2010 14 Apr

Are airline ‘pay-per-pee’ lavatory fees on the horizon?

Airlines are finding new and creative ways to charge passengers for conveniences as well as necessities. But to charge for going to pee? Puh-leeze. When is enough enough.

You can see a great video about airline fees at “Yeah, there’s a fee for that!”

Airlines jumped right on baggage fees, charging for even the first bag. Then, they started charging for snacks aboard the plane. Already, one airline (Spirit) whining about people with carry on bags (because they don’t want to pay for checked bags) will be paying for carry-on bags that have to be put in the overhead bins. Now, I read RyanAir wants to charge people to go to the lavatory.

But, this just in… according to an article at USAToday.com, the Transportation Secretary and at least one senator is fed up with the airlines hijacking passengers:

“We’re gonna hold the airline’s feet to the fire on this,” LaHood said in an interview published on the Elliott.org travel site. “I think it’s a bit outrageous that an airline is going to charge someone to carry on a bag and put it in the overhead. And I’ve told our people to try and figure out a way to mitigate that.”

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday he’d propose legislation declaring carry-on bags to be “reasonably necessary” to air transportation unless the Treasury Department reverses its recent ruling that carry-on bags aren’t necessary. That would make such fees subject to federal taxes the same as fares.

Of course, the Spirit Airlines CEO says that Shumer just doesn’t get it. See Spirit CEO: Sen. Schumer ‘seems to have spoken without knowing all the facts’. The fact being that they want to charge $45 for a carry-on is pretty straight forward. Maybe if they lower or eliminate checked bag fees, we can all go back to enjoying air travel.

In an earlier post, I suggested we should just all fly naked and avoid all the hassles. The TSA certainly won’t need their “Nude-o-scope“. ABC News is talking about the “Nakation” in its article: Avoid Baggage Fees With Nude Vacations. Well, sign me up… (Now, where’d I put my toothbrush?)

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