Rage against the machine…kind of — more like rage against the airlines

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . April 28, 2009 . 2:20AM

The older I get, the more I find myself being stingy about spending my money on fees that I think are stupid. Unless you can tell me how the fee is 100% necessary, I think you should foot the bill for your own operating costs and suck it up. This applies to the nickels and dimes I get charged on my phone bill, electricity, internet and misc other bills every month.

This has led to almost a fanatic obsession with the online website The Consumerist. It not only informs me of anything shady that is going down, it gives me a healthy dose of anger and “holding the man down” mentality. I like it.

I was looking for a nice anger rush when I saw this post. It includes this quote:

Speaking to analysts during US Airways Group Inc.’s earnings call last week, president Scott Kirby said that airline clearly has made a lot of money by charging for checked bags.

But that doesn’t mean that Southwest isn’t benefiting from not charging the fees, he said.

“It’s possible that Southwest receives a very small market share from a number of carriers,” Kirby said.

Yep, that did it.

I don’t fly often, but I’m fixin’ to start. For those of you that don’t live in the South, that means I’m preparing myself to begin. I have to attend several conferences in the next year and this will require copious amounts of travel. I pack fairly light, but I know for sure that I am absolutely not paying for my bags. I’m just not. I already pay far too much for the convenience of going places and then get “fee’d” out the wazoo.

So, what I’m telling US Airways and all those other punks who think they are getting my cash and can charge me extra for stuff that they should be providing as part of what I’m already paying for: Forget it. I’ll take my business elsewhere and I’m not the only one. I will drive before I’ll pay you my money because I think that business ethics count. Some things are just the cost of doing business.

In the South, people say you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. And, Honey, you sure did miss the point.