Fifteen more seats? Really? Jetblue’s announcement that it was cutting legroom, adding seats and charging for bags didn’t necessarily shock anyone, but it did make me shake my head in disgust. I simply can’t imagine the times that my grandparents told me about, you know, when flying was cool, extravagant and simply part of the whole overall experience. I am lucky enough, or should I say old enough, to remember how going through security was a breeze though. But with each passing year, it seems airline travel gets less and less comfortable. The problem is that they really have us by the “you know what”. How else are we going to get there and are we really willing to pay out the wazoo to have that business or first class seat? For many of you out there, that may be a distinct possibility, but for the majority, it’s simply not realistic. We travel in a set of four and that would honestly kill all of my points if I started traveling in the hottie tottie section. I am a budget traveler you know so it’s simply another obstacle I have to face and deal with because my travel habits won’t be changing anytime in the near future. That being said, it does add another airline to the “naughty” list when I do searches. So why the notice of baggage fees at the same time? Well, I’m from the financial services field and we all know that if you’re going to make a change in fees, it’s better to get them all out on the table because God know’s you don’t want to have to send a fee increase to your travelers again and go through the whole “I’m pissed at you” from the start. This is obviously something that they have pondered for some time and surely anticipated the backlash, but since so many other airlines have done so, they probably figured what better time than now, with a nice little Christmas bow on top to get us all in the mood. I certainly don’t claim to know the ins and outs of the business, but we are teetering on the brink of having very few resources when it comes to flying cheap. Well, I take that back, you can still fly cheap, but only if you’re wearing what’s on your back…over and over again. I guess you could pack some sample detergent and clean it in the sink like Rick Steves or simply pile on some patchouli like I’m reliving my Dead days. As it turns out though, we’re hogtied, destined to live an existence of walking along half-heartedly listening to the steady stream of music from the Pied Piper as he steers us through the concourse of sardine-packing misery. Ahhhh, to be a rich man and be in first class, that’s where the golden days of flying remain. Would you like some Grey Poupon with your finely cut deli sandwich compared to, would you like some salt on your cracker. It is a wild world out there and it get’s more competitive each day in the air. So as we move forward into 2015, brace yourself, or at least the person next to you. You may not want to know who you’re flying next to, but that kind of sucks considering you’ll be sharing buns in the same seat. Soon, the seatbelts will be retrofitted to handle the entire row. Happy travels to all and to all a…uh…bag of peanuts?