No Waivers, no Favors

On our vacation flight to Maui, we experienced the “no waivers, no favors” motto of the airlines with extra, excessive charges for our bikes (see related cycling posts at Textura Design). The New York Times reports that the outlook for travel in 2006 is going to be even worse, with more restrictions, hidden fees, and charging for everything and anything. The counter attendant in Maui made 3 calls and checked 3 times, to make sure she charged us the full $25.00 per bike for Hawaiian Airline’s charge and then the $80.00 per bike for the connection to Northwest Airlines. I could tell the attendant was genuinely concerned, not for us, but that she charged us the full amount for fear of being reprimanded. While she rang up the charges, I imagined how that team meeting went down: If a bike comes through, charge them our oversized luggage charge and the connecting flight’s charge, no matter what the weight or size. The bike bags we use are soft-cases, that weigh under 50 pounds for the purpose of avoiding the weight fee, but because it’s a bike, they charge, no matter what.