American to Charge $8 for Blankets, Pillows

Contributing Editor Carl Unger believes that every trip is worth taking. He loves an extended trip to Europe as much as he enjoys exploring the towns and landscape near home. Basically, you'll find him wherever there is good food, fresh air, and plenty of stories to bring home.

Carl has been writing for SmarterTravel since 2005. His travel writing has also appeared on USA Today and the About.com Boston travel guide.

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The New York Times reports (via Joe Brancatelli’s subscription-only site, joesentme.com), that American Airlines “quietly announced last week that it would eliminate free blankets in coach and sell an $8 packet that includes a pillow and blanket starting May 1.”

According to American, the charge is effective on all domestic flights two hours or longer, including flights to/from Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and Central America. The set comes with a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon worth $10 off a purchase of $30.

First- and business-class cabins on all flights and all cabins on international flights and South America flights will not be affected.

American isn’t the first carrier to charge for a little bit of in-flight comfort. JetBlue led the charge several years ago, and US Airways followed suit. Both those carriers charge $7 for their pillow-and-blanket set. Virgin America charges $12 for a sleep set that includes a pillow, eye mask, blanket, and ear plugs.

Those two airlines pioneered the idea, but more importantly they taught us that people don’t necessarily mind paying for a brand new pillow and blanket. When you consider how many times an airline pillow is used, that $8 can quickly become money very much worth spending. Heck, plenty of people already buy their own travel pillows as it is.

Readers, what do you think about this? Is it a ripoff, or is it better to spend $8 and avoid those dodgy reused pillows and blankets?

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