Yesterday I rambled about the complete ridiculousness of airline ticketing and pricing.  Today I wanted to continue to talk about airline travel in regards to what you can and can’t do with your luggage and issues with security.

I know that I mentioned it in my previous post that most airlines have started charging you to take checked baggage on your flight.  With the exorbitant price of tickets to start with, I would think that baggage could still be included in that cost.  At $15 for your first bag and $25 (or more) for your second, what exactly are we paying for?  Seeing as every bag doesn’t get handled by it’s own handler, odds are the cost is not directly related to paying the handlers.  With the number of bags each handler moves in an hour, that would be quite a salary!

I understand the weight restrictions on bags, at least to a point.  I would imagine these are in place to protect the baggage handlers.  Slinging 50lb bags of funky shapes and sizes all day can’t be easy, so having a heavy bag could be an issue.  I don’t know if the baggage handlers have a union or anything, but I could see this being a point for hazard pay.

Now let’s look at airline security.  Is it really more than a joke and an inconvenience?  Every “advance” that we make in security protocols in airports is completely reactionary.  Someone tries to put a bomb in their shoe, so we all have to take off our shoes.  Someone decides to try binary liquid explosives so now we can’t take any real quantities of liquids and pastes.  Ironically, the only thing that I think has regressed is the screening of laptop computers in that you used to have to power them up so that the screeners could see that it was actually a working computer.

Sure, we have added a few things in security that are less reactive, but are they really making us safer or just making us spend more time in line in the airport?  Are they more efficient?  Do they invade our privacy?  Many airports are installing/testing full body X-ray devices.  I don’t have anything to hide, and I am sure that most people don’t, but still, does a full body X-ray of myself really need to end up somewhere in cyberspace.  Does airline security take precedence over personal security and privacy?  All that is not to mention the fact that it takes a lot longer to use the full body scan since TSA has to wait for the images to render.

My real thought that comes from all this is that anyone that is determined enough to make some kind of terror act on an airline will find a way to do it.  When you consider how many people and goods come in and out of every airport every day it almost makes all the the security measures that most people see seem moot.  I mean, does every box of donuts for Dunkin’ Donuts and every bag of coffee beans for Starbucks get screened?  Have you ever gone into the FBO section of an airport?  If you are meeting a private jet you can drive your car right out on the tarmac.

So, what’s the point?  Does it really work?  Does all the “security” make you feel more secure?  Have you ever not felt safe flying?

This is part one of probably a two part series of posts about summer travel, specifically relating to airline travel.

As we head into the summer and people are getting out of school many are starting to think about their summer travel plans.  Some people will travel for summer jobs, some just for fun, and some for visiting friends and family.  Most people who are traveling more than across a state or two will probably make their journey by air.  However, this is getting harder and harder every day.  Sure, it is still cheaper and generally more convenient than driving long distance, but the airline industry is out of control.

What made me start to think about this?  It all started when I was talking to my dad about flying home the night before he left this weekend.  There are two direct flights from SLC to BOS every day on Delta.  My dad had originally booked his tickets on the evening flight but wanted to change to the morning.  For this, the airline wanted to charge not only a change fee but an additional $400.  Now, obviously they had seats available, one would think that it is more important to fill the seats.  What accounts for the $400 difference?  This just further illustrates the fact that when you get on a plane you could be sitting next to a person who paid double what you did and the person on your other side may have paid half of what you paid.

The major airlines are already changing ridiculous fees on tickets.  I want to know what the actual cost per passenger is on a full commercial flight.  If an airline like Delta has standard routes that they fly at the same time every day like the SLC to BOS route, why isn’t there a standard price?  The planes fly whether or not all the seats are sold and there is no way to know in advance if a flight will be full.  So why are ticket prices so variable?  The cost per person doesn’t really change on a day-to-day basis.

Then of course consider the fact that on the major airlines there is nothing that you are not charged for.  It is a wonder that you still get a free beverage!  Why are travelers penalized for bringing their luggage on the plane?  Why should we have to pay for every bag we take.  Some airlines have even started to charge for carry-on bags.  Why shouldn’t I be allowed to take my clothes on my trip with me?  Maybe the airlines just want everyone to fly naked?  I am sure that would make TSA’s job easier!

I just read that now the major airlines want to start charging a “Summer Flights” surcharge.  From the articles I have seen this charge could range from $10-$50 per ticket.  Like every other aspect of ticketing, this fee will be variable depending on your travel date, when you book your flight, what airline, where you are going, and how your ex-roommate’s second-cousin’s sister-in-law is feeling.  It doesn’t actually cost more to fly in the summer, in fact one would think that since more people travel in the summer the planes are more likely to be full so it should get cheaper to fly!

This is obviously the time when some of the “smaller/budget” airlines may get the chance to shine.  I will be flying this summer and I am booked on Southwest Airlines who still has pretty standard pricing, they let you take two checked bags for free, and they do a good job.  As far as I know they also won’t be adding on a summer surcharge.  Of course one of the best things about Southwest is the fact that they don’t have penalties for changing your flight beyond the difference in ticket price (if there is one).

It is really right that someone’s greed for money drives the airline industry?  Did anyone stop to think that people might be more inclined to fly more often if prices were more standard and not designed to screw over the travelers?  What about giving the traveler the freedoms and benefits that we used to get insted of charing us for every little thing on the flight?  Why does it have to be so damn difficult?

Our production of 42nd Street opens tomorrow.  That marks the final opening night of the 2009-2010 season here at the theatre.  It is really amazing how it feels like we just started, and yet we have been at it for almost nine months.  As usual, the weeks leading up to this opening (like this week) have been completely chaotic.  I think by the time the curtain falls on Friday night and we head out to the opening night party I will have clocked more overtime hours than regular hours this week.  All things considered this is not a bad thing aside from the fact that I am amazingly tired and I haven’t been able to spend a lot of time with Ruth, who just had her wisdom teeth out and could use some TLC.

Even though things will really slow down after Friday, I think this is the time of year where it feels like things will go really fast.  There are a lot of things that are going to happen in the next month.  We of course will have the performances of the show, but we won’t have to be working on the next show (this is nice).  Ruth will be heading off to London for six weeks soon.  I have my photo workshop in Moab, then at some point I have to arrive on the East Coast in time for my sister’s college graduation (I still have to get a plane ticket).  After that I head off to camp where I will reconnect with Ruth.  It’ll all happen pretty fast, it is crazy.

The fun thing about winding down the season at the theatre is that we can start to look ahead to next season.  Next season we are taking on some big challenges and we are switching things up.  We will be producing eight shows instead of our usual seven.  There were a lot of factors that went into this decision.  First of all, we lost the rights to Spamalot on account of the fact that there will be a non-equity (AEA is the actor’s union) touring company in town for a three day engagement.  To me, this seems like the kind of thing that someone at the licensing company gets fired over.  I mean, we would make them a lot more money, but whatever.

So, in lieu of having that big name show to close our season, the powers that be decided that we would assume the risk of doing an eighth show as opposed to having to cut back on budgets and possibly salaries.  We won’t be getting raises (for the second year in a row) but we will get an extra 5-ish weeks of work.  In theory, the season that they have planned should be a pretty good seller, and I certainly can’t argue with the extra work as in those weeks I will make more money than summer camp.  One of the other ways that the theatre will save some money is that one of the shows will be a co-production with Indiana Repertory Theatre.

Hopefully by now you are wondering what the heck those eight shows we are planning to do will be.  Well, guess what, I am going to tell you.  Though I don’t think that the information officially goes public until tomorrow, I am sure that plenty of people know because most of our staff and crew can’t keep their mouths shut anyway.  So, here it is, the 2010-2011 season line up for the Pioneer Theatre Company:

• Hamlet
• Dracula (to play over Halloween)
• White Christmas (to play during the Christmas season)
• Black Comedy
• In (a brand new play, this will be the first performance)
• The Diary of Anne Frank (the co-pro with IRT)
• Sunset Boulevard
• Rent

So, I bet those of you who read my earlier post about possible shows are wondering why we are doing White Christmas when no one really wanted to do it.  There are two reasons for that.  One is that a Christmas show generally sells well at that time of year.  The second reason is that since we have added Rent to the season, we figure that we balance out the edgy show with the classic.  Hopefully all the theories are correct and we have some shows that sell!  It will really be interesting to start the season with a straight play in stead of a musical next season though!

All things considered, the coming season should prove to be a very fun season.  There are a lot of dark shows on the line-up, but they are good shows.  I really hope that Rent does well so that we can prove that we can sell the edgy shows in this demographic.  I also think that it will help bring in some younger audiences.

It also sounds like I will be taking on some additional responsibilities at the theatre next season as our resident sound designer is leaving.  I won’t be going into sound, but he did some other odd jobs like help manage our website and maintain some of our computers, like our ticketing server.  I am happy to take on these jobs, and there is a little kick in pay for it, so it should be good for everyone.  It will give me something to do on the days that I wonder what to do with myself.  Hopefully next season there won’t be many of those days on account of having more shows!

So that is where we are.  Winding down to the end of the season.  In general, things are looking good for next year, which is great.  If any of my readers happen to be in the SLC area next year, give a shout and I can see about getting you in to a show!

So, I missed posting a photo last week, I was pretty busy that I totally forgot what day of the week was.  I won’t forget this week though.  So, here is my photo for the week:

Sunset at Arches

Every year since I moved to Utah I have managed to get in a trip to visit at least one of the national parks here in Utah and the surrounding region.  The year before last I was invited on a trip with my cousins to tour a bunch of parks.  We started in Moab, UT at Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.  We pulled into Moab late in the day and after we checked into the hotel the light was beautiful so we raced out to Arches to shoot some photos.  This is probably the best of the lot from that night.

I totally forget what the name of this feature is, but it is right off the park road and not too far into the park.  I am looking forward to going back this summer for a photo workshop.  I find these places to be so beautiful and amazing and I love visiting them.

As always, comments and critiques are encouraged and welcome!

These are actually from last summer. I don’t really remember what inspired me to write them, but I did. Right before I camp to camp last summer, I went on a camping trip with my cousins to all the Utah National Parks and to the Grand Canyon. We sped some time writing hiakus there, so that is probably where the format came from. Most of these are a little biased towards FA, but some work for both IA and FA. Enjoy!

Tall pine sentinels
High above the Saco Stand
Guarding FA girls

On the cabin line
Sounds of happy campers rise
Full of camp spirit

Round the campfire sit
In song and meditation
Sunset closed the day

Stars above pass by
The night sky glows watchfully
Courts and fields silent

Birds above warble
Mix with childrens cheers below
One more day goes by