Something Occurred to me

"How many things have to happen to you before something occurs to you?" - Robert Frost

Eliminated on domestic coach flights:
magazines and newspapers
meals, supplanted by the infamous $3.00 box lunch
pillows and blankets
pilot wings for kids

Extra charge:
aisle seats
second checked bag
Soon American Airlines plans to charge $15 for your first checked bag

Surcharges:
Fuel
Airport Security

Casting about for what extra charge might come next, I am reminded of another tight economic time when fuel costs were soaring. It was in the 1970's. It was determined that a coat of paint on an airplane fuselage set up enough drag to consume extra fuel. Overnight, airliners began sporting a shiny bare metal exterior adorned only by an occasional stripe and a logo or two to help them slip through the air more efficiently. Now with airline fuel costs doubling and tripling in the wink of an eye, I am led to ponder what economies the airlines might consider next. I'm not seeing the next obvious candidate for extra charge or elimination unless . . .

. . . we consider the passengers. Stay with me, here. They cannot completely eliminate the passengers and have empty airliners flying around using up fuel for no good purpose. But can they strip them of a coat of paint? Or charge them for more than one coat? The passengers, I mean.

Suppose, just suppose, the next time you check in at the ticket counter for your flight, you are charged for wearing more than one layer of clothing. Maybe a sweater. $10. A blazer? $20. You see where I'm going with this. If you don't want to pay, there could even be a handy Salvation Army bin to accept your donations of these items before boarding, complete with tax deduction receipts.

Its just something that occurred to me.