Flying

I spent the last five days in one of my favorites places and where we will probably spend most of our retirement years, Florence, Oregon. It’s a wonderful location on the central coast of Oregon with rivers and lakes and sand dunes and beaches. The trip was magnificent except for one problem. We flew.

It’s not the flying that is so bad, it’s the way the airlines try to squeeze every last dollar of you. I understand I chose the economy basic tickets. I knew the restrictions. No refunds, no changes, no seat selection, no baggage (without a fee). What changed from last time was that with this fare you aren’t even allowed a regular carry on, only a personal item that would fit under the seat in front of you. This along with no leg room for someone six feet two inches tall.

No baggage was okay. My wife and sister-in-law were on a road trip visiting friends and relatives up the California and Oregon coasts so my brother-in-law and I flew up to meet them in Oregon. We send our small bags with them.

The biggest problem was that the airline (I won’t name it but the initials are UA) punishes you for not checking bags! I went on line twenty fours hours before the flight only to find out that if you do not check (and pay for) bags you cannot check in until you get to the airport. The website and the app both have you go through the entire process only to say at the end that you have to see an agent or the kiosk at the airport to complete check in. That means that you will always be in the last group to board.

So, we get to the airport early for our flight, find a kiosk, enter all our information and because we are not checking bags a representative from UA has to come over and approve our check in. This took longer that walking up to the counter and checking in.

I could go on about the food(?) and the leg room and the width of the seats but that is normal everyday crap in the airline industry. But this punishment for not spending more money is uncalled for. I would consider it to be elitist.

Oh, and one more thing; on one leg a the journey the plane was rather empty. So empty in fact that the exit rows were completely unoccupied. I was just about to ask if I could sit in one (wanted the extra leg room) when the attendants announced that if some one wanted to move to one of the empty seats they would be happy to accommodate the passenger. AS LONG AS THEY PAID THE UPCHARGE FEE! No one was going to use those seats anyway!

All in all the flights were fine. But I will be looking for an alternative airline for our next trip up there. SW doesn’t fly there, and the only direct flights are at weird times of day or night.