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REPLY: 6.fido_aviation@1:135/395 2988196f
TZUTC: 0200                  
CB> found this on a simple google search... i really hope so because it's
CB> rediculous. My partner just went to New York on Avelo.... you are allowed
CB> ONE carry on which MUST fit under the seat... if you wanted to use the
CB> overhead bins, you had to pay extra... and no it's ONE item TOTAL... not
CB> even one plus a personal.
 
It is common knowledge that in the golden age of aviation, airlines often
suffered because of the chaotic settlement of tickets. There were sections on
planes with "open reservations" and any travel agent or airline could issue
tickets without knowing if reservations could actually be made. At that time,
overbooking was sometimes scandalous... 
 
I know of Aer Lingus and Delta flying in pool to Dublin and Delta was allowed
to sell 20 seats on an Aer Lingus flight. You arrive at Dublin airport with a
regular Delta ticket and it turns out that Delta sold over 60 without making a
reservation and the ticketing agents had to sort it out. Happened to a friend
of mine.
 
In the days of paper tickets, it also took at least 2 months after flying a
flight before they received their money... they had to cover that period of
costs (wages, rental fees, services, fuel, parking fees, landing fees, etc.),
pre-finance themselves.
 
Nowadays, with the ubiquity of PCs and smartphones and websites directly from
the airlines, it is the passengers who pre-finance the activities of the
airlines ... anyone ... the earlier you book, the better the fare, so you
could book q flight 6 months in advance, and pay for it. That way the
companies already have the money for 6 months before they have to provide the
service.
 
Also all the extras... seat selections, luggage, overhead bins, early
boarding, window seats, meals, drinks... the airlines now have all those
things under control and make more money from them than from the actual flying
itself... you think you'd found a cheap rate on their website and then it
starts... you go to the USA from Europe with your kids and you easily pay $250
extra per person just to sit next to your kids... $70 to get to take a
suitcase with you either way. Want to have a beer with your meal? Pay!
 
A meal? In the past, in the golden age of aviation, a meal was a real meal.
Then the period of "Chicken or pasta" started and that chicken was a chicken
breast. A little later it became a very small chicken breast of which you
could wonder whether it came from a chicken or from the pigeons that are
regularly caught in Central Park. And then it became 3 slices of a very small
chicken breast and now you end up with 4 dice-sized pieces of chicken. And the
entire meal fits in the palm of your hand, it's not even a snack. Do you want
to have more? That is possible, provided you pay...It has become a rip-off,
even the mafia would treat you better.
 
And that is why this hopefully expected European action is very welcome, but
it will simply lead to higher fares than ...
 
Have you noticed how few airlines go bankrupt these days? Virtually none
anymore, and there is a reason for that... the technology to extract money
from travelers' pockets has been greatly refined.
 
If they need more money they will find ways ... coin-operated restrooms,
standing-up space only, 7-abreast seating in a 737 ... 

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