Airline prices can soar out of sight with add-ons

Q: Why do airlines advertise one price, but when you pay, it’s actually at least 25 percent more. For instance, I booked a round-trip flight online from LAX to JFK for next month. It was advertised on TV as a one-day special deal for $399. When I clicked in all the information, the bottom-line price was $513. Why can’t the airlines be honest and just advertise the real total price? If we must pay it, we’ll accept that, but all the phony price ads are frustrating.

Q: I’m a retired insurance company actuary, and last year lost my husband. During 40 years together we sailed on many cruises, and I’m ready to try my first one alone. However, when checking cabin prices, I was told the cost was $1,500 whether for one person or two. It seems unfair for a single person to pay what amounts to double, but that’s the way it is. I’m thinking of finding another person to share my cabin. How do I go about it?

Q: We live in a high rise in downtown Los Angeles. It’s a two-bedroom condo, just across the street from MacArthur Park, and ten minutes from Hollywood and Beverly Hills. This year, instead of paying high prices for hotels and restaurant food when we travel, we’d like to try swapping homes with another senior couple for several weeks. We’ll mostly do our own cooking, with occasional visits to cafes, entertainment and other local features.

We haven’t quite made up our minds about where we’d like to swap. High up on the list are New York (Broadway shows), London (museums, history), St. Petersburg (Russia’s royal past) or San Francisco (Chinese restaurants). Maybe Rome, Venice or Paris to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. How do we get started?

Q: I fly frequently, and as a busy person, I use the time to work on my laptop. However, it seems every time I settle down in my seat, a gabby pest in the seat next to me wants to yap away throughout the flight. What can I do politely to tell the yapper to bug off?

A: First, when I want to sleep, work on my laptop or read throughout my flight, I try to get an entire row to myself. Another trick: a friend told me she wears a t-shirt with big lettering on it: ASK ME ABOUT MY GRANDKIDS.

You don’t have to be rude, but if your seatmate starts gabbing in your ear, allow it to go on for a minute or two, then just say gently, but firmly, “Please excuse me, but I really need to sleep ... or ... I must get these reports completed before we land ... or ... I have to research this material for a meeting I’ll be chairing in just a few hours.” But beware: don’t make your excuse too interesting, because that’ll only bring on more gab and bothersome questions.