Asiana Airlines gives a whole new meaning to “economy class.”
I really don’t expect much of an experience when I fly, but there are a few things that should be part of every flight. One of these is air jets. You know, those little overhead nozzles that blast air (maybe cool, maybe not) at you with ungodly amounts of force. Those should be on every plane. I mean, they’ve been on every plane I’ve ever been on (excluding little puddle-jumpers).
Until today, that is.
And I’m not on some crap plane. It’s a frickin’ 767 I’m talking about here. Look up over my head and what do I see? The seatbelt/no smoking light, a reading lamp and – well, that’s it really. No air jets. Is this some new style that’s being implemented? The air in planes is usually pretty stale, so you’d think that anything that keeps it moving around would be considered helpful.
Of course, this surprise didn’t come until after I was on the plane. Asiana had another, much bigger, one waiting for me at check-in.With all of the flying I’ve done between the US and Asia, I’ve gotten to know some of the rules and regulations pretty well. And since I’m usually moving (as in moving my whole life, not just being in motion) when making these flights, I’ve taken special notice of the luggage regs.
Which is great – unless somebody changes them.
Now I don’t know if this is just Asiana, or if other airlines are in on this racket, but the amount you’re allowed to bring just got a hell of a lot smaller. It used to be you could check two bags, and the maximum weight for each piece was 70 pounds, or 30 kilograms if you’re in a metric country. (30kg is only 66lbs, so I guess the US lucks out here.)I showed up today with both my bags right at 30kg. I’ve packed these two pieces often enough to be able to do a “lift test” by hand and know if they’re too heavy or not. Guess what the chipper check-in girl tells me? I’m only allowed 20kg.
PER BAG!!!
What the hell is that about? I know I’m taking a short flight and all (only 1:55 to Japan), but that’s an absurdly low weight allowance for international travel. The CCG informs me that an economy class is only allowed 20kg, and that business class tickets get 30kg. However, she’s willing to make an exception in my case and let me get the business class allowance. But what about the other 30kg?
I’ll have to pay for those.
The overweight fee is about $4.43 per kilo, so I’m out an extra $133.
Fucking swell.
I bitched, but I paid. What else was I going to do? At least I got away with not getting my carry-on bags weighed. I know they were both over, what with having books, hard drives and my Xbox in them.
It’s not really revenge, but it’s the best I could hope for given the situation. I’ll just have to double-check the regs before my next trip (whenever that may be).
Who knows what stupid crap they’ll have cooked up by then….
(This post was composed at 35,000 feet over the Sea of Japan. Yes, I said SoJ, not “East Sea.” I don’t care what Asiana’s in-flight map says. So there.)