Fly International, But Pack Your Own Lunch

This was posted on the Budget Travel Newsletter that appeared in my mailbox today. Can it get any more ridiculous? Christopher Elliot, the travel ombudsman jokes that they will start charging for using the toilets, making them coin-operated. As Freud said "Many truths are said in jest." I hope the airlines do not read Christopher's blog. United will cut free meals on many overseas flights

Posted by: Sean O'Neill, Wednesday, Aug 20, 2008, 9:48 AM

Starting Oct. 1, United Airlines will stop serving free meals to coach-class passengers on transatlantic flights between Washington D.C. (Dulles airport) and destinations in Europe. It's the first U.S. Airline to stop distributing free meals on transatlantic flights. The airline will offer salads and sandwiches for $9, says The Washington Post.

Meals in first and business classes will remain free for transatlantic flights. But for most domestic flights, business class will no longer get free meals. And the price of meals for flights within the U.S. Will also rise. (See United's pricing chart for details.)

No word yet on whether flight attendants will be able to handle all the cash payments. The game of "does anyone have small bills?" will get very old on a long transatlantic flight. I hope they'll give hand-held, credit-card reading machines to them, like US Airways is giving some of its flight attendants on domestic flights. (Virgin Atlantic has credit-card swipe readers on each seatback.)

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Airlines

I just read that some American airlines are now charging for water. Yes, you can still ask for 'tap' water, but the reports are that that water sits in tanks for hours on end. If you want a bottle of water, you will have to shell out some bucks. This video is humorous, but as Freud said, "There are many truths said in jest".

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The Generic Customer Service Line

A friend of mine sent me this link. He obviously doesn't know I am without my main computer. Good thing I have a laptop or I may not have received the laugh for days. I am sure this is the Bank of America customer service training video.
http://automatedphonehell.com

Perhaps all corporations are getting on the bandwagon and using the same thing. It really makes me laugh when my students come back from a short stay in the US and say they are so impressed with how efficiently everything works there as opposed to here. Sure if you live in a dorm or with a host family, you are insulated from most of the daily issues the rest of the population has to negotiate.

Again, I am fighting with Bank of America for a $6.50 service charge for our checking account when our balance fell below their standards, yet it is was significantly above. What this brought to mind were the fees that those less fortunate have to pay because they are low income. It is not just banking, but the rewards for those who have more and get more run across the spectrum. I really don't care about $6.50, I just don't want B of A to have it. I would rather make the decision myself of how it is spent.

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