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In the Know Lee County: Check first before using curbside check-in at SWFIA
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Q: Sunday I took my daughter to the airport in Fort Myers. I immediately noticed that no passengers were using curbside check-in. A closer look revealed a small sign at the Northwest curbside check-in counter indicating that there is now a fee of $2 per item — plus gratuity — for use of curbside check-in service. Obviously, the service is now not being used and forces passengers to haul luggage inside to stand in line for check-in. What gives?
-- Susan Lomastro/Naples
A: I’m familiar with that sign too, Susan. It prompted me to lug my suitcase into the terminal under my own power a couple of weeks ago.
Here’s the way Southwest Florida International Airport spokeswoman Barbara-Anne Urrutia explains it: Whether to charge a fee for curbside check-in is up to each individual airline, but at Southwest International in Fort Myers most do not. Barbara-Anne says of the 21 airlines that fly out of the airport she’s aware of only two — Northwest and American — that do. And another wrinkle is that many airlines charge in some cities but not in others. Barbara-Anne says the best way to find out is to contact your airline before you fly.
The curbside check-in fee, she says, is part of a trend in an industry where the pressure to keep fares low is fierce. Instead of increasing the cost of a plane ticket, airlines are getting creative and upping the bottom line in other ways, like charging passengers for things like overweight suitcases and in-flight snacks.
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Q: When will the Livingston Road/Imperial Parkway Extension to Corkscrew Road/Three Oaks Parkway be completed?
-- Josephine S.
A: This seems to be one popular road project, Josephine. Daily News readers Peggy Volentine and Arlene Thompson have also asked when they’ll be able to sail between Fort Myers and Naples on the new thoroughfare.
The answer: Jan. 15, and maybe even a tad sooner.
That’s the word from Bonita Springs Public Works Director Daryl Walk, who says contractor Posen Construction is running pretty much on schedule. The project is actually three projects, all being built for Lee County by Posen, and all due to be finished by mid-January. Between Alico and Corkscrew roads, the existing Three Oaks is being widened from two lanes to four. The portion from Coconut Road to East Terry Street is the construction of four lanes of new roadway. The segment from East Terry to Bonita Beach Road is a new four-lane road that includes the construction of a bridge spanning the Imperial River.
When these last few sections are finished, the Livingston/Imperial/Three Oaks corridor will run for about 25 miles, all the way from Radio Road in Collier County to Alico Road in Lee.
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I know I mentioned this in a previous column, but it’s so cool it’s worth passing along again. If you want to see month-by-month aerial photos of county road projects to keep track of their progress, you can do it through Lee County’s Web site at http://www.lee-county.com/publicworks/DOTPhotos.htm.
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Karie Partington is the Bonita Springs Bureau Chief for the Daily News. E-mail questions for this column to her at kjpartington@bonitanews.com.
For a complete archive of "In the Know" columns, click on naplesnews.com/intheknow/
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The people who handle luggage at the airport need to make money. So when you cheep people don't bother to tip... it forces the airlines to have to pay them more for their service. Think about it, a $2 fee forces you people to go inside... too bad you couldn't just give a guy a few bucks for his efforts.
CHEEP CHEEP. Oh yeah... by the way... bus drivers get tips too, so open you tightly folded wallets.
#1 Posted by newsman1 on October 17, 2007 at 9:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
$2 forced you to lug your luggage through the terminal? NDN how about a raise!!!
#2 Posted by upagain on October 17, 2007 at 9:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
First of all, the word is C-H-E-A-P... not CHEEP. Second of all, of course you are supposed to tip certain people such as the skycap BUT not everyone out there who does something deserves a tip. If I tipped every person who did some sort of paid service I would be handing out cash all day. Not a problem but some people have jobs where tips are expected while some people have jobs where they are paid hourly and tips are not expected with the job BUT they feel they need to be tipped. Of course, if someone goes out of their way I have no problem tipping but that is seldom.
#3 Posted by jim09091 on October 17, 2007 at 10:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
jim - it really doesn't matter how you spell it, ... many people, in SWF especially, have a lot of money. They should get a clue and take care of the people who take care of them. I am willing to bet many of the same people who stand in the lost baggage line are also the ones that forgot to open their wallet.
#4 Posted by newsman1 on October 17, 2007 at 11:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
it's not a matter of being cheap. Its the airline nickel-n-dime'ing the passengers. Its the same thing as the $1 headset. I don't know who comes up with these ideas but the airlines could just roll the extra $5 into the ticket price and the consumer would never notice. The bus drivers actually do work, and quite well too. I always tip them. I don't use the curbside check-in, but $2 a bag is just a dumb idea.
#5 Posted by neoneapolitan on October 18, 2007 at 8:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This is an issue? Curbside checkin is an extra, OPTIONAL service.
Once inside, you can BUY water in a bottle if you choose, or get it free from the fountain.
Shouldn't all airport water be free because some of it is?
#6 Posted by bananas8187 on October 18, 2007 at 9:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If you aren't willing to pay a couple of bucks for the easy way, you deserve to have to do it the hard way. It's well worth the two bucks, and now there is no line at the curb either!
#7 Posted by mama on October 18, 2007 at 9:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
neo - believe it or not, people make pretty important decisions based on a couple of bucks, I see it every day - the airlines and car rental agencies know it also. If they charge the extra $5 to every ticket they could generate millions in extra revenue, so why not just do! The reason is the same cheap people who don't tip, won't pay an extra $5 for their airline ticket even if they get some additional service. Now they have to pay for it and they complain about that. Ask any sky-cap at the airport and they will tell you that they can predict which flights have people who will tip and which ones do not. It is completely based on if it was a "budget" priced flight full off cheap people or a "premium" rate flight full of those who are willing to let a $1 out of their pocket.
#8 Posted by newsman1 on October 18, 2007 at 10:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
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