Directly out of my...

Last week, I had a flight out of Duluth, Minnesota.  I had a connecting flight in Minneapolis, MN which would take me directly to 成田空港 (Narita Airport) in Japan.  Normally, I don't fly in or out of my hometown.  It's a small airport and usually adds a lot to the  ticket price.  However, on this occasion, it wasn't that much more expensive.  Plus I had to make haste to an event so I flew all the way there.

Well, the day before I was set to return, I was already in Minneapolis.  So I called the airline to say I'd like to forfeit my seat on the flight from Duluth to Minneapolis.  Simple enough, right?

Not so much.

In order to not use that portion of the flight, I would have had to pay an additional $300 for changing the itinerary.  That's right: you use less product and we'll charge you more money.  Mind you, this is a seat they could have conceivably re-sold to another patron.  Well, I asked what would happen if I "missed" my flight from Duluth.  They said the entire trip would be cancelled.

So, I had to hurry up and find a bus that would take me from Minneapolis back to Duluth... so I wouldn't miss my flight from Duluth to Minneapolis.  The bus ran me $50, but that beats the hell out of $300.  Then, when I got to the airport, I went to check my additional bag.  It was another $100.  Oh joy of joys!!  I vaguely recall a time when two checked bags were included for international flights.  Not anymore.  The real pisser is that all my stuff probably weighed less than 45 kilograms.  Thus, if either one of my bags had been big enough for all my shit, I could have avoided the fee.

By that point I was simply too tired to argue or care.  And, honestly, these are definitely luxury problems.  Still, I don't enjoy blowing money directly out of my ass.