More Bad News from United Airlines

[Jeff Toorish]

In addition to the new limit of a single checked bag on United flights, there is actually more bad news from the fine folks at the not so friendly skies. In the same announcement, United also doubled the cost of an overweight bag.

In the (now) good old days, if your bag weighed between 51 and 70 pounds, the extra charge was fifty bucks. The new overweight charge is now $100. personally, I don't have that much of a problem with $25 for the second bag. But for divers, overweight is the norm and charging a hundred bucks for a bag that weighs 51 pounds is unreasonable, in my opinion.

Oh, I just remembered, my uncle and aunt both work for United --time for a little family chat.

Jeff

 

[Doc]

Ask them about the peanuts thing- see if we can get them in coach.

:cwmddd: B.O.H.I.C.A.

 

[Mountain Dog]

At this rate it won't be long before it will be cheaper to ship gear to the destination rather take it along on the plane.

Mountain Dog

 

[fppf]

That is what they want.

 

[tstormdiver]

At this rate it won't be long before it will be cheaper to ship gear to the destination rather take it along on the plane.

Mountain Dog

That's exactly what they want. Less weight= less gas, which is more $ saved for the airline. Or if there are fewer bags, more room for commercial freight which = more $.

 

[Doc]

That's exactly what they want. Less weight= less gas, which is more $ saved for the airline. Or if there are fewer bags, more room for commercial freight which = more $.

Your logic is admirable but quite innocent and faulty.

I am married to one of these passenger/guest revenue geeks. I have no idea how she does what she does (chicken bones, eye of newt and such), but here's the fact:

they don't want to save money- they want to take more in. (it's called, in geek-speak, enhanced revenue stream)

Also known as "yield management", Marriott uses the exact same computer program as does the airlines.

They are doing it to collect the cash. They know how many bags you check and how many pounds that someone like you carries, they know who travels to and from the Caribbean 4 times a year. They have your profile and crunch the numbers constantly- up down and sideways.

It's a science, folks. :doctor:

They also know if they charge the typical guest for his golf bag on vacation, he is less likely to fly with them on business. You see, the highly coveted business travelers also are known to travel with golf bags.

United, charge for ski gear to Denver? Aint gonna happen. Same reason- wealthy people fly to ski, the same group who does business travel. Why alienate your cash cows?

It's all in the numbers, no less so than how big business designs any other product.

SCUBA divers are an insignificant blip on the Caribbean Traveler screen. There is no organized destination lobby like a ski areas association or a golf course coalition, and divers (now, this may come as a shock to y'all) are notoriously cheap.

There are some exceptions like Roatan, where everyone on board is a diver, but common laws of competition (due to the lack thereof) don't really apply there.

 

[fppf]

Sorry I don't agree, you have "Everyonesadiveritis"
Divers are not what is driving these policy's, by your own admition, divers are a very small group.

Airlines make a lot of money flying commercial freight. The less, "included" freight the more money making freight.

 

[Doc]

Sorry I don't agree, you have "Everyonesadiveritis"
Divers are not what is driving these policy's, by your own admition, divers are a very small group.

Maybe I didn't express it well.

I was saying that divers should expect no special dispensation. That they are so few in numbers, that they will not be looked at as an issue.

We will be tossed in with the bulk of the passengers, the rest of the world that drags two bags of stuff when they're off to see Aunt Maud or Mickey F. Mouse.

It's the 97% of the population that we are but a small part of.

We do not matter, we will do whatever the airline directs us to do. They had it all worked out ahead of time.

 

[spectrum]

Local diving is looking better all the time.


Pete

 

[diver 85]

Local diving is looking better all the time.


Pete

......only to a blind person........If $200 per year is going to stop someone, they need to go to sheet mending as a hobby......