Defending yourself against the street thugs of the air
I did not have enough money for cab fare.
When I read this my first reaction was 'you deserve the problems you found yourself in!' Then I read this...
I have liked American Airlines because of its punctuality and customer service.
Its been over 30 years since this statement could have applied to American Air. I'm sure, now, you will agree that using Southwest--even though it means a trip to Baltimore, and a trip FROM Burbank, would have been worth the inconvenience. Is that how you, finally, made it to LA? Or maybe you used another first choice--Jet Blue to Long Beach?
People need to understand that domestic air travel, today, is much like walking down a dark street, in a bad neighborhood, while wearing lots of gold (1970s imagery.) If you don't, first, do some homework you'll probably be the next victim of some thugs who go by the names of American, United, US Airways, and Delta/Northwest. If you can't, or won't, prepare to be "jumped" by one of aforementioned four "thugs" then don't cry when your "gold" is stolen. Accordingly, someone who shows-up at the airport without even enough extra money for cab fare is asking to be punked by the airline they are traveling on. In addition to cab fare you should have enough money to pay for an unexpected motel stay. If you're too poor to afford this then either consider Greyhound, or don't travel at all.
As I've mentioned in other posts baggage is another area where people allow themselves to be, needlessly, victimized by these thugs. Compare the replacement cost of what is in your checked baggage to the cost of what UPS, or Fedex, charges you to ship your bags to your destination. At the very least NEVER put anything in checked baggage that can't be easily, and cheaply, replaced. Sometimes purchasing, at your destination, items which you would ordinarily pack, can turn-out to be the cheapest, and most reliable, means of resolving the problem of baggage-eating airlines.
Accepting some inconvenience (as previously described) and NOT focusing on the lowest fare, but maybe paying as much as $50 more, can save a lot of money, time, and aggravation. Another way to look at the issue of cost: WHY does that airline have the lowest fare? Spirit Air, almost always, beats-out its competition on any given route when it comes to price. However, when was the last time you saw anything positive, on this board or elsewhere, written about Spirit??
|