A Look at the Future of Air Travel

[Africaida]

It is abundantly clear to me that on today's flights, at least those to the Dominican Republic, the carryon allowance is heavily abused.

This causes the usual delays as no space is left and all the extra carry-ons need to be checked and placed in the baggage compartments below. Those delays can be as long as 45 minutes while the flight attendants explain to irate passengers why the bag needs to be checked.

And while I know this is not likely to happen, thinking totally outside the box, why could the airlines not allow 1 checked bag free (Jetblue/Southwest notwithstanding) and charge for carry-ons....like Spirit? Except, that unlike Spirit, passengers would be allowed one smaller personal item per person (purse/laptop/diaper bag/medicine bag, etc.).

Of course it won't happen as the last minute business travelers who pay more for their tickets and for efficiency usually do not check luggage and do have carry-ons, and lastly the airlines would lose a big revenue source in their first bag fee.

But one can hope.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

Is it me or Dominicans are the slowest at putting and taking off their luggage from the compartment above ? What happened to letting passenger go through and then removing carry-ons instead of blocking 30 passengers behind ?

I only dream about being wealthy so that I could always fly business without blinking an eye

 

[wrecksum]

I'll start flying cattleclass airlines again when they come up with a system that puts you to sleep at the check in desk,loads you onto a sleeping pallet and wakes you up when you're back outside the other end.

The only way to travel.......

I wish.

 

[playacaribe2]

Is it me or Dominicans are the slowest at putting and taking off their luggage from the compartment above ? What happened to letting passenger go through and then removing carry-ons instead of blocking 30 passengers behind ?

I only dream about being wealthy so that I could always fly business without blinking an eye

I regularly fly Jetblue to Santiago and I no longer have any idea what a normal flight elsewhere might be like.

All I know is on the "Merengue flights," the name given to those flights that fly to the DR, it truly is surreal, and I have grown to accept that I will be bumped/jostled in my seat multiple times as the parade of carry-ons and other items goes by, that the plane will never leave on time and that someone will invariably try to go to the bathroom as the flight is taxiing or taking off, that most of the people on the plane either can't read the migracion form or they do not have a pen to complete it, that the child behind me will either cry, scream or practice kicking the back of my seat without any correction from the mother who will be busy ignoring the flight attendants directives to turn off her cell phone.

Are these common occurrences flying elsewhere?

One last point, I have a wager of sorts with a friend who regularly flies into SD. We usually travel in fairly close proximity and we wager a breakfast on whose flight has more wheel chair passengers (another abuse of the system that some Dominicans have discovered). The current record is 24. Of course, each wheel chair passenger travels with a large number of family members....that all of course are allowed to board and store all their carry-ons early.....thus insuring at least they won't need to check any of their carry-ons.

And many of these wheel chair persons....no longer need the wheel chair upon arrival in the DR. Miracle cures...no doubt.

Ah....the joys of flying on the "Merengue flights."


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

 

[Bronxboy]

There are a lot of things one can do to make flying more tolerable. Tricks of the trade picked up by frequent fliers.

Maybe it would be a great topic for a new thread.

Opened up just for you!

 

[jd426]

Or how about the ones that want to put their carry on in the bins at the front of the cabin ahead of where they are sitting?

There may be more to this squirrely type of behavior than meet the eye though.. Not just a slick move to get out faster..
I noticed this on one particular flight.. and it just so happened to be the same flight where a DOG alerted to and found drugs. somebody was switching carry ons or some such..thinking they were being slick. apparantly it caught someones eye and the dog at JFK did the rest. Or could have been a just coincidence. But I never saw it before or after.

I regularly fly Jetblue to Santiago and I no longer have any idea what a normal flight elsewhere might be like.

All I know is on the "Merengue flights," the name given to those flights that fly to the DR, it truly is surreal, and I have grown to accept that I will be bumped/jostled in my seat multiple times as the parade of carry-ons and other items goes by, that the plane will never leave on time and that someone will invariably try to go to the bathroom as the flight is taxiing or taking off, that most of the people on the plane either can't read the migracion form or they do not have a pen to complete it, that the child behind me will either cry, scream or practice kicking the back of my seat without any correction from the mother who will be busy ignoring the flight attendants directives to turn off her cell phone.

Are these common occurrences flying elsewhere?

One last point, I have a wager of sorts with a friend who regularly flies into SD. We usually travel in fairly close proximity and we wager a breakfast on whose flight has more wheel chair passengers (another abuse of the system that some Dominicans have discovered). The current record is 24. Of course, each wheel chair passenger travels with a large number of family members....that all of course are allowed to board and store all their carry-ons early.....thus insuring at least they won't need to check any of their carry-ons.

And many of these wheel chair persons....no longer need the wheel chair upon arrival in the DR. Miracle cures...no doubt.

Ah....the joys of flying on the "Merengue flights."


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

HAHA..
Awesome Post...

Them Faith Healing TV Preachers could learn a thing or 2 from Dominicans ..
LMAO..

 

[malko]

I am a whinny, annoying passenger.....
No place in the overhead bin above my seat..... backpack goes on the floor at my feet.....
Steward comes over, asks me to put my bag in overhead. No place. He says he will find a place elsewhere..... no way Jos?..... my nag doesnt leave my sight....
If he insists I demand he signs a form garanteeing my gold bars and diamonds.......magically they leave me be or get passanger from 21a to put his bag whever the f@#$ it please him, but not in the 15b overhead, as a PIA ( that would be me:devious is creating a commotion...

Playacaribe has never travelled on iberia SDQ-MAD......
They take f@#$ing racimiento de platanos and yucca in shopping bags along with their carry on.....ll:disappoin

 

[KyleMackey]

carry ons are out of control. The overheads fill up then people like me have to check their carry ons then wait to go pick them up off the conveyers. I try not to check bags just to avoind the hassle of the conveyor and the chance of losing my luggage. Women with lots of kids seem to be one of the worst offenders with purses, diaper bags, shopping bags etc. Seat room is shrinking every time I board it seems. Im annoyed that there seems to be no effort to reduce fares. The billions saved during the drops in fuel prices never saved the passengers a dime. Perhaps after the elections President Clinton will take a look see at whats going on for us.

More like she will look at their donations to the campaign or to the Clinton Foundation. Kinda like how Obama went after the criminals on Wall Street, lol.

 

[ohmmmm]

I think its great we can travel at 500 miles in the air sitting down in an air conditioned cabin for a few hours and arrive at a nice sunny destination for an affordable price.

 

[wrecksum]

I think its great we can travel at 500 miles in the air sitting down in an air conditioned cabin for a few hours and arrive at a nice sunny destination for an affordable price.

I absolutely agree with this..

But we could do that back in the 60's..
I have been all round the world in various sorts of flying machines,some made in the 50s.

But with a lot more comfort and class for not much more than we pay now in real terms....

Now we are treated like walk-on cargo and an annoyance for the crew.....and that's after the indignities if check-in and "security".

I'd rather fly Eco in a 707 back then than so-called "comfort or business etc." today.

 

[wrecksum]

the double post bug is back.

 

[rafael]

I regularly fly Jetblue to Santiago and I no longer have any idea what a normal flight elsewhere might be like.

All I know is on the "Merengue flights," the name given to those flights that fly to the DR, it truly is surreal, and I have grown to accept that I will be bumped/jostled in my seat multiple times as the parade of carry-ons and other items goes by, that the plane will never leave on time and that someone will invariably try to go to the bathroom as the flight is taxiing or taking off, that most of the people on the plane either can't read the migracion form or they do not have a pen to complete it, that the child behind me will either cry, scream or practice kicking the back of my seat without any correction from the mother who will be busy ignoring the flight attendants directives to turn off her cell phone.

Are these common occurrences flying elsewhere?

One last point, I have a wager of sorts with a friend who regularly flies into SD. We usually travel in fairly close proximity and we wager a breakfast on whose flight has more wheel chair passengers (another abuse of the system that some Dominicans have discovered). The current record is 24. Of course, each wheel chair passenger travels with a large number of family members....that all of course are allowed to board and store all their carry-ons early.....thus insuring at least they won't need to check any of their carry-ons.

And many of these wheel chair persons....no longer need the wheel chair upon arrival in the DR. Miracle cures...no doubt.

Ah....the joys of flying on the "Merengue flights."


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

26 wheelchairs is my record. I would say 14-16 average. For last 10 years I have flown about 2 million miles in latino and caribbean countries. No other destination comes close to amount of wheel chairs.

Dominicans also are worst at finding their seats. Tied with colombians for never wanting to let the 23 rows ahead of them deboard first. Always some dopes pushing and winding their way down the aisle till I damn near clothesline them.


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[Lobo Tropical]

Wonderful. Some of these airlines are packing them in sooo tight, it is ridiculous. I just read the other day, that the airlines want to decrease the size of your carryon bag.

Biggest thing I have noticed is the classes. I've been on flights with four different 'cabins'. Economy, economy plus, business, and first class. And of course after your 8 hour flight you have to walk past all the nice, bigger seats, that appear to have been empty, when you disembark.

Fortunately carrion regardless of size has been outlawed on all flights.
The indignities and discomforts of air travel can only be alleviated by extra $$$ :nervous:

 

[william webster]

Finding their seats.....

It amazes them that the rows are in sequence... and they refuse to believe it
They keep checking that 16 comes after 15......and so on..... all the way down the aisle (on their way to the isle)
couldn't resist it

 

[dv8]

i'm all in for charging per weight of the passenger plus luggage.

 

[Africaida]

i'm all in for charging per weight of the passenger plus luggage.

Nope.

Then, you would have to get to the airport one day before the flight because the check in would take so damn long.

 

[AlterEgo]

I'm getting a flashback to a flight from San Juan to Saint Thomas back in the 70s, tiny plane, they actually had this big ass Toledo freight scale outside. Before boarding everyone had to be weighed so the plane would be quasi-balanced. True story, I was on the plane.

 

[dv8]

Nope.
Then, you would have to get to the airport one day before the flight because the check in would take so damn long.

why? you already have to weigh the luggage. it makes no more time to step on the scale yourself, along with da suitcase.

 

[Africaida]

why? you already have to weigh the luggage. it makes no more time to step on the scale yourself, along with da suitcase.

So if it is overweight, you will have people taking off clothes, their shoes. Then it won't be enough, throw up their last meal. Then, it is not enough, they will remove items from suitcases. I can't even imagine JFK to SDQ with these restrictions. No gracias

 

[dv8]

So if it is overweight, you will have people taking off clothes, their shoes. Then it won't be enough, throw up their last meal. Then, it is not enough, they will remove items from suitcases. I can't even imagine JFK to SDQ with these restrictions. No gracias

nope. upon online purchase of a ticket you declare weight and pay adequately. upon arrival at the airport you step on the scale with your luggage. if it is any more than declared weight you are automatically charged into your credit card. the choice is simple: pay up or lose the ticket altogether. if you are under the limit it is automatically debited either for your return flight or directly reimbursed to CC.

 

[IslandDreaming]

The "weight issue" on airplanes is exaggerated It does make a difference in the CG of small airplanes (4-8 seat piston recips)
but if I recall correctly on a fully loaded 747, passengers only account for about 10% of the weight