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Tuesday Buzz: Carry On Your Wayward Bags

Don't like having to pay for checked bags? This latest bit of news will probably have you sticking to carry-ons. Also: A freelancer comes down on frustrating clients who insist on phone calls.

Sorry travelers: Your options for checking bags for free are dropping by the day.

Starting Tuesday, JetBlue will no longer let passengers check a bag for free. Instead, the airline will offer a three-tier fare system:

The lowest of the fares, “Blue,” will come with extra charges for checking bags or changing reservations. It’ll cost you $20 to check the bag before you get to the airport, and $25 after. If you’re shopping for a ticket on Orbitz or Priceline, this is the ticket tier you’re going to get, so be advised.

“Blue Plus” tickets, meanwhile, will cost $15 more than “Blue” tickets, on average, but will include one checked bag, a lower cost ($35) for additional bags, and a discount on ticket changes. In other words, if you want to check a bag, you should probably go for this fare.

“Blue Flex” tickets will cost about $100 more than standard “Blue” tickets but will be allowed two complimentary checked bags, and there will be no extra charges for ticket changes.

JetBlue’s pricing shift, which includes an expansion of its first-class “Mint” offering, will make Southwest Airlines the only major U.S. carrier to check bags for free. Sorry to be the bearer of bad travel news.

But on the plus side, your carry-ons won’t need to shrink anytime soon!

The Dial-Tone Mindset

Are you driving your freelancers crazy? If you’re asking them to make time for phone calls, you might be. Writer, blogger, and librarian Jessamyn West, writing on The Message, seems to be irked by the fact that she has to communicate so often with her clients by phone, even though nearly all of the work happens through other media.

“I am often being contacted specifically because I have advanced technological expertise relative to the audience that I am being asked to share it with,” she writes. “And yet the fact that these contacts frequently take place over the phone is itself a bellwether, an indicator that someone in a position of power prioritizes their own technological comfort zone over effective and efficient dialogue.”

She adds that this reliance on calls can be extremely time-consuming. “The emails and texts to plan these discussions can sometimes take as long as the actual phone calls,” she adds.

So who has to change their style: the freelancer or the client? Maybe they can meet halfway. (ht @ASegar)

Other Links of Note

Consultant Steve Drake is a legend in his field. No, really: He was just inducted into the Agricultural Public Relations Hall of Fame. Here’s what he’s learned from his long career.

Good news for tech-savvy globe-trotters: The European Union has announced a deal that would end mobile-phone roaming charges throughout the region by 2017.

Your promotional doodads could help build some social momentum around your association. SocialFish explains how.

Ernie Smith

By Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. MORE

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