In order to remain competitive, airlines try to keep fare prices low. When that strategy starts to break down and airlines can’t compensate for the cost of flying in the normal way (increasing bookings, and decreasing flights) and they still resist raising fares, they look for new ways to earn revenue.

So now we’re charged for meals and luggage, both of which were once included in the fare price for most flights. JetBlue Airways is now selling a pillow and blanket set for $7. I’ve noticed the disappearance of the “free” pillows and blankets that once adorned seats while boarding, but now they’ve returned in another fashion.

The $7 will provide you with your own unused pillow and blanket set. As they are charging for the privilege of comfort, at least you don’t have to cuddle with the same bedding used by travelers before you. The set also comes with a $5 coupon for Bed, Bath, and Beyond, making the purchase a little more attractive.

JetBlue Starts Selling Blankets and Pillows, Micheline Maynard, New York Times August 5, 2008.

Last week, I spent several days in San Diego with family and friends, including my mother and her long-time boyfriend, my brother and his girlfriend, and my girlfriend. One benefit of visiting family for vacation every April is the fact that my mother seems quite willing to spend money to ensure everyone’s enjoyment, at least through this year. (If I continue to earn more money than I expect, that may not be the case for much longer.)

I decided to estimate how much my mother might have spent on our trip to San Diego as an exercise in curiosity. To be fair, I did pay some of these expenses, but only a small portion.

Lodging. A room with double queen beds at the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay may have cost $750 over the course of three nights. We had three rooms for an estimated total of $2,250. I believe she was able to receive one night free, but I’ll stick with estimates based on the full retail value. Add internet access at $10 per room per day and valet service of $20 per day. Add tax. Running total: $2,780.

Travel. The trip from my mother’s home in Orange County, California to the hotel in San Diego was 80 miles. At a rate of 50.5 cents per mile, the round trip in our car “cost” $80. My brother and his girlfriend drove separately, so I would consider than an additional $80. Cab rides throughout the four days added about $120 to the transportation total. Running total: $3,060.

Meals. Tuesday: lunch at a restaurant with an ocean view in La Jolla ($200) and dinner at Osetra ($300). Wednesday: breakfast at the hotel ($150) and dinner at a fondue restaurant in San Diego ($250). Thursday: breakfast at the hotel ($150), lunch by the hotel pool ($50), and dinner on a cruise around the bay ($300). Friday: brunch at a restaurant near the hotel ($200). As I didn’t see any of the bills, these prices are just estimates. Running total: $4,660.

Entertainment. My girlfriend and I visited the San Diego Zoo one day, and the tickets cost a total of $60. Food and souvenirs added an additional $40 to that cost. My brother and his girlfriend attended kayaking lessons, which I’ll estimate at $60. My mother treated herself and the other women to manicures and pedicures at the hotel’s spa. My brother and his girlfriend, only a few days from leaving for the next leg of their band’s country-wide tour, received facials and massages, and I had use of the spa’s shower and steam room. Based on the price list on the hotel’s website, this must have cost over $500 total. Running total: $5,320.

This doesn’t include the money my girlfriend and I spent to fly across the country, about $800. Estimated total: $6,120.

While it’s true that we could have saved thousands of dollars by traveling less over the past week, and I would be happy spending time with my family doing anything, having these yearly vacations gives me something to look forward to every spring. I may be wrong, but I believe my mother would consider this to be money well-spent. I hope to be in a position to provide similar vacation opportunities for my family at some point in the future.

As gas prices approach $4.00 nationally this summer, airlines are looking for ways to keep their profit margins without increasing ticket prices. Even though the average today is still “only” $3.20, some airlines have begun to make some changes.

Carriers have been scrambling for ways to “up-sell” fliers, including selling first-class upgrades, fancy alcoholic drinks and day passes to airport clubs. But they’ve also been stripping out previously free services and charging customers for anything more than basic transportation—everything from use of skycaps and telephone reservationists to on-board meals and, at a few carriers, assigned seats and exit-row or bulkhead legroom.

In my experience on airplanes in the last few years, I’ve been charged extra for food and headphones. In my latest foray booking with Virgin America, they wanted more money to reserve slightly better seats like those in the bulkhead or exit rows.

I’d like to get used to traveling with everything I need in carry-on luggage, but that’s not always possible. Charging for more than one or two checked bags is already part of the flying experience. Check out this chart from Yahoo Finance/Wall Street Journal.

The airlines are doing everything they can to avoid raising ticket prices, thanks to consumers’ tendencies to live and die by the fare price.

US Airways spends roughly $250 million a year on baggage service, Mr. Parker says, and passing some of that cost to customers who actually use the service helps the airline offer lower basic fares. Consumers will switch airlines over even a $5 fare difference, airlines say, but are less sensitive to fees paid at the airport.

The psychology of money is interesting, and I am a victim just like most humans. I’ll search online for the lowest fare that makes sense for my schedule requirements, but buy overpriced food in the airport and opt for upgrades elsewhere.

Baggage Becomes a Big-Ticket Item [Wall Street Journal Online]

This weekend, I purchased tickets for the trip my girlfriend I will be taking to California in April. My general method of operation for purchasing airline tickets is to decide which dates will be best for traveling taking into account my schedule and my girlfriend’s schedule. She’s a teacher who doesn’t take vacations or sick days except for calendar vacation days set by the New York City Public Schools, so our vacations coincide with winter break, spring break, and over the summer.

I check SideStep to compare options from a variety of airlines and schedules, usually plus or minus one or two days depending on our available schedule. I take some mental notes and check back about once a week until I’m ready to pull the trigger.

Invariably, I end up waiting until I’m within the “six week window” in which prices are higher. I’m barely within that window now—we will depart on April 21—and the prices haven’t risen.

We don’t choose the cheapest flight, which would usually involve flying from an inconvenient airport or at an inconvenient time. Given the choice to spend a little extra money and not find a way to the airport at 5:00 am, not take a red-eye flight, and not require battling the Los Angeles rush “hour,” we’ll spend the extra money.

This time, Virgin America presented the best non-stop schedule for the best price. Virgin America is a new airline for me. I checked some reviews online before booking and generally found promising opinions. Rather than booking through SideStep, I booked directly at Virgin America’s website to ensure I was getting the best scheduling options.

I noticed that Virgin America charges more for better seats. Their interface allowed me to choose our seats before finalizing the reservation, and the bulk head and exit row seats, which have more leg room, would cost an additional $25 each to reserve. Other airlines don’t generally allow you to reserve these seats in advance, but I don’t like the idea of being charged more for a seat that’s only slightly better than the others in the main cabin. As far as I know, no other airline shares this policy.

Virgin America sports what seems like a neat entertainment center for each traveler, a step up from jetBlue’s television. Movies and food all cost extra on these flights, however. I’ll probably stick with reading a book or listening to my own music and bringing my own food for the flight.

I received a notice in the mail the other day reminding me to renew my roadside assistance service from AAA. For the last several years, I have been a member of AAA “Plus,” which offers the standard service and extra distance for free towing. I’ve decided to downgrade to the standard AAA plan. Before owning my current car, I could make a case for being a member at the higher level.

Despite the Plus membership’s higher price of somewhere in the neighborhood of $90 a year, every year until owning my current car, the service has paid for itself in car service alone. That’s no longer an issue, so I’ll be renewing my membership at the basic level. I’ll still receive useful roadside assistance and be eligible for the same discounts from a number of companies.

I could cover the basic membership yearly fee of about $50 in discounts alone. Here are some of the deals I can take advantage of:

• 10% off at Circuit City with a number of restictions.
• 6% off at Dell.
• 10% off at Target.com (online only).
• 20% off on movie tickets.

• 15% (up to $50) off of Magellan GPS units when shopping online and 5% off at BarnesAndNoble.com.

  A full list of savings is available at AAA’s savings website.

There’s a new kind of gasoline pump being shipped to gas stations, and it’s the kind of thing guys will like. If you need directions, just check the pump. These new devices are equipped with a stripped-down version of Google Maps, pre-loaded with locations hand-picked by the station owner.

Once you find your destination on the device, you can even print out the directions and coupons. As of now, Google will not place advertising on the service, encouraging gas station owners to work with their local restaurants, hotels, and other destinations.

There’s a strong drawback. If you don’t have a destination address, and the place you want to visit is not one of the gas station’s “partners,” the maps will be useless. You’ll have to suck it up and ask for directions from a live human being anyway.

Those of us filling up in New Jersey are not permitted to pump our own gas, so we probably won’t see this technology. In fact, some gas stations around here haven’t upgraded their pumps since what I imagine would be some time in the 1960s or 1970s. This could be helpful when traveling out of state, though.

Gas Stations Getting Pumped for Google Maps [News.com]

If you travel in New York, get ready to spend more money. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is putting forth a new proposal to raise toll rates and rail fares.

The toll and fare increases will help pay for a complete replacement of the PATH system and rebuilding the World Trade Center.

• Tolls on the GWB, the Holland and Lincoln tunnels—should go up at least $2.
• Tolls would also take a jump on the outerbridge crossing, Goethals bridge and Bayonne bridge, which connect New Jersey and Staten Island.
• PATH fares are also expected to go up, by as much as 50 cents a ride.
• And drivers who rely on EZ pass could lose their one dollar discount.

Meanwhile, there are plans to widen the New Jersey Turnpike, which would most likely be paid for higher tolls. From the proposal overview, it sounds like the plan is to stretch the car-and-truck lanes south from exit 8A to exit 6 and widen the existing car-and-truck lanes between exits 8A and 9. The last widening project that ended in the early 1990s increased tolls 70 to 100 percent.

Working from home is starting to sound even better.

Port Authority Wants You to Pay More [WABC 7 News]

It’s time again for a 10% rate hike for commuters on NJ Transit bus and rail lines. I used to be a mass transit commuter, taking the train to Newark every day to work, but at some point when my work schedule was unpredictable, I started driving for more flexibility.

I haven’t been working in Newark for over a year, and my current job is also located a few blocks from a train station. I still drive, however. This rate hike won’t affect me, but I’m already affected through the price of gasoline. I pay twice as much to fill up my tank as I did when I purchased this car—a car with excellent gas-mileage—several years ago.

The rate hike on NJ Transit takes effect tomorrow, so it might not hurt to stock up on those tickets which do not expire.