It is always a challenge for me during traveling season to remember certain things: hotel room numbers, where I parked my car at the airport, what my rental car even looks like... Generally, I solve these potential problems by snapping a picture on my cell phone of whatever I need to remember. It works great. However, this past weekend in El Paso, I didn't.
For work, I have to fly into a location and move a bunch of stuff around, which usually involves me renting a standard minivan with stow and go seating (love that stow and go!). This time, at the El Paso airport, I rented a truck instead. When I got to the counter, the guy upgraded me to a gigantic truck- the kind that my husband is constantly drooling over. A Dodge Ram. It was huge and silver, there would be no issue with me forgetting what my rental car looked like!
From the airport, I drove 30 miles to Las Cruces, NM and set myself up in the Holiday Inn Express. The next day I made the obligatory trip to the Home Depot to purchase wood and supplies for the robot tournament. After dropping $300 on supplies, I pushed my flat bed cart over to my truck and opened the tailgate. I was surprised to find a few chunks of dirt in the bed- don't they clean theses things before people rent them? So I started loading in the lumber, I jumped up into the bed of the truck for more lift, and I happened to glance into the king cab. There was a shirt slung over the drivers seat: a men's flannel. Suddenly I realized this was NOT my truck! I panicked! I ducked down in the bed, then guiltily raised my head. I was looking for the owner- the guy who would undoubtedly be running wildly at me and yelling. I saw no one particularly interested in what I was doing, so I quickly jumped down and pulled the wood from the bed of the truck back onto my cart. I quickly backed away from the imposter rental truck. Then I started laughing. Hard.
When I backed away enough for a wider view, I could see that there were at least four big silver trucks parked in the lot. I had to hit the lock button on my key remote and listen for the beep before figuring out which truck was mine. Needless to say, I learned my lesson- know your rental car, or at least click the remote to double check!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Remember when you could check a bag for free...
...it wasn't that long ago. It was the golden age of flying. You could enter the airport, go up to the counter to hand off your biggest, heaviest suitcase filled with shampoo bottles and aerosol cans, answer a simple question ("No, this suitcase has not left my possession since I packed it."), and head to security with merely your computer bag or purse. Those were the days.
Now, since the historic airline bailout, all that is over. No more can you travel unencumbered through the airport, foot loose and fancy free. Airlines all across the board are trying to squeeze more money out of travelers any way they can. It can cost you $25 to check ONE bag ONE way, bringing your ticket price up by $50 (and, god forbid, you have more than one bag to check). This is a challenge for the casual traveler and a huge commitment for a traveling family- those fees add up. So, what do most travelers do to avoid this surcharge? They don't check bags. And boy, is that a hassle. With everybody carrying on everything the plane gets packed with luggage. The worst of it is, when flights are full, they make you check your rolly suitcase at the gate.
The process airlines have for checking bags planeside is contemptible. It infuriates me every time I have to do it. It's not so bad boarding the plane, you just leave your bag as you enter the plane and it gets whisked away. Once you land, however, everybody on the plane disembarks, then waits for their suitcases on the tiny jetbridge while others are try to exit through the crowd. It is obnoxious. Is this the best process airlines can come up with? It is a gigantic bottleneck in the jetbridge: people jockeying for the best position closest to the door, people squished up against the walls of the jetbridge, trying to keep an eye on the bags appearing by the packed door- 2 by 2. Last weekend there was even a wheelchair trying to make it to the plane through this huge logjam. How can this process be saving airlines any money? The suitcases still end up under the plane! And you've got to feel sorry for those guys who have to drag all those rolly suitcases up the jetbridge external stairs, two at a time. What about TSA security regulations- is it a good idea to have so many passengers standing unsupervised around that little door that leads directly to the tarmac? And are jetbridges even designed to hold that much weight???
Other than carrying on everything, though, there are two ways around this ridiculous checked bag fee. One solution is flying Southwest- no baggage fees ever. Seriously, fly Southwest.
The other option for working around the checked bag fee is to join a mileage program of your favorite airline and start earning enough miles for some sort of status. Then, after many many miles and that coveted status title , you can finally check your bags for free! If you yourself are not a frequent flyer with status but your traveling companion is, they can usually check your bags for free, as long as you are on the same reservation.
Or, you can bite the bullet, check the suitcase, and pay the $25 fee. After all... squeezing into the stall at the airport bathroom without having to wedge yourself between the toilet and your suitcase, that is priceless.
Now, since the historic airline bailout, all that is over. No more can you travel unencumbered through the airport, foot loose and fancy free. Airlines all across the board are trying to squeeze more money out of travelers any way they can. It can cost you $25 to check ONE bag ONE way, bringing your ticket price up by $50 (and, god forbid, you have more than one bag to check). This is a challenge for the casual traveler and a huge commitment for a traveling family- those fees add up. So, what do most travelers do to avoid this surcharge? They don't check bags. And boy, is that a hassle. With everybody carrying on everything the plane gets packed with luggage. The worst of it is, when flights are full, they make you check your rolly suitcase at the gate.
The process airlines have for checking bags planeside is contemptible. It infuriates me every time I have to do it. It's not so bad boarding the plane, you just leave your bag as you enter the plane and it gets whisked away. Once you land, however, everybody on the plane disembarks, then waits for their suitcases on the tiny jetbridge while others are try to exit through the crowd. It is obnoxious. Is this the best process airlines can come up with? It is a gigantic bottleneck in the jetbridge: people jockeying for the best position closest to the door, people squished up against the walls of the jetbridge, trying to keep an eye on the bags appearing by the packed door- 2 by 2. Last weekend there was even a wheelchair trying to make it to the plane through this huge logjam. How can this process be saving airlines any money? The suitcases still end up under the plane! And you've got to feel sorry for those guys who have to drag all those rolly suitcases up the jetbridge external stairs, two at a time. What about TSA security regulations- is it a good idea to have so many passengers standing unsupervised around that little door that leads directly to the tarmac? And are jetbridges even designed to hold that much weight???
Other than carrying on everything, though, there are two ways around this ridiculous checked bag fee. One solution is flying Southwest- no baggage fees ever. Seriously, fly Southwest.
The other option for working around the checked bag fee is to join a mileage program of your favorite airline and start earning enough miles for some sort of status. Then, after many many miles and that coveted status title , you can finally check your bags for free! If you yourself are not a frequent flyer with status but your traveling companion is, they can usually check your bags for free, as long as you are on the same reservation.
Or, you can bite the bullet, check the suitcase, and pay the $25 fee. After all... squeezing into the stall at the airport bathroom without having to wedge yourself between the toilet and your suitcase, that is priceless.
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