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<p>I check a bag internationally, where I stay >6 days. I wash at
the laundromat when necessary.</p>
<p>Otherwise, I travel very light and have a single carry on. When I
go to CES for five days... two of those are travel days. What
clothes horse needs a suitcase for three days, I ask?<br>
</p>
<p>I have >1M miles on United, also on the abomination calling
themselves American Airlines (including all their many
predecessors like AirWest, Hughes, US Airways, etc, back to 1972
on Allegheny), and the somewhat redeemed Delta. <br>
</p>
<p>Gay and I agree on most things, but this:</p>
<p>The Indianapolis Int'l Airport is horrific, and I've written
several OpEds to the Indpls Bus Journal with long screeds denoting
why. It has this going for it: from gate to baggage is short. All
other qualities are bereft of beauty-- it is only efficient and
their retail and restaurants are among the worst in a first world
airport. These screeds drive the Indpls Airport Authority plainly
berserk, judging by their sulfurous letters to the IBJ editor, but
they have not once argued the facts stated. <br>
</p>
<p>I now travel Spirit and Allegiant, sometimes Frontier, because
adding it up, I'm on an airborne bus. Total costs are important.
Once in a while Southwest is ok; and as Gay describes, United is
The Devil's (own) Airline.</p>
<p>I wish the could all be Southwest at Frontier's prices.</p>
<p>My total cost for going to Las Vegas, M-F, is $491 excluding
rental car fuel and meals. AirBnB (full studio apartment). RT air.
Car rental. All from Indy airport, on non-stops.<br>
</p>
<p>Tom</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 10/30/19 4:50 PM, Gabe Goldberg via
Ipg-smz wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:ed9691bf-c1d2-d922-9648-c390e213dd4e@gabegold.com">
<p>Author writes:<br>
</p>
<p>Travel is a chaotic, exhausting experience exacerbated by
people who forget the social contract the moment they step foot
in an airport. I travel constantly. I chase miles and have
status on three airlines. I read websites about how to best
manage airline and hotel loyalty programs, airline credit cards,
and the like. I have an app that shows me where every single
plane currently flying is and other aviation geek information. I
have an app that lets me listen to air traffic control chatter.
There is a small park near the edge of LAX where I sit and watch
incoming planes landing. I have favorite planes (Airbus 380,
Boeing 787, Boeing 757, Boeing 737) and planes I truly despise
(CRJ 700, Embraer 145). In short, I have made a necessary
condition of my work something of a hobby.</p>
<br>
<p>As you might expect, I have a great many travel-related
opinions, most but not all of which are wildly uncharitable. For
instance, United is Satan’s airline and I will take almost any
convoluted route to avoid flying them. Alaska Airlines planes
smell weird. The food on American Airlines flights is worse than
what I imagine dog food tastes like. Delta serves delicious
Biscoff cookies and the flight attendants wear festive purple
uniforms. The Atlanta airport is a cruel mistress. There is a
bathroom attendant in the Charlotte Airport who likes to sing
gospel as she does her work, serenading weary passengers and she
is a delight. LaGuardia is unspeakable. You basically have to
walk ten miles from the gate to customs in Montreal. The
Indianapolis airport is the best airport in the United States;
fight me. There aren’t nearly enough women or people of color
serving as pilots. It is incredibly grating to get a chatty
pilot who wants to narrate the entire flight when all you want
to do is sleep or stare into the Grand Canyon. The way people
treat flight attendants is, for the most part, absolutely
disgraceful.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p id="22bf" class="hd he ed at hf b hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp
hq hr" data-selectable-paragraph=""><span class="r hs ib hv ey
ic"><span class="r hs ht hu hv hw hx hy hz ia ey gm">I</span></span>
reserve my most passionate opinions, however, for carry-on
luggage. If you are ever wondering if you should check your
luggage or carry-on, the answer is that you should check your
luggage. I don’t care why you want to carry-on your luggage. You
should check your bag. I say this with the caveat that air
travel is prohibitively expensive and baggage fees are horrible
and if you can’t afford the fees, you do what you must. For
everyone else, check your bag.</p>
<p id="4cba" class="hd he ed at hf b hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp
hq" data-selectable-paragraph="">In 2007, airlines began
instituting baggage fees to offset the cost of jet fuel and once
they realized they could charge for luggage and other basic
amenities of air travel, there was no looking back. Once people
realized they were going to have to pay even more than the cost
of their plane ticket to travel, all hell broke loose with
carry-ons. Suddenly packing for trips of most any length became
an exercise in austerity.</p>
<p class="hd he ed at hf b hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq"
data-selectable-paragraph="">Writers, in particular, love to
discuss the ways in which they contort themselves toward
austerity to go on book tour. Nearly every writer active on
social media has discussed, at length, how they will travel or
have traveled with only a carry-on suitcase for a five-day trip
or ten-day trip or three-week trip. It is something of a
competition, as if there is valor in self-imposed deprivation.
They offer tips, like rolling your clothes or stuffing your
socks in your shoes or traveling without toiletries. They talk
about wearing the same, increasingly soiled outfit for days on
end because hey, you can wash it in the hotel bathroom sink or
not.</p>
<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://gay.medium.com/the-case-for-checking-a-bag-b0f92968a852"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://gay.medium.com/the-case-for-checking-a-bag-b0f92968a852</a></p>
<br>
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</blockquote>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Tom Henderson
ExtremeLabs, Inc.
+1 317 250 4646
Twitter: @extremelabs
Skype: extremelabsinc</pre>
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