furthermore...

...on the heels of my curmudgeonly essay on caring not who makes the nations laws, today I am up in arms over the cost of airline tickets. Something should be done!

A dear relation of ours decided just last week to fly up and pay us a visit. Direct flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Charlotte? Oh, somewhere in the neighborhood of $800. Had she booked for forty-five days ahead, the same flight would have cost just under $300.  She did get a flight for about $325, but has a three-hour layover in Atlanta.  It’s good she has needlework to do, a book to read, and her ever-present laptop.

I know that it is the same for railroad fares, but not to the same degree of markup: $343 vs. $216, though not many would want to do this trip by railroad – it takes about thirty-two hours! I haven’t checked the bus schedules, but I imagine they are much the same. It is to the customer’s advantage if they can plan ahead, and to the carriers’ advantage if they can’t.  No wonder the cost of doing business is going up – the airline fares are outrageous for business people who must travel at the ‘last minute’.

               Just thought I’d rant on about this. Who does makes the laws?