Re: Re: Re: OVERWEIGHT LUGGAGE FEES


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Posted by Rick Denney on February 26, 2002 at 12:09:20:

In Reply to: Re: Re: OVERWEIGHT LUGGAGE FEES posted by Sean Chisham on February 25, 2002 at 12:21:51:

With all due respect, they have been unsuccessful in their efforts.

Also with great respect, I'm a little worried that this would be left to a trade union. The airlines have a long history of battling trade unions, and their full defenses are aroused when contacted by one.

In my opinion, you'll gain much more by working a deal with the airlines, and ITEA is a group that can do that. You'll be limited in the airlines you can use to the ones that participated in the deal, and you might have to use their travel service rather than the cheaplie Internet service. I suspect that the overall income to the airlines would be about the same, but the difference would be that it would be leveled out among all users of the service, and it would further eliminate the airport surprises that can turn a $250 ticket into a $750 ticket without warning.

Of course, getting the word down to the people at the ticket counter is always a problem.

I think Ken is close to the answer in his response to Dave Zerkel's thread. He suggested that the airlines (or the shipping services) will respond to the need for handling oversized items with a special service. Yes, it would cost, but it would at least be a predictable cost. The problem is that the airlines today are like the railroads--unwilling to think outside the box. A professional society can make some progress there, perhaps, because they will be working through salespeople rather than through problem-resolution people.

The key is to find a way to get the airlines to accept money for the service they provide. I would not mind traveling with my tuba, and paying for the service, if I could count on the cost at trip planning time. The airlines would have to provide something in writing, however, that would be binding on the ticket counter personnel--like a clear statement on the ticket.

Rick "who thinks we need a senior senator tuba player to really bring this problem to light" Denney


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