I have a HUGE beef to air!
First of all "huge" is not a word that has ever applied to me. I am not the skinny sylph I used to be, but I am short! When we gather to take a group photo, my blogmates hum choruses of "We'd like to welcome you to Munchkinland."
Here is the sort of plane that took me and my friend Nicoletta around Kenya and Tanzania over the past month.
The night before we took off in this little number, when all the bags were packed and I was already in my jammies, my travel agent sent me the vouchers for our flight the next day from Nairobi to the Masai Mara. I gave them a cursory glance and went nighty-night. The next morning in the car on our way to the airport, I discovered that the fine print on the ticket included a baggage weight limit of 15 kilos. My two small bags I later learned weighed just over 24.
I figure the weight limit has something to do with the amount of fuel the plane needs to cart around a big bunch of avoirdupois.
The guy at the checkin counter suggested that I leave one of my bags behind, at the airline company's storage. But. The flight was leaving in twenty minutes and my underwear was in one and my shoes in the other. And for reasons I am sure you can understand, I did not want to sort through my undies in the airport waiting room.
I asked what the charge would be for the extra weight. Sixty-four dollars was the answer.
$64??????
Flabbergasted as I was, the basic unfairness of this rule inspired my argument. "How much do you weigh?" I asked the hefty guy behind the counter. His answer: 102 kilos. "If you bought a ticket on this flight," I asked, "would yours cost the same as mine?"
 |
| This is not the man at the airport, but my dear friend, wonderful writer and publisher--Shel Arensen. I include the photo to show the difference between me and another potential passenger who would also be allowed 15 K of luggage. |
"Yes, certainly, I wold pay the same," the big guy said.
So I argued that fully-clothed, shoes and all, I weigh just under 70 K. Therefore, my "overweight" baggage and I - put together - weighed less than he, all by himself. Therefore, I should be able to take my bags without an extra charge.
It didn't work. Not really. In the end they gave me a reduction in the cost, but I still had to fork over fifty bucks for the privilege of taking my belongings with me.
 |
| Nicoletta kindly took this picture after the return flight. The man to my left paid less to fly than I did for me and my luggage. AARRGGHHH!!! |
Now I ask you, is this right? Is this fair?
NOT FAIR!!!
PS: I also think that people 5"2' should get the front seats in the theatre.
Posts
How could i possibly disagree?
ReplyDeleteRight you are, Triss! On the height issue, you and I are on the same team. And you should be able to take at least ten kilos more than I!!
ReplyDeleteSolution...layer up(wear enough clothes to bring bag
ReplyDeleteweight below the allowable limit). Just saying.
Great advice. Jerry, even if it comes from someone a foot taller than me. It was, however, 83 degrees F in Arusha, Tanzania at the moment, and it never occurred to me to put on another 9 kilos of clothing. Just sayin’.
ReplyDeleteAt 5 foot one, I share your pain. On the bright side, we can stand up without hitting our heads on the overhead bins.
ReplyDeleteYes! But. I don’t know about you, but for me —to get my carryon in the overhead bin, I have to ask a favor, usually beginning by saying, “Excuse me tall person...”
ReplyDeleteExactly. At the counter, you should have opened the bag that did not have the shoes, grap all the clothing and shoved it up under your shirt and down your pants, and then thanked the counter-person for storing your case for you.
ReplyDeleteAnd are you really only 5 inches and 2 feet? I think you look almost twice that tall.
I can just see the lines. Everybody being weighed with their luggage so no one was being discriminated against. Then swapping stuff around. Then being charged like meat at a counter - so many $$ per kilo. I can't wait.
ReplyDeleteAw, Stan. Are you afraid of short people? Don’t worry. No long lines. They already weighed my luggage on a big scales. All they needed to do was put me on there too. If you personally EVER suffer from such a rule, I will cook you an osso buco dinner. And send you home with a bottle of vintage champagne.
DeleteWith your persuasiveness, I suspect I won't have to wait t long for that dinner!
DeleteS, I’ll make you the dinner on account, on the extremely extremely remote chance that being too tall costs you time while boarding a plane. That way you won’t have to grouse to be fed.
DeleteTotally unfair. There must be a committee you can complain to. Your logic is impeccable.
ReplyDeleteI concur as I also 5'2" at this stage.
One of the many ways, Kathy, that you and I are on the very same team!
DeleteEvKa, I look taller in the picture because I am closer to the camera than the others. It’s a trick of perspective.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain, Sis. In fact, many tall men experience a tricky form of height discrimination in their most private moments when visiting the loo in lands where the predominant height is yours.
ReplyDeleteThe members of the International Federations of Shower Installers and Mirror Hangers have a maximum height restriction of 165 cms (5' 5"). Ouch.
DeleteWell, Bro. I imagine that situation costs the cleaner some trouble. But I very much doubt that it ever cost you fifty bucks.
DeleteStan, I have been in places where all I could see in the mirror was my head from the eyebrows up. All you have to do in such circumstances is bend. I need a ladder. Not something I ordinarily travel with. And imagine the extra weight charges for such an item. BOOHOO.
ReplyDelete