2nd Checked bag = $25

[Tobina+1]

Seriously?  How in the heck are you supposed to take luggage on a trip now?  You can't carry-on any of the liquid necessities, so now you have to pay to check it?

[Teresa]

And the rich don't have to pay?

Jeese.. what a dirty rotten rule that is!.!

[Dee Gee]

If American Airlines are going to get away with this the other airlines will soon follow their policy also.

[Teresa]

Oh they'll get away with it ..and there won't be anything we can do..but pay........

Kjell just got back tonight from California and he said that people were already talking about it all through the airport..and they were NOT happy campers.

He was only gone for 3 days so he took a carry on..so it didn't matter this time.

All the junk you have to go through to fly is why we are renting a Ford Expedition when we leave this week to go to New Mexico. We have so much gear to take and we are going to be gone for so long that It would have been a quadruple hassle to fly with the ton of stuff we have to take.
I am actually looking forward to the trip.  The place we have to be is about 1100 miles one way..and the ride in these big SUV's is comfy..and we have XM Radio and navigation in this vehicle..so we can listen to talk shows and  books on this trip..and we also maybe won't get lost.. ( which will be a first    )

This time Kjell won't be in the dog house.. I won't be huffing and puffing at him..he won't get mad and tell me to drive if I can do better and then I say ok..I will drive cause I CAN do better... and before you know it ..we are lost again.  .cause sometimes I don't do better 
we always end up laughing about it.. but it sometimes isn't too pleasant for awhile.

I always tell him. "I'm not lost.. I just don't know where we are right now"..   

[Dee Gee]

I use my laptop connected to a GPS on long trips, which is very handy when they are two or more in the car.  Also I would drive than fly if you have the time to do it.  When are driving you don't have too follow someone else schedule and you can see and do more on the trip.

[W. Gray]

I am with you.

We have been to the east coast, the west coast, and the north "coast" since we retired, all by car. Have yet to hit the south coast.

I would not have flown.

[Dee Gee]

Waldo, I have drove thru almost all the states and now trying to get away to drive up to Alaska.  But with the price of fuel and time required I  doubt it will be this year.

[Diane Amberg]

Look up the Alaska ferry system. You might like what you see.

[Tobina+1]

Yes, the idiocracy continues.  I just got an e-mail from United Airlines and they will start charging $15 for the 1st checked bag on August 18th.  I could understand the 2nd checked bag thing, but this is just pain WRONG.  What's going to happen is that they are going to have more problems with security and people trying to sneak in liquids in their carry-ons because of this policy.  They're slitting their own throats.  I'm glad I don't have to fly very much anymore.  I may even start driving to Denver when I have to go.  My parents are on the way and I can visit them over the weekend and drive to Longmont for the week.

[Dee Gee]

Airlines to crack down on oversize carry-ons
BY CHRIS KAHN
Associated Press
PHOENIX - Don't expect that bag to get a free ride for long.

Checked bags are now a moneymaker for US Airways, American Airlines and United Airlines, and officials say they're going to keep a closer watch on how much you take on board as they begin their new baggage fees.

The airlines point out that the carry-on policy came from the Federal Aviation Administration, not the industry, and they have an obligation to keep people from sneaking bulky bags onto planes to avoid fees. Not only is it unfair to the honest, fee-paying traveler, they say, but it would also overload the overhead bins and force gate crews to delay takeoffs while they checked excess bags.

But the added scrutiny means something else as well. Every passenger -- even those not used to checking bags -- is going to have to start following the rules.

If a passenger is stopped from boarding with an oversize carry-on, American will charge that passenger the $15 fee to check it at the gate. United has not decided how it will handle passengers with oversize carry-ons, and US Airways says its passengers can check those bags at the gate for free.