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Flying? Bring extra cash and a blanket

The headline of a recent New York Times article caught my eye.  It is: “At Least the Airsickness Bags are Free.”

Too funny.  And, unfortunately, too true.

Having just returned from a honeymoon to a foreign land (a special trip that required many, many months of dilligent saving), I learned all too well just how expensive flying has become.

It’s been several years since I’ve flown. I guess I was spoiled that last trip. The plane was spacious – as far as planes go – and pillows, blankets, meals and even a glass of wine were all part of the cost.

Those days are long gone.

You do still get a free beverage, such as water or soda. For anything else you’re going to pay and pay big, if paying is even an option.

No blanket for you

Despite the length of one of our flights, at nearly five hours, (our trip home required us to travel on no less than three different airplanes), no meals or munchies were given without handing over cash. I decided to fly hungry. Airplane meals aren’t good enough to pay extra for.

The plane was quite cold. I was wearing pants and a sweater, but I thought a blanket would be nice. It turns out with that particular airline the only people who get blankets are those who are traveling in business class (which is basically first class). The airline attendant wasn’t even pleasant when she told me that I couldn’t have a blanket, dooming me to shiver for the entire flight. I felt like I shouldn’t have dared to even ask for the blanket. Paying for a blanket wasn’t even an option on this flight.

So the people in business class sipped champagne in their large leather seats with their warm blankets while those of us who couldn’t afford that sat cramped together, cold and hungry, praying for an end to the flight.

The thing that irked me the most was that we were forced to take three flights and spend an additional three hours on a plane because the airline canceled our original flight and rerouted us. We didn’t have any say in how we got home. Then they couldn’t even give me a stinking blanket?

How much more is business class?

My new husband and I started debating whether or not we should have paid for business class. But, just how expensive would that be?

I looked up an upcoming flight to our honeymoon destination for next week. To keep it a fair comparison to our trip, I set our travel for the same days of the week, with the same airline and the same airports. It turns out that to travel business class would have cost us each an additional $662, or a total of an extra $1,324.

Those are some expensive blankets! I don’t see business class, or many flights in general, in my future.

Bring your own supplies

I apologize for the rant. Here are some helpful tips for flying on a budget:

·        If you have a small blanket that can fit in your carry-on, roll it up and take it with you. If you tend to get cold on planes, wear long pants and a sweater.

·        Bring snacks if your flight will be long, or if you’re traveling with children.

·        If you want to take your own bottled beverage on the plane, purchase it once you’re near your gate at the airport. The new TSA rules won’t allow you to take liquid through the security screenings. The beverages in the airport are more expensive than what you buy at home, but less expensive than what you have to pay for on the plane.

·        Bring your own earphones. That way you don’t have to pay for the uncomfortable earphones they sell you on the plane.

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