Thursday, January 14, 2010

Airline hike bag fees- Ashton

Taking effect on thursday United Airlines is charging passengers for bags. A 25 dollar fee for the first bag checked, and then a 35 dollar fee for the second. Checking bags in online will cost 23 dollars and 32 dollars for the second. The reason they are doing this is to match delta, and continental airlines. Some passengers like first class, or frequent flyers are exempt from most luggage fees. Most airlines started adding these fees in 2008 and reported collecting nearly 740 million in third quarter of 2009. Other companies like southwest do not charge for first or second bags.
These extra fees are a little ridiculous. the airlines are just trying to squeeze every last penny out of travelers without losing any customers in the process. They make the fees seem necessary and part of the trend, but companies like southwest are doing their best to keep the extra costs to a minimum. In these hard times where the economy isnt its best everyone is looking for new ways to make a little more profit. If the airlines are looking to do this charge the first class and rich people luggage or include it in the bill and exclude the lower class people. After all people flying economy class are mostly families going on vacation and are flying economy for a reason;money is tight. I wont wine about these luggage fees if they're doing it for a cause like keeping lower class jobs at the airline. However if that extra money is going to those fat cat, rich ceo's and owners there's going to be a problem. Im sick and tired of hearing how the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This would be a great example of why that's happening and I think it's about time we take a stand.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Ashton Gronholz - Nasa Rocket Casey by vangness

The article that Casey commented on was about a rocket Ares I-X, taking a NASA crew to land on the moon. Casey believes it's a big step towards possible discoveries, and knowledge of space. However, with the economy the way it is everyone is suffering and funding is an issue. Some believe NASA is spending more than their current funding. Casey also saw the issues behind that and agreed there isnt really a rush to land another aircraft on the moon. In hard times such as this we should focus on other problems, and put this mission on hold.
I agree with what Casey had to say 100%. The reasoning behind this is, although it's been forty years since the U.S. has had a man on the moon, there is no reason why we need to rush and suddenly put one on immediatly. In the near future possibly, but not now. At the moment our government and the people are in a minor crisis. With the economy as tight as it is, I think the funding could be put to better use. It really has no gain for us, what I mean is certain knowledge of the moon wont help us with our current problems. We need to put this mission on hold, and focus on more important issues.