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Hit The Road

New costs of travel buy peace of mind

By Joy Uyeno

POSTED: 02:30 a.m. HST, Oct 12, 2008

(Page 1 of 2) | Single Page View

Who can think about travel when the economy is teetering precariously. Bad news is competing for air time when we would normally be getting sick on an overdose of presidential campaign promises.

Admittedly, I am.

Not in the sense that I'm looking forward to some kind of exotic vacation or anything like that, but more along the lines of how winter is coming up, and what this will mean for the already tightly pinched pockets of the airline industry.

I am, grudgingly, a frequent flier on American Airlines, which is already charging a fee per checked bag, meaning that passengers are hauling ridiculously overstuffed rolling "carry-ons" into overhead bins across the country and the world.

Although I am a firm believer in not paying a penny more than you need to, and although I realize that $15 per bag is a lot to ask of what was once a free service, I am a bag checker.

However, if you are going to be lugging your life around in a bag, make sure that you pack light and have enough trial-sized bottles of toiletries.

It's also a good idea to try throwing your bag around a little bit, instead of realizing too late that you can't handle your own baggage.

If these hassles are worth the trouble to you, I commend you for your packing frugality!

In my mind, though, even as someone who has had lost luggage on occasion, it makes more sense to check my suitcase.

TRAVEL USED to be a luxury, one that people dressed up for and got excited about. Although I get a thrill each time I leave on a trip, flying is probably one of the least luxurious experiences that I encounter.

Airplanes are more like Greyhound busses now, the way passengers are packed in like cattle, deprived of food, and held hostage while circling the traffic of busy airport runways.

In this bare bones travel world, the next best thing to upgrading can be paying a little extra for some real leg room.

On some airlines, you can pay $10 to $15 extra to sit in an area of coach with extra leg room. At 5-foot-nothing, I can often feel people burning holes in the back of my head as I settle down in this roomier section, but despite my lack of height, this is necessary for my comfort. I avoid feeling claustrophobic because of the extra few inches in front of me, and I also find that it's easier to let people by to visit the lavatory.

Finally, one of the best new ideas that I've encountered is one that most other people are baffled and annoyed by: paying for pillows and blankets. When I first heard that Jet Blue was going to start charging $7 for pillows and blankets, I was taken aback as well; however, I read further and discovered that you actually get to keep the travel set, which is declared to be the world's cleanest travel pillow and blanket. Amazing! After seeing all of those reports on the utter grossness of community pillows and blankets, I would happily pay $7 to have my own clean set, thankyouverymuch!

Joy Uyeno travels frequently throughout the year. "Hit The Road" is geared toward young and beginning travelers, and appears the second Sunday each month in the Star-Bulletin Travel section.

 

Who can think about travel when the economy is teetering precariously. Bad news is competing for air time when we would normally be getting sick on an overdose of presidential campaign promises.

Admittedly, I am.

Not in the sense that I'm looking forward to some kind of exotic vacation or anything like that, but more along the lines of how winter is coming up, and what this will mean for the already tightly pinched pockets of the airline industry.

I am, grudgingly, a frequent flier on American Airlines, which is already charging a fee per checked bag, meaning that passengers are hauling ridiculously overstuffed rolling "carry-ons" into overhead bins across the country and the world.

Although I am a firm believer in not paying a penny more than you need to, and although I realize that $15 per bag is a lot to ask of what was once a free service, I am a bag checker.

However, if you are going to be lugging your life around in a bag, make sure that you pack light and have enough trial-sized bottles of toiletries.

It's also a good idea to try throwing your bag around a little bit, instead of realizing too late that you can't handle your own baggage.

If these hassles are worth the trouble to you, I commend you for your packing frugality!

In my mind, though, even as someone who has had lost luggage on occasion, it makes more sense to check my suitcase.

TRAVEL USED to be a luxury, one that people dressed up for and got excited about. Although I get a thrill each time I leave on a trip, flying is probably one of the least luxurious experiences that I encounter.

Airplanes are more like Greyhound busses now, the way passengers are packed in like cattle, deprived of food, and held hostage while circling the traffic of busy airport runways.

In this bare bones travel world, the next best thing to upgrading can be paying a little extra for some real leg room.

On some airlines, you can pay $10 to $15 extra to sit in an area of coach with extra leg room. At 5-foot-nothing, I can often feel people burning holes in the back of my head as I settle down in this roomier section, but despite my lack of height, this is necessary for my comfort. I avoid feeling claustrophobic because of the extra few inches in front of me, and I also find that it's easier to let people by to visit the lavatory.

Finally, one of the best new ideas that I've encountered is one that most other people are baffled and annoyed by: paying for pillows and blankets. When I first heard that Jet Blue was going to start charging $7 for pillows and blankets, I was taken aback as well; however, I read further and discovered that you actually get to keep the travel set, which is declared to be the world's cleanest travel pillow and blanket. Amazing! After seeing all of those reports on the utter grossness of community pillows and blankets, I would happily pay $7 to have my own clean set, thankyouverymuch!

Joy Uyeno travels frequently throughout the year. "Hit The Road" is geared toward young and beginning travelers, and appears the second Sunday each month in the Star-Bulletin Travel section.

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