On Tue, 11 Dec 2007 08:41:38 +1030, "John H"
wrote in
<475db9b7$1_3@news.chariot.net.au> :
>Its getting out of hand what additional charges are being put on top of a
>ticket price nowadays.
>
>Example
>Qantas Adelaide to Sydney to London with stop off in Singapore on return
>leg,
>reaps the following which add up to $680 per person for the round trip on
>top of the base fare.
>All prices in $AUD
>
>AU = AUSTRALIAN PASSENGER MOVEMENT CHARGE = $38.00
>QK = SYDNEY AIRPORT NOISE TAX =
>$3.00
>QR = ADELAIDE PASSENGER SERVICE CHARGE = $28.00
>WG = INTERNATIONAL SAFETY AND SECURITY CHARGE = $3.00
>WY = SYDNEY PASSENGER SERVICE CHARGE = $43.00
>GB = UK AIR PASSENGER DUTY =
>$102.00
>UB = UK INTERNATIONAL ARRIVALS TAX = $37.00
>SG = SINGAPORE AIRPORT DEPARTURE CHARGE = $18.00
>YQ = FUEL LEVY
>= $408.00
> Total
>Charges/levies/taxes = $680.00 per person
>
>Not bad gouging by them all...love the Fuel levy...must pay for all fuel
>that is used!
>
Thanks for the interesting post, John! I definitely agree with
you! Seems to be happening a lot these days, in many areas.
A couple of years ago became a bit annoyed at the "creative"
charges imposed by my local bank branch. Cash a cheque from
overseas? Make a minor error on a written cheque? Too many
"counter transactions", even checking to see if a particular
cheque had cleared, or confirmation of current balance?
Most are fairly minor charges, but they are annoying! So far
they haven't charged us for the postage cost of mailing out
a monthly statement, or the cost of the envelope, or whatever.
Perhaps they haven't thought of this yet! :-)
Still, at the time, wanting to be helpful as usual, made some
suggestions to the teller. After all, if they are determined to
gouge customers to the maximum possible extent, perhaps
they should consider the expenses involved when a customer
actually enters the bank.
It is air conditioned, so anyone coming in from outside lets in
some warm air, which causes an increased load on the air
conditioning system. Which causes "wear and tear" on the
air conditioning unit.
Then too, opening the door causes a bit of wear on the hinges.
Very slight, but scientifically measurable. Then there is the
wear on the floor covering by my shoes.
Or I might happen to have a cold at the moment, sneeze, and
infect the teller. Or say something that might offend him or
her.
The possibilities are almost endless, actually. As the readers
of this group have probably noted, I am seldom at a loss for
words.
Their were no other customers waiting, so I wasn't causing any
inconvenience to anyone else. Actually, in one sense, was doing
a favor to the bank employee. They could gain credit by
conveying my suggestions to their manager and suggesting even
more ways to take advantage of customers.
Even small amounts add up, after all. I finally concluded my
argument by pointing out that the bank could install a turnstile
at the entrance door that would require any customer entering the
bank to pay a mere five cents for entry.
Alternatively, since customers sometimes have to wait for other
customers to complete their transactions, perhaps the bank could
give each customer a free minute to complete their transaction
with a dollar surcharge for each additional minute.
Our time is valuable, after all. How many readers have had an
appointment with a doctor or dentist at a given time, say 10 A.M.
but spent much longer in the aptly named "waiting room"? Should
not we be compensated for this waiting time?
It takes me a bit of time to write this post. Someone may make
a lot of money from my proposals. I have no idea how many people
will eventually read it. Perhaps I should ask all readers to
send me 25 cents or so for reading it? :-)
Not a serious suggestion, of course. But who knows what might
happen in coming years? As you have pointed out, who would have
thought that airline companies would demand extra charges for
air transport?
Airlines used to provide excellent meals as a flight service.
Have read that they no longer provide metal forks, but plastic
ones.
However, AFIK, they still serve meals on plastic trays. These
too could be used as a potential weapon. Why not just run all
the food through a blender and serve it in plastic bags?
Passengers who insist on a plastic tray could be allowed same, if
they were willing to pay extra for one or two security guards to
watch them eat.
Of course, any passenger wearing clothing might have a concealed
weapon. The obvious solution would be to require all passengers
to travel naked. Although, to follow the present thought, they
could be allowed to cover themselves with a bed sheet, or even
actual clothing, if they were willing to pay extra charges for
this privilege.
Anyway, I've spent too much of my valuable time even writing this
post, and I have no idea if anyone will even bother to read it.
So will now close, and see if I get any replies.
Cheers,
Kangaroo16
Posting at 9:03 PM Tuesday 11 December on rec.travel.australia+nz |