Flying the "friendly" skies ...

Thanks to Farina of the Princess journals for passing on the following link.

If you are going to travel this year by air in the US, before you reserve look at :

Rick Seaney's US domestic airline fee chart

Buyer Beware !!!

The airlines are now charging for basic services . Check this out, people;airlines are even making you pay for each checked bag, each way through ! But, call your your airline company if you already have your ticket reserved in advance.
These new fees are enought to make many of you bring small carry on lugage for shorter trips.
But, we have a longer stay and so, need some clothes,shoes & personal items to tide us over.

I looked at the United airlines website ( they will be taking us from Minneapolis-Philadelphia). It said :

If you purchased your tickets before February 4, 2008 ; and are traveling anytime ; then the following will apply to check bags; First bag :$0 Second bag : $0

Yes ! We reserved the first week of January. You see, it pays being an early bird ;)

Then once we are in the plane, the meals will be 5-7 bucks a pop.Oh lucky us; we still have our free beverage/snack package .

There are other paid things that you can read on the list; I'll spare you the agony.

Holy Moses ! Those things were always complementary in the past. I never had to pay a cent in the past during domestic flights. Of course, the headsets always cost a few bucks to rent, like the alcoholic drinks. But, I consider those to be extras and not necessary.

My friend Farina suggests to everyone to pack your own meal, and to buy your drink before boarding. Unless you don't mind paying... We will plan ahead for our snacks and will grab our drinks before boarding.

We also have to be careful with the weight of our suitcases.The airlines are very penalizing of excess luggage weight in these times of higher fuel prices. I know that we will be paying dearly for every extra pound and will be careful what we bring. Be prepared to pay if you have lots of excess !

This time, Air Canada will be our carrier, to Minneapolis ( via Toronto), than at the end, out of our last stop, Montreal. I looked it up :

Economic class- 2 bags each, with each weighing up to 23 kg ( 50 lbs ). Which I think that we can live with; Didier & I always take each a large suitcase when we go overseas. I try & pack the minimum & leave some space for extra goods.


My own tip:

Never forget to bring a backpack when you fly. It's really valuable for when you are visiting at your destination & when you are in the plane. Especially for lugging your munchies & packed meal,meds, or cosmetics.

A backpack is also a lifesaver if you are carrying any fragile items. Example :We brought back two China plates & a small creamer 2 years ago. These were once my Grandmother's and my cousin Kathy gave them to me as a gift.No way was I trusting them to get through in the suitcases.

Another thing I do is to fold up my purse & pack it in the suitcase. I then wear the essentials in either a fanny pack/ an "around the neck" money carrier. My spending money & Passport are in my view & more secure.

Taking two suitcases each is tempting, but,we are continuing on to Montreal by bus. So, we can't be hauling too many suitcases.

This was me 2 years ago at San Francisco, sitting on our two bags :





Another bit of news :

For those of you wanting to ship items bought on your US trip via USPS surface mail for overseas.

Keep in mind that since this year,you can no longer send packages via surface mail !

Bummers !!!

Thanks to Leesa from News in France for sharing that with me.
Surface mail was something my Mom used & re-used for sending care packages since years. And we also used it the past for mailing some purchases home. That's finished. Now, the packages have to be sent by USPS airmail or if you can pay for it, one of the commercial delivery services.

I hope that the above website link can help anyone that will be traveling soon. Be aware before reserving and plan accordingly.


Have a nice day.