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Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Will you be leavin’ Atlanta on a jet plane?
Will new airline fees affect your travel plans this year?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta’s Delta Air Lines has been making headlines lately, from union negotiations and merger talks to an attention-grabbing new safety video featuring redheaded flight attendant Katherine Lee. How that cheeky safety video or the more serious merger and union issues will actually play with Atlanta travelers is uncertain, but one piece of Delta news will be noticed by customers everywhere.
With soaring gasoline prices, the cost of even traveling across town can be quite daunting. Many people spend upwards of $75 or more to fill up their gas tanks. Airlines must simply cringe every time they fuel up their jets.
New today is a $3-per-bag fee for curbside check-in,one of several new fees the airline is adding to the bill.
This is on top of last week’s news that Delta will begin charging in May an additional $25 for passengers who check more than one bag. (First class and business travelers, as well as Delta’s frequent fliers, will still be allowed up to three checked bags without the extra charge.) Other airlines have already imposed or are considering similar fees for multiple pieces of luggage.
Now I learned my lesson in bag checking when I was 15, traveling through Europe with apparently everything I owned. As I pulled my third large bag off the carousel in Berlin, another American turned to me and said, “Can you say OVERPACKED?” More than once on that trip, I contemplated just tossing it all. Ever since, I have kept to a self-imposed limit of no more than one checked bag. That has been admittedly easier in the past few years, as we usually choose to drive the family on our vacations rather than buy five plane tickets.
I know we normally discuss Southeastern travel destinations in this blog, but I thought we would take a break from that this week to discuss the act of traveling itself. I’m not talking business travel, where the boss picks up the tab. Rather, I’m more interested in the way Atlantans travel when they have a choice and they’re paying for it.
So, do you normally fly or drive when you head out of town? I’m especially interested in the decisions Atlantans make for trips round the South, which may be a long drive, but are drivable all the same - think Memphis, Sarasota or Charleston. What factors do you consider when making that decision? Do long security lines or your distance from Hartsfield-Jackson come into play? Will gas prices or new airline fees affect your travel plans this year?
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