KennethS
TJ Expert
Speaking of air travel horrors:
Joys of air travel...
- Thread starter bbaldwin237
- Start date
I’ve known some of the mechanics. Gotta ask……feeling lucky today?
I’ve known some of the mechanics. Gotta ask……feeling lucky today?
Well, are ya PUNK??!
We got stuck in a 2-1/2 hour security screening line at Charles de Gaulle in France coming home. Thankfully, we went early on advice from the hotel. It was still a walk from security to the plane.
We got to the plane 5-10 min after it was supposed to take off. But they held the plane because about 1/3 of the people were still suck in security. That was a lot of people for a big overseas flight.
I think we took off 1 hour after scheduled takoff. It cut into our long layover in the states.
I hate flying. The seats suck for people my size. They have gotten better with leg room.
Our small airport here is getting redone and expanded. So we should get some better and maybe more direct flights. But security takes 5-10 min tops.
We got to the plane 5-10 min after it was supposed to take off. But they held the plane because about 1/3 of the people were still suck in security. That was a lot of people for a big overseas flight.
I think we took off 1 hour after scheduled takoff. It cut into our long layover in the states.
I hate flying. The seats suck for people my size. They have gotten better with leg room.
Our small airport here is getting redone and expanded. So we should get some better and maybe more direct flights. But security takes 5-10 min tops.
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I've come to absolutely despise travelling because of airport/plane/retarded passenger(s) related fuckery.
Every time I hear someone say "I love travelling" I cringe; yea I love the being other places part, but the travelling to those places part sucks balls, it's increasingly becoming a deterrent to the whole thing.
Whilst I'm pissing & moaning I'll add, non-sequiturilly, 2 days ago I took my car in for its annual State inspection & also had a new battery put in, at the end I was notified that I was being surcharged for using my credit card. Ok. Then yesterday I met an old friend for happy hour at a new restaurant in town, didn't pay attention to the bill until this morning when I looked at it & realized I was surcharged for using my credit card. I can't remember this happening, ever, and now twice in as many days. I sure as fuck won't be returning that that place; I rarely go out to eat anymore anyway, but going forward I'll be more discerning.
Every time I hear someone say "I love travelling" I cringe; yea I love the being other places part, but the travelling to those places part sucks balls, it's increasingly becoming a deterrent to the whole thing.
Whilst I'm pissing & moaning I'll add, non-sequiturilly, 2 days ago I took my car in for its annual State inspection & also had a new battery put in, at the end I was notified that I was being surcharged for using my credit card. Ok. Then yesterday I met an old friend for happy hour at a new restaurant in town, didn't pay attention to the bill until this morning when I looked at it & realized I was surcharged for using my credit card. I can't remember this happening, ever, and now twice in as many days. I sure as fuck won't be returning that that place; I rarely go out to eat anymore anyway, but going forward I'll be more discerning.
Same here. My wife and I were going to go to Scotland this past spring. As we were planning the trip, we discovered that the new games that the airlines play are like buying a car. You have to pay for "packages" of "extras." We started looking for flights, and the sites were showing $700 per ticket. However, if we wanted to check a bag and be able to sit next to each other on the flights, the cost almost doubled to $1,200 per ticket.
Now, the price wasn't the problem for us. It was the bait-and-switch feel of the process. We scuttled the plan based on principle, refusing to play games. If we can't quickly get an accurate price on something, we'll just move along. We decided that we likely will never set foot on an airplane again. I've always enjoyed road trips, prefer driving to flying, and there's plenty to see in the Americas to last the rest of our lives and then some.
You're seeing that as a result of a settlement agreement for a lawsuit between merchants and Visa/Mastercard. The lawsuit started a long time ago (over a decade, for sure), but was only settled a few years ago. For a very long time, when you got a credit card account to be able to accept credit cards, you had to agree not to charge credit card customers more than cash customers (no surcharges).
I think the proliferation of credit card use drove the merchants to sue (class action), and they ultimately prevailed. As with anything, it takes a while before word of a change becomes common knowledge. The merchants are starting to figure out a way to make more money and blame it on someone else. I don't think being more discerning is going to work long-term because it's likely to become a standard, like tip suggestions now starting at 20%. Cash seems like a good option, but a lot of vendors no longer accept it as a form of payment.
I wonder if there are any cash-refusing, surcharge-charging merchants out there? If so, that seems like a case for either an attorney general or class action because if you don't allow cash, how can you justify a surcharge for using a credit card?????
It's a changing world, and I've never seen so much bad change hitting us simultaneously in my lifetime...
Don't fly a heck of a lot but fortunately never ran into super long TSA lines or major flight delays. My only gripe with flying is typically it means having to drive from New Haven CT to JFK in NY which is a nightmare. Luckily for me (and not so lucky for anyone who lives near them) but the local smaller airports have expanded to take on commercial flights. The times and locations are limited but makes air travel much nicer to deal with. My biggest gripe is having to deal with other people.
Well, long term is long term, there will always be lag time where some merchants will jump on it and some will avoid it, strategically, to attract dickheads like me that tell the greedy ones to fuck off. There's also getting out ahead of it by switching to debit cards or cash provided there isn't some other bullshit fuckery afoot with those.
I say greedy but what I really mean is sneaky. Let's be honest, even before surcharges the cost associated with credit card charges was already baked into the price you were paying, a little game we all knew was being played, but at least we knew the price going in. It sounds to me like all this lawsuit did was allow merchants to maintain their prices that already included a hidden surcharge to add a second surcharge after the fact.
How about this. Formulate what you need to charge to remain in business and make a profit you deem adequate, and make that the price, that way your customers can then exercise their judgment before the purchase is made & either pay your price or walk away.
This nonsense where it's sprung on you after you've finished dessert is bullshit.
Along the same track of service charges and tips that you guys are talking about.....we are at a restaurant in the Atlanta airport that charged an automatic 18% gratuity (specifically said gratuity, not service fee or anything else) and then takes you directly to the top page?! WTH, you already decided that, $0! Any gratuity should be voluntary and at the determination of the individual receiving the service.
I know there's a whole thread on this but that fired me up. I never complained about tipping when I went out to eat and usually did so reasonably (not over the top, but generally a 15% kind of guy). But now I (along with many/most others) have become so frustrated with it everywhere that it's even annoying at the expected locations.
I know there's a whole thread on this but that fired me up. I never complained about tipping when I went out to eat and usually did so reasonably (not over the top, but generally a 15% kind of guy). But now I (along with many/most others) have become so frustrated with it everywhere that it's even annoying at the expected locations.
Just got back from Boston. We had a 4 hr layover in Denver. We book long layovers in Denver because we’ve had weather delays there 50% of the time winter and summer. Lo and behold our connecting flight’s plane was delayed in Omaha for 1.5 hrs. When we finally got on the plane we were delayed another 45 min while they replaced a hose on an engine. The only saving grace was we had access to the United first class lounge and spent 5 hrs there eating and getting free drinks at the bar and the plane was half empty so we got our row all to ourselves. Got on the plane at 11am local in Boston and arrived in Ca at 10:30 local.
16 hr flight to Poland on Lufthansa with a stop in Vienna Sept 2.
16 hr flight to Poland on Lufthansa with a stop in Vienna Sept 2.
United. Say no more. I'd rather walk than fly United - the last time I flew them was back in Y2K. A six leg trip - and every single leg was a "Charlie Foxtrot" of EPIC proportions. Never again!
That reminds me of Frontier and Spirit, each of which I made the mistake of flying once; I'd sooner dangle from a rope behind an American Airlines flight than ever step foot on any airline of the Frontier/Spirit ilk.
That reminds me of Frontier and Spirit, each of which I made the mistake of flying once; I'd sooner dangle from a rope behind an American Airlines flight than ever step foot on any airline of the Frontier/Spirit ilk.
I've never been on either. My wife and I loved Continental until United swallowed them up, then we switched to SouthWest which was fine until they did away with their open seating - now there's no particular reason to fly them vis-a-vis any other airline. But Emirates Air completely ruined us - they're fabulous!
I’m very happy with United now. They were shit for years after they merged with Continental. I used to fly American more often but they have gone down hill. I haven’t flown Emirates yet because they don’t fly the places I want to go and they are pricey. They do fly the A380 which is my favorite plane to fly on.
KLM has been the best airline I’ve flown on. Traveling with them feels like I was like I’m flying in the 60s.
I also fly Alaska and Allegiant often and am happy with both. I will never fly Frontier, Spirit or Jet Blue if I can help it.
KLM has been the best airline I’ve flown on. Traveling with them feels like I was like I’m flying in the 60s.
I also fly Alaska and Allegiant often and am happy with both. I will never fly Frontier, Spirit or Jet Blue if I can help it.
That is exactly the way we feel about Emirates. You get a FULL meal, and a very good one at that, the stewardesses are very attentive, and they're easy on the eyes to boot! They have VERY stringent makeup rules, specific lipstick and nail colors, etc. And those cool veiled hat things.
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