An ugly rip off. I can only assume you are a shill for the airlines. All of these benefits are void because of the number of "premiere"passengers. United has been particularly pathetic in their attempts to flog these bad deals to travellers. Having been United Premiere Executive for over 20 years, I would never pay for their stuff even though I've lost my priveleges because of a change in travel profile. But my relations with the local United staff means I get the benefits without the usurious charges.

And it's been pathetic how United sends me e mail every day to convince me to pay for what I get for free.

I suspect it's the same for others. The business traveller refuses to pay for this junk, and the airlines are desperate to bring us back.

United, pound sand.

As far as I'm concerned I only fly when I absolutely HAVE to.  The airlines can kiss my butt.  I mean really in coach even the premium seat are not all that wonderful.  So I just pay for the min.  It's going to be uncomfortable and I'm going to get treated like crap no matter where I sit or what I pay for.  Might as well give them as little of my money as possible.  

No, actually, I won't give the airlines a DIME more than the price of the ticket and the legalized theft that passes for "fees" these days. I have also stopped flying to any destinations that are less than 1,000 miles. It's just as cheap to drive, and I don't have to submit to being groped by TSA and giving them "carnal knowledge" of my nether regions. ENOUGH!

I flew to Orlando on Southwest last week. Checked in on line exactly 24 hours before, and still was last in the A group. It didn't matter. 3/4 of the passengers were in wheelchairs and got priority boarding. By the time the A group started to board, the only seats left were in the very back of the plane. B group was even worse, because after A group, all the families with strollers were allowed to board.

Next time I won't pay the 10 dollars or even check in on time, I'm wrapping up my foot and demanding a wheelchair.

"Special for-fee seating and priority boarding programs are, no matter how you slice it, little more than greasy added fees for services that were once available for free.

That said, these programs are here to stay. So instead of scoffing at the idea that fliers have to pay for something that was once complimentary, let's move on, accept the status quo and find out how we can use it to our advantage."

Do you really believe what you just wrote? If so, how much are the airlines paying you for this article?

In these days and times when the number of customers is declining, the costs to customers is increasing, and a simple thing called "Service with a smile" has gone the way of the dinosaur there is no way I'm going to just, as you said "...move on, accept the status quo..."

Maybe you think paying more for less is a good idea. Many customers find the thought REPULSIVE.

$10 each way on Southwest to get automatic check-in with an A seat is cheap, and it prevents all the inconvenience, anger and hostility you see in the comments above. I'll pay it every time.

Also, I'm an AA elite and I upgrade to first class with fee-based upgrades every time. Sometimes it costs $90 each way for the upgrade but its worth every penny. I consider it medical insurance. My blood pressure stays down, I get a nice BIG realxing seat where I can sleep and I get a couple of free drinks at the end of a long hard day. Like I said, worth every penny.

People should let go of their anger and figure out how to make the new reality work better for them - "let's move on, accept the status quo and find out how we can use it to our advantage." Say It IS So!

Caroline, just how much did the airlines pay you for this article?   Or, maybe they rewarded you with bonus flight points for your salesmanship.....    As for me, I'll continue to pay the lowest amount possible for their lousy service.   I'm glad I don't work for an airline.   I would have to hide that fact from my neighbors out of sheer embarassment. 

You have to pay to avoid the pain. The last time I flew, I opted for Premier boarding on United, because on my previous flight, there was no room for my not very big carry-on backpack, which contained critical medication and an expensive camera. It was tossed in with regular baggage and delivered at the carousel. I think they should go back to one bag "free" and just up the ticket price by $25. That would eliminate the overhead space issues.

The Premium Plus seating does have some perks, when a flight is cancelled, you get better service at rebooking and if there is a first class seat open, you get priority (and lower up grade fees) to grab it.

Interesting how these "perks" are all on airlines I wouldn't be caught dead using in the first place.

Interesting how all of these "perks" are on airlines I wouldn't be caught flying with. :)

Here are your airline perks, " 007pensacola@youtube.com". Recently after he wrote the local D.A. to put them under control, able to cite all sorts of violations, the all day has gone, but the intensity has focused and still runs rampant throughout daily / nightly. I'd tell you where they can stick their perks, but I'll save that until I get some names off the sides of these birds, first.

 Here is the simple solution. Stay away from flying if at all possible. I understand that for business this is not always an option but our company sells software and we can give our customers the option of doing remote installs and training or come on site. Our on-site service now has a premium charge for first class/business class tickets. My wife and I are regular cruisers but have stopped taking cruises where we have to fly to get there. I have let the cruise lines know that I had planned to cruise with them but since it required airtravel we decided to forgo the pleasure of cruising with them.  I did get a letter from one of the cruise lines and seems I am not the only one doing this so they do take notice.

I am not for government regulation but in the case of airtravel, time for the government to step back an regulate the fares etc. They did in the 60's and 70's and fares weren't that much more than today (even counting in inflation etc)

If you haven't already seen it, the youtube video of "Cheap flights," as performed by the outstanding vocal trio Fascinating Aida, will make you fall out of your seat laughing. It's absolutely the best send-up of the airlines' devious and outrageous fees EVER!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAg0lUYHHFc

We need to reregulate the airlines and bring back the CAB. Mandated minimum legroom standards would be the first item to be created based on the leg lengths and thigh lengths of full grown adults covering 99.99% percent of the adult population of the USA. That should add at least 12 inches to the average seat pitch of present economy coach seats. The second item would be seat width. The CAB would take a person at the tall end of the 99.99% population and sit them in a seat with their arms at their sides. They would measure from outer edge of shoulder/upper arm to outer edge of shoulder/arm. That would be the mandated seat width with an armrest for each arm. No sharing of an armrest with the person in the adjoining seat allowed. That should result in an addition of 6 inches to the average seat width.

Are you high? Of course air travel was much more expensive in adjusted dollars under regulation. Fact is, very few of you recognize the real cost of putting a multi-ton jet in the air. Those of you (us) who have pressured the airlines over the decades by choosing the seat that was $10 cheaper on a crappier airline have practically begged the airlines to take their current approach. Airlines have been run by bozos, and the unions are just now starting to understand that waitresses at 35,000 feet are worth no more per hour than waitresses at sea level. But frankly, instead of "accepting the status quo" and moving on, what I really wish that most people would do is grow up and shut up. You asked for Wal-Mart in the air. You got it. Live with it.

 Sadly this will never happen but these fees are not necessarily here to stay if the people en masse just refused to pay them...ie. refuse to fly.  Then, as the generaly flying public, we need to demand that all the airlines rip all the seats out of the planes and replace them 1) with seats that even skinny people do not feel squished in and 2) with enough leg room to not feel like you are actually traveling in a box.  Dump all the add on fees and include everything in the price of the damn ticket.  I really have no desire to keep pulling out my wallet for every little thing.  But again, people just keep flying without doing anything to stop this madness and articles like this that just proclaim them here to stay without itself advising that the consumer could do something about it dont help.

 Since when did a "perk" become something you pay for?  George Orwell would be proud.

Enraged-3256770:

"You asked for Wal-Mart in the air. You got it. Live with it."

i have never seen a more 'spot-on' description of the status of the airline industry. Hope it makes people think.

check the frquent flyer programs in detail, if you fly a lot. except for the 'uber-fliers', AA and UA are at the bottom of the list. sad to see continental get swallowed. do the research and remain loyal.

What's the price of an extra 2" on a straw?

-

Cassivella~you said it all correctly!

I don't understand how any of the major carriers are making profits! Southwest did and was the rotten apple in the bunch that started so many of these price-wars and lead to the downfall of customer service and the professional status that we all miss. I started flying in the early 70's for business and I have seen the carriers continue to spiral downward. It just makes me sick! What I have learned? Our airlines are no more than flying" Wal-Marts". We now get what we pay for and what we have demanded-something for nothing! It's the American way.

Besides all the complaints we make, we forget about the guys/gals up front who are responsible for getting us to our destination, they really have gotten the short end of the stick. I want a tip top flight crew before I need that extra leg room.......if I don't arrive in one piece, what's all the other stuff worth? Priorities.......

why should somebody who is NOT checking a bag have to pay the same ticket price as somebody who IS checking a bag?   that's why it's not included in the ticket price.  bags mean weight, weight means more fuel.  the money to pay for that fuel has to come from somewhere.  when will the traveling public figure this out?  it's not rocket science people!

Someone mentioned flights are cheaper now than in the 70s. True enough, but like so many other things that are cheaper now, the joy is gone. The flight used to be a part of the trip that was anticipated. Now it is dreaded.

The incorrect judgment to make is that this is consumers' faults for demanding low prices, but in point of fact, we working Americans make no more now, on an inflation adjusted basis, than we did in the 70s. We have little choice but to be economical. The airlines say they have little choice but to play these games, because business travel doesn't fill the plane, and if they raise the base ticket price 20-40%, casual travelers will say fack it, I'll drive or stay home.

To me, the implicit deciept of these extras is the rub: Quote me an out-the-door ticket price. Don't sell me a ticket, then after my purchase, inform me it'll be $20 extra to pass wind or pick my nose. There's a reason we hate car dealers, and airlines are adopting the same miserable tactics. Is the ticket expensive? Fine, as long as I know it's the bottom line price, I can decide whether its worth it to me. But if reality is pay extra to choose a seat, then I'll let the airline place me for nothing. If I get a middle seat or sit at the rear of the plane, so be it.

When American Airlines folds, I will celebrate with a 3-day drunk.

I sure paying for perks on airlines is a big deal to some, $2.5 billion to be exact. When you have money paying for certain things is no big deal, but when you don't no way. Why pay for something on a flight, when your both on the same plane, going to the same destination, breathing the same air. I don't care for a special seat, pillow or blanket, you can keep the meal too.