The hassle of travel

We all have relatives and friends abroad, and from time to time we travel to be with them to celebrate occasions such as weddings, graduations, christenings and birthdays. Many persons would tell you that times have changed and these changes have not been in the interest of the passengers.{{more}} Prices continue to escalate while proper services and small comforts continue to diminish.

The fare

Airline tickets have become more costly everywhere, and especially in the Caribbean travelling expenses have reached an all time high. The blame is laid on the cost of fuel. The cost of travelling to Barbados is at times as high as eight hundred dollars per round trip. International flights have also seen a hike in price. In August of 2008, a trip to New York via Barbados spiked to almost three thousand dollars for a return ticket (including the LIAT ticket).

Delays

The airlines have not been without fault, especially in terms of delays, causing passengers to linger at airports for long periods and incurring expenses on food. Vincentians are even at a greater disadvantage, as they have to leave home at least three hours earlier to make international connections and international delays could wreak havoc on their finances.

Food

We have to get in the habit of taking some food with us so as to cut cost, especially as the airline no longer sees the need to provide passengers with a hot meal. This is so even though passengers have not protested or refused to pay for a hot meal. Hot meals are a thing of the past on the Barbados-New York/ Florida routes on American Airlines.

Cushions

The airline no longer carries the little cushion that used to bring a little comfort to those who wanted relief from the strain on the back. We have to include a small cushion in our bags. A neck cushion could serve you well.

Passenger losses

Passengers have seen their baggage weight plummet from seventy to fifty pounds per suitcase. There was a time when Vincentians were relieved of a problem by having their bags checked straight to their international destination. This is a luxury that is not likely to come again as airlines trim all benefits. Vincentians and others travelling to St. Vincent know about arriving at their destination without their bags.

Airline safety

Safety issues have been at the core of airline policy. They have been mostly reactive and one would remember the mountain of personal items taken away from passengers in August 2006 when a threat to safety was discovered. Since 9/11, the airports in the USA have instituted stricter screening, and persons are now subjected to X-ray screening. Amy Worthington, a reporter of the Idaho Observer, points to ionizing X- ray radiation to which the passengers are exposed when they are put under the back-scatter machine. She refers to it as being “grossly invasive”. According to her, “these hugely expensive, closet-sized zappers can find the plastic bombs hidden in grandma’s underpants while delivering a smacking dose of ionizing radiation to her breast and thyroid gland.” She further states that snooper X-rays penetrate a few centimeters into the flesh and reflect off the skin to form a naked body image for Transportation Security Agency (TSA) security personnel to inspect. The point is that all of us who depart from the USA via John F. Kennedy Airport would on our departure soak in a dose of ionized X-ray radiation. And it appears that this is not a random procedure, but one which a person once identified would have to endure every time he or she leaves the USA to return home. It means more ionized radiation for frequent flyers. What about its cumulative effect?

Ada Johnson is a solicitor and barrister-at-law.
E-mail address is: exploringthelaw@yahoo.com