US Airlines cutting movies, what's next to follow?

"Welcome to Robert's Randoms."

It definitely is a hard time for airlines and the need to cut cost is serious as gas prices continue to rise.

Having recently flown, I spent a few minutes trying to figure out what airlines could cut out next to save some dough.

1. Flight attendants

There are one to four flight attendants on most flights nowadays. That's one to four people getting paid to fly for free on every flight, or, about 150 to 700 pounds of extra cargo and their luggage.

Airlines would further save cost by not having to pay these employees. They could have a recorded tape message giving passengers the required safety spill before every flight (or, at the very least, outsource this to India using speaker phone). I've traveled by plane, bus, train and subway recently and only on the plane was there someone walking around trying to make customers happy and I reached my final destination just fine on my own on the others.

Pilots already use the keep your seat belt on light and give announcements when there is turbulence but when I'm sitting in my seat and it's a little bumpy and I have to go to the bathroom, I get up and go despite whatever looks I might get from the flight attendants. And if I'm tired, I hit the recline button in my chair as soon as the flight attendant as assured my seat is in the upright position. So it's not like people aren't already ignoring them now. They won't be missed as much as people might think. However, most people would probably follow the directions of the pilots and sit their seats up on their command just before landing.

2. Seat cushions that double as flotation devices

I've never understood why it's pointed out on every flight that my seat can double as a flotation device when most of my flights are between landlocked places. If I'm flying from Boise to Dallas, what are the chances the plane is going to randomly crash in the Great Salt Lake? Not very likely, we're probably going to end up on a cornfield in some farmer's backyard if the plane goes down. You know what else is likely to happen if the plane crashes? I'm going to die. I've pretty much accepted that if a plane crashes while I'm on it, I'm dead. They aren't going to find my body toasted laying in a cornfield in Iowa with my arms wrapped around my seat cushion hoping we're landing in water. They'll probably find me with a cellphone melted to my hand though.

Getting rid of the extra weight and just making seat cushions seat cushions would probably save a little bit of weight on every seat on every plane on every flight, that adds up quickly.

If you'd like to crash and not die, here are some tips.

3. Drink carts

If there aren't any flight attendants, there won't be anyone to pass out drinks. Which means there is no longer a need for one to four drink carts on flights and each one has to weight at least a hundred pounds when fully stocked.

This doesn't mean passengers have to go thirty by any means. They could collect a bottle of water or a can of soda as they walked onto the plane then throw away said bottle or can on their way out of the plane. Or better yet for the airlines, they can have vending machines on the planes and charge for the drinks, therefore, offsetting the cost of carrying the machines.

4. Large carry-ons, and things like laptops

Some airlines let passengers carry bags weighing up to 25 pounds with them. Other airlines draw the line at 40 while others have no weight restriction. This is in addition to the purse, computer, briefcase or small tote most airlines allow. Purses and briefcases can hold a lot of stuff and laptops weigh a few pounds each. Someone could easily carry on an additional 60 pounds of luggage onto the plane with them. If a 100 passengers carried 60 pounds of stuff on them onto the plane, that's a lot of weight airlines have to pay to transport.

5. First class seats

First class seats are bigger then coach seats and therefore, have to weigh more. For every two first class seats, three coach seats could fit in the same space. Adding more people may mean more weight and they may charge twice as much for the first class seats and make more money that way, but first class seats are ridiculous anyways and should go.

First class passengers are always the first to board a plane but for some reason, they sit at the front of the plane and that's where the door to get onto the plane often is. This means they paid extra to sit on the plane first than watch everyone else walk by them to their seats. If they are sitting on the aisle, they get to get hit by everyone's bag that passes them.

Good times indeed.

When the plane lands, they get to be the first off the plane. And the first to get to the baggage point, but for some reason, all the baggage comes out at the exact some time. But I suppose someone has to get there first and wait longer than everyone else. So they might as well charge for that right.

I've flown first class before, and it was nice. I got free a free cheese and shrimp plate, a warm towel I think I was supposed to put on my face and enough free rum to pass out twenty minutes into Shrek 2. I just couldn't ever figure out why the lady kept calling me Mr. Lewis for some reason. (OK, so maybe he missed the flight and since I was the last one to board, I assumed nobody else would need the seat and just sat in it. That might have something to do with it.)

But since there would no longer be flight attendants, there would be no one to hand out the food, towels or rum so nobody would pay extra for these services and therefore, wouldn't want to sit in first class.