlines have no ability to provide the service they once did. I tore up my frequent flyer cards and have decided as have millions of others to stick to the ground. If the majority of them go out of business great maybe new companies with a service mind will get in the game. Go Southwest.

Posted By Steve Sanderson on June 26, 2008, 1:53 PM

Us Airways already charges a $25 move up fee if they can confirm you on an earlier flight on the same day.

Posted By Dan on June 26, 2008, 1:58 PM

It is making air travel very difficult! I am "sticking" to staying in my own area (San Francisco Bay Area)and being a real TOURIST. There is so much here and people pay big bucks to visit here,so we are going to enjoy what we have in our own neighborhood!!!

Posted By Maureen Hampton on June 26, 2008, 2:39 PM

Why do passenger think the airlines are out to get them. I don't remember ever wishing someone would just go out of business. Has everyone forgotten that the prices have been far too low for too long. I'm losing my job and now I'll probably either have to get out of the airline business or take a fifty to sixty percent pay cut, if i get a job at all. So families need to be ruined so we can save you a extra fifty dollars to go on vacation?

Posted By ery on June 26, 2008, 2:51 PM

The airlines are becoming the most customer insensitive organizations in America. Yes they have fuel increases, yes they need to make money, yes it's a business that needs to meet shareholder's expectations, but increase your prices to meet the market.

QUIT hitting customers with STUPID added and hidden charges for minor changes or services. They should be please to have customers fly standby; in fact they should give bonuses to fly standby. They want to charge $50 EXTRA to fill an empty seat that otherwise collects NO REVENUE. That person filling the empty seat is opening a seat on a upcoming flight that can be SOLD!!!

They cram the cabin with luggage that would otherwise be in the cargo hold where it belongs. But NO, they'd rather force people to stuff things in every possible and impossible crack, crevice, and hole in the PASSENGER CABIN.

Rather than make good business decisions, the airlines are making STUPID decisions that are alienating their once loyal customer base.

Posted By Mr. Bill on June 26, 2008, 4:57 PM

I would like to comment on the Southwest mention. Really? I would say that, despite this rate of $50, Continental is the best in the industry, but I also live in one of their hub cities. I fly them exclusively if I can. They have good service, are usually on-time (they didn't have the plane issue that plagued American and others recently when they took planes out of air), I can always reserve an aisle seat if I buy ahead of time, they feed you and I can usually get a direct route to where I want to go. Plus I have been able to use their frequent flyer miles at the lowest levels to fly to England and Turkey this year! Unless you have alot of vacation or have a ton of time to get from one place to another for work, air travel is the best way to go.

Posted By bem on June 26, 2008, 5:08 PM

People seem to think that everyone but the airlines should make money. Fares were higher in 1993 when I first went to work for an airline than they are today. Unfortunately it costs a lot to fly from one place to another and the airlines can't nor should they be expected to eat the cost- have you not noticed food, medicine, magazines,etc have raised their costs to cover the increase in fuel prices.

Posted By Suzanne on June 26, 2008, 5:45 PM

With all the gass hikes everybody is feeling the pain. I wanted to fly to the northwest from northeast and I just could not see paying $4,000 just to get some where( this is for a family of four). I am driving and I spend more on hotels than I usually do and I still pay less than $1,000 I do not see this going away. Airline will go broke and gas will just keep going up. We have lost the low price of travel and people will not fly.

Posted By judy cheung on June 26, 2008, 5:52 PM

I just flew Delta today and asked about getting on an earlier flight as a stand-by passenger. They also quoted me a $50 stand-by fee. It must be new for them, too, as I often fly stand-by and have never heard of this policy before. Interestingly enough, the flight I wanted to stand-by on had available seats and my flight was booked solid. I can't help but wonder if this policy will end up costing them $$ in the long run as they end up having to compensate folks for getting bumped when they could have lessened the load by allowing travelers who showed up early to actually fly earlier. On another note, the most unfortunate thing about flying these days is the tension everywhere. Everyone - travelers and employees - seems to be at a breaking point. I would gladly pay more for a ticket to not have a crummy, ruined day everytime I go near an airport.

Posted By Barley on June 26, 2008, 7:18 PM

We are not flying due to the extra charges. We wanted to fly from IAH to Seattle to take a cruise to Alaska, but, because of the extra charges are putting that trip on hold. I don't know any couple that is taking a 7 day cruise that would not have at least 4 bags. We have always flown Continental, but I hate not flying Continental because of these reasons since my sister and brother-in-law both work for Continental. My sister is worried about losing her job. Once you reach a certain age, jobs are hard to find. Airlines are feeling the pinch just like you and I, so I can understand raising their prices for the airfare, but some of the things they want to charge for are crazy.

Posted By Shirley on June 26, 2008, 7:41 PM

Stop complaining about the airlines. How many things besides air travel cost the same as they did 30 years ago? If the fees bother you, then don't pay them. If you buy a ticket with a change fee, then you have no right to complain when charged the fee. If you do not like to fly, then take a train or a bus. Yes there are hassles and annoyances with air travel, but have you been on a bus lately? People often behave so thoughtlessly when dealing with flight crews and reservations agents, so remember we have to put up with YOU sometimes and you don't hear us complaining. My advice is either be prepared to deal with it, or call Greyhound.

Posted By airline employee on June 26, 2008, 8:02 PM

Airline deregulation has proven to be a HUGE failure. Declining service, wholesale cancellations, overbooking, over scheduling during peak times, bankruptcies, under staffing, cattle cars- small & dirty aircraft on long routes, foreign, suspect maintenance, surcharges, inadequate service to smaller markets. What a disaster. REGULATE, REGULATE, REGULATE!

Posted By R V on June 26, 2008, 8:59 PM

Just remember if the CAB were still in place and everything was regulated...ya'lls beloved Southwest wouldn't even exist! Quit griping and get real! Just deal with the fact that prices are going up and it won't soon stop!

Posted By sam sam on June 26, 2008, 9:39 PM

Forget United out of Ris. They cancelled 2 flight recently and ruined several days of vacation for our family. We purchased Econ Plus and Red Carpet for $750. extra. What a laugh when they switch you to other airlines. United is behind putting information into their International Computer system so on a recent flight back from Viet Nam, United there had no record of our purchase.
I would agree that South West is by far the best deal. We wish they flew out of RIC so we din't have to drive to Norfolk. Their flights are advertized as no frills but their flights are on time and their service is most helpful!

Posted By Sheila Leckie on June 27, 2008, 1:14 AM

Forget Orbitz. They don't keep up with flight changes and actually booked our family on flights that couldn't make. One flight recently didn't leave enough time to get through Customs. Another connecting flight arrived 2 hour after the next leg of the trip even arrived. They kept sending reminders of the impossible flight connections. How is that for customer service?

Posted By Sheila Leckie on June 27, 2008, 1:19 AM

The expanded window makes up, to some extent for the dumping of free standby. CO was one of the last remaining free day-of standby, but had a small window in which you could operate. I admit that the extended window will likely be of more use to me on the occasions that I'm not on H or Y fares.

Posted By Left of the Pyle on June 27, 2008, 2:05 AM

Take the train, that is if you can find one. Amtrak has limited funding, so it had to severely cut back on its route structure, and frequency of service.

If it serves your travel plans, its the best way to travel, considering the cost of gas, and the stress and delays of air travel.

Try it, as they do all over Europe, Japan, and China.

Posted By Clark on June 27, 2008, 3:50 AM

The comment about needing 4 bags for 2 people on a 7-day trip is exactly why the airlines are nickle & diming people. My wife & I recently went to Europe for 15 days, and brought 2 medium sized bags (total). If everyone didn't feel the need to pack their entire wardrobe when they flew, the airlines wouldn't need to charge extra.

Posted By Josh on June 28, 2008, 11:18 AM

These fees are old news.. They have been charging for years

Posted By Ryan Miller on June 28, 2008, 4:37 PM

Yep... you can thank Jimmy Carter and his Harvard economic guru for destroying the airline industry with their "deregulation." Just another democratic govermental "fixxer-upper". Wait till everyone's out of business and Air China or Air India takes over the skies... see what kind of service you get then!

Posted By sue barnhart on June 29, 2008, 11:24 AM

We (family of four) just traveled through Mexico, on Mexicana Airlines and ALL the Mexican processes went smoothly. No fees for baggage, no surprises, relaxed and friendly staff, no security nightmares..Did I mention complimentary bar service? Not to mention that renting a car and paying half the price for gas in Mexico helped. It's too expensive to travel within the U.S. - but our credit card number was stolen - so I would definitely take strong precautions with that!

Posted By Mermama on June 30, 2008, 1:42 PM

To those of you defending the Airline industry's recent buffoonery, let me ask you this. Why is it that foreign airlines are posting profits while offering higher levels of service while the American airline industry - which is still babied is imploding? I recently noticed the head of RyanAir mentioned trans Atlantic flights as a priority. To be honest I can't wait for it to happen. The quality of the aircraft and level service - even in it's horrible state will surpass a lot of what I've seen provided by domestic carriers.

The real issue is that American airlines are using outdated planes, offering horrible services, and have had things their way for so long the whole thing is a disgusting mess.

Posted By Alex Berger on July 1, 2008, 4:33 AM

I am not an economist, so these are simply my impressions. Someone commented that foreign airlines are still reporting profits (and American ones are not). I suspect that is just more reaping of the economy of corporate greed in America. Compliments of a Parade, article I know that in 12 years (1993-2005) the average CEO went from making 160 something times to 360 something times what the average wage earner makes in a year. Now correct me if I am wrong, but in order for the little guy to buy any given product produced by one of those companies, he needs to make enough money to afford it. I have heard it said that Henry Ford was smart enough to know that for his company to survive he had to pay enough wages for his employees to afford to buy his product. I suspect that if you look at the difference between what the top incomes are in the airline industry in the US , and those flourishing elsewhere, you will understand why we fly on old (somewhat shoddy) airplanes and why the industry is not weathering the current economic conditions.

Posted By Ang on July 3, 2008, 3:23 PM

Look, the airlines are bleeding so badly that the whole air system in the US could fail. It's costing them more to get you to your destination than you are paying, even with the extra fees. If they don't find ways to slow the blood loss the government is going to have to step in and help and then instead of the actual flyers paying their fees the whole country will pay thru higher taxes whether they are flyers or not. Also, if the government steps in and regulates the airlines overall prices will go back to what they were and higher than before deregulation in the late 70's. I know because I worked for 25 years for a major carrier and believe me you as a consumer don't want it to happen.

Posted By Nancy on July 9, 2008, 8:54 PM

Supply and demand SHOULD work. So why are airlines still offering ridiculously low priced offers that lose money only to cut basic services as mentioned in blogs above? We recently flew Delta, checked the ONE bag and then had our carry-on ticketed (no charge) for the cargo hold. Sooo stupid--jus tlet us check it to begin with.

Posted By Joyce on July 11, 2008, 12:21 PM

"Airline Employee"'s comments are priceless. Could there be any better illustration of the attitude this industry has toward its customers? Clearly, the customer is at fault for being unhappy! The really sad, scary thing is this: Even if we paid 5 times what we pay now for air travel it would still be a miserable experience because these companies are bankrupt of the skills, culture, and desire to provide a pleasant experience at any price.

Posted By Susan on July 13, 2008, 9:06 PM

I agree Susan. I recently flew to South Africa & had the worst experience of my life. North West Airlines were pathetic. From the ground to the air to their head office, I have been humiliated, neglected, sloughed off & treated with absolutely no respect. To top it off, their callous attitude cost me an extra $3550! And to think they offered me a measly $150 In-Flight credit... Do they actually think I'd fly with them again! Get real! I would wait a week to fly stand-by with any other company! I've been in the service & hospitality industry for 13 years & I've never been treated so poorly! Pathetic.

Posted By Marie on July 17, 2008, 2:15 AM