We Are Home :-)

What a fantastic trip we had! Seriously, the only things that went "wrong" were airline related. Now, I'll take that (assuming we're talking no plane crashes) over getting sick on vacation any day.

Although, I must gripe about this one thing.

How could our suitcase (which we weighed in Raleigh after switching things around some) come in at 50 pounds on the way out and 61 pounds on the way home? We did not buy anything while in California AND Mr. B packed all of the heavy items in the smaller suitcase. Still, we got to the airport and it weighed 11 pounds more. NO WAY! They gave us the option to move stuff around, but, we'd already done that. So, we had to pay a $90 fee! Can you believe that? We could have checked a third suitcase for less than that. I think they rig the scales because they know you have no choice; either pay the fee or the bag doesn't get checked.

Shouldn't they have paid US for the inconvenience of not having our bags for two days?

I will definitely be complaining about this on Delta's website (not that it will do any good).

Ok, so, while I was fuming about this on the plane yesterday, I observed just about everyone on that plane come down the aisle dragging suitcases and other items and trying to cram things into the overhead bins. How come THEY don't have to pay extra to hold everyone up while they try to shove something into an overhead bin that obviously won't fit?

Or, for running over people's toes with their bags?

There is just no rhyme or reason to airline policies! I must say, I'm happy we won't be flying again for a long time!

Ok, but, on to happy memories! Here's a picture of us wine tasting this past Saturday. More pictures and stories to come!

Mrs. B

More Ways for Airlines to Rip You Off

I'm sure everyone has been reading about all of the many changes a-foot within the airline industry in order to keep them a-float. Yeah, gas is expensive, blah blah blah, but, they sure are starting to nickle and dime. Or, rather, five dollar and ten dollar. Or, maybe, fifty dollar and one hundred dollar.

First, if you don't purchase your ticket on-line, you pay a surcharge (forget the fact that sometimes it is impossible to figure things out on-line and you might need to talk to a representative). Then, a charge for special handling of large items (golf clubs, pets, etc.) Ok, that's somewhat reasonable. Then, the charge for checking a 2nd bag. Then, for checking bags at the curb. And, now, most airlines are charging to check ANY bag. Of course, you can't take much on your carry-on, so, most people HAVE to check at least one bag (especially if they are going on vacation; I don't know about you, but, I don't think I could cram 7 days of clothes and stuff into a dinky little carry-on; not to mention the difficulty in bringing on any sort of liquids).

Oh, yeah; they stopped serving any sort of "free" food (including nuts/pretzels on some flights) unless you are either in business or first or flying over 5 hours (I think) or internationally. But, don't worry, you can still get a Diet Coke or apple juice (at least for now). Oh, and many airlines now only accept credit cards for booze/food for purchase!

Anyway. As usual, I am getting off subject.

Yesterday, I sat down to make our air RSVP for our trip to San Diego this coming October. I did some preliminary searching last week and found a fairly decent flight for around $250 (plus all of those silly taxes and fuel charges so it was really closer to $290). Still, I thought it'd be MUCH worse.

Ok. Yesterday. Ready to book 'em! I decided, for kicks, to see if I could use miles to upgrade to business class. This because it is almost freaking impossible to find a flight that I want to take that I can use miles for (blackout dates, God-awful flight times, etc.)

Well, in order to use miles to upgrade (and the miles required to upgrade were not that many), you have to purchase a full-fare coach seat. Ok, so, I plugged that fare in, and, would you believe the fare went from $250 (plus taxes, etc.) to $812 (plus taxes, etc.)? And, there is usually no guarantee that one can upgrade, either. So, you pay this huge fare hoping you can upgrade, then, sorry. No upgrades available. What idiot would do that? Not this one, I can assure you!

After some more dorking around, I decided to see if it would be less expensive to fly into Ontario CA (which is actually closer to where we are staying) rather than San Diego. Well, of course, it was MORE expensive, even though it's a smaller airport and supposedly it is supposed to be cheaper to fly into less traveled airports. Still, in the long run, it probably is still cheaper because we won't have to drive the rental car quite so far. And, it is worth it to get to our end destination several hours earlier.

One good thing I discovered; on Delta, you can usually use your miles to pay down the price of your ticket. Considering how difficult (as I've said) it is to USE miles to get a "free" ticket OR to upgrade, I thought this actually might be worth it.

So, I used a considerable amount of miles to get $250 off each ticket. Which means our actual cost is pretty much nothing.

So, at the end of this long Wednesday morning rant, I actually have something positive to report about the airlines, or, at least, Delta.

Mrs. B