The only thing surprising about travel these days is that people are surprised by it.
Take the shock expressed by some after US Airways said it would begin charging $7 for pillows and blankets. Technically, it’s repackaging its covers into something that look a little nicer than the “free” pillows and blankets that took up valuable space in the overhead bins. JetBlue did this last year.
Our navy blue drawstring bag has everything you need to relax in-flight, including a cozy fleece blanket, a soft-to-the-touch inflatable neck pillow, eye shades and earplugs. Buy a Power-Nap Sack on any US Airways flight (except transatlantic and US Airways Express) for $7. The US Airways Power-Nap Sack will replace the limited complimentary pillows and blankets previously available in Coach.
Since I don’t fly on US Airways that often, my only surprise was that they weren’t doing this already.
(By the way, I adored the funny headlines over the stories about the audio released of US Airways’ heroic river crash: “We’re gonna be in the Hudson.” Uh, where else would you be?)
Or how about this: If you’re a cruise fan, you might have caught the announcement that Florida’s attorney general reached a settlement with Oceania Cruises and Classic Cruises Holdings, which does business as Regent Seven Seas Cruises, over a retroactively imposed fuel surcharge on cruise passengers.
Under the agreement, the cruise lines must also ensure “clear and conspicuous disclosure” of any fuel supplement charges at the time the reservations are made, as well as in their advertisements.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that these two companies settled. About a year ago, Royal Caribbean made a similar deal with Florida under terms that were less-than-favorable to the passenger.
No, the shocker should be the relatively small size of this settlement — Oceania will pay about $2 million and Classic Cruise Holdings will pay about $1 million — and the fact that some of the money can be issued as an onboard credit.
Perhaps worst of all for consumers, cruise lines may continue to add these dishonest fuel surcharges to their tickets.
Come on.
Here’s another recent item that caught the eye of some travel-watchers. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington earlier this week ruled the Transportation Security Administration wrongly included the cost of screening non-passengers in the fees paid by airlines. The judges have asked the TSA to recalculate the fees.
So what? The TSA isn’t exactly known for its efficiency. Nothing to see here. Move along.
Wait. If you take a second to acquaint yourself with the facts (read the court’s full opinion here) you’ll find there’s something surprising, indeed.
This is how airlines react when they’re asked to pay a fee they feel they shouldn’t. They’re outraged. They tell reporters the charges “must be reduced.” And they get to take their case to federal court, and they sometimes win.
The rest of us have to shuffle down to small claims court, where we may win by default, but we’ll probably never collect.
The only thing that surprises me about travel is that there are almost no more surprises.
