Tuesday, April 6, 2010

The newest way to travel


Yet more madness in the airline industry!

According to the April 6, 2010 edition of USA Today, "Spirit Airlines has become the first airline in the USA – perhaps in the world – to say it will charge fliers for putting carry-on bags into its overhead storage bins."

"In addition to lowering fares even further, this will reduce the number of carry-on bags, which will improve inflight safety and efficiency by speeding up the boarding and deplaning process, all of which ultimately improve the overall customer experience," Spirit's Chief Operating Officer Ken McKenzie says in the airline's release. "Bring less; pay less. It's simple."

Sheesh, what a crock of s**t! Customers are getting milked like crazy for the privilege of getting on an airplane. Is paying a fare not enough?

Luckily, JetBlue (again, based out of the United States) seems to agree with me. Check out their tongue in cheek response, again thanks to USA Today:

"JetBlue also suggests – tongue in cheek – that when customers can't use JetBlue, they should consider 'our expertly-crafted Extrago Sherpa Shirt special outerwear' for flying an airline like Spirit. JetBlue says the shirt – which it points out is a joke and is not actually for sale – is designed to hold an entire trip's worth of necessities, including the money you'll save by not checking or carrying on your bag." What does this shirt look like? Take a look at the top of this page!