Thursday, May 29, 2008

If you thought being charged $15 to check your first bag on an airline trip was the final insult: Yesterday, US Airways said it will stop serving free snacks. What's next? Reusable air-sickness bags? Coin-operated toilets?

Citing soaring jet fuel costs and the need to cut costs somewhere, the airline said that as of Sunday there will be no more free pretzels and peanuts in steerage, er, coach on domestic flights. (We can't but help hear Ted Knight in "Caddyshack": "You'll get nothing and like it!")

This comes a week after American Airlines said it would start charging passengers $15 extra to check a bag and shortly after other major carriers said they would start charging $25 to check two bags.

If there's an upside to the Great US Airways Snack Snatch of 2008, it's that we won't have a chance to miss them -- mostly because we won't be able to afford to fly anymore, thanks to the recent ticket price hikes.

-- Frank Ahrens