Just when I thought I’d heard it all, here comes another ridiculous charge from an airline carrier. So much for flying the friendly skies.

It’s not bad enough that airlines charge $25 (or more) for a first suitcase and $30 (or more) for a second, now one airline is considering a charge for carryons.

And it’s not a paltry amount. They want to charge $45 for a carry-on. This is just unbelievable.

It’s not like they aren’t already pricing most people out of flying, but now they want to add more to the cost.

Why not just jack up the ticket price and be done with it? That is, in essence, what they are doing anyway. It is just a little more underhanded this way -- calling them “fees” instead of fares.

Next thing you know, airlines will be putting pay toilets in their cabins. Oh, wait, I am told one carrier actually is contemplating that. What next?

How about, on top of the already outrageous fares, if airlines weigh customers and charge them per pound? Or what about charging extra for those who wear a coat or long pants, or passengers who carry a laptop? After all, they add extra weight to the plane, which pushes up the cost of fuel, right?

Sounds ridiculous, but who knows what could be on the horizon.

Airline carriers don’t understand that the more absurd the fees, the more people will turn away from flying. There are other modes of transportation.

True, they may not get you there as fast as a plane, but trains and buses are so much cheaper, and that could be the deciding factor for many folks -- even more so as the economy continues to falter.

I have been thinking about this problem for some time, because although I don’t like to fly, I still do because it is the quickest way to get from point A to point B.

But like most people, I get really angry when I see how they are trying to “stick it” to the traveling public, because they know they are the only game in town.

So, I have come up with some ideas on how airlines can save money without having to resort to charging us a buck for a bag of stale peanuts.

First, do away with all “complimentary” drinks on flight. Allow us once again to bring bottled water, juice or soda onboard. It’s ridiculous for a flight attendant to spend the whole time in the air pushing a cart up and down the aisle to offer a plastic cup of soda. Besides, they block the aisles -- and inevitably the way to the restrooms.

Second, do away with first class. There’s no reason those folks can’t mingle with us “commoners” for a couple of hours. Most of us bathe and wear clean clothing in our efforts not to be too offensive to the upper echelon.

Without first class, there would be no need to have cushy seats and a separate flight attendant for a privileged few. Money could be saved not buying expensive wines and cocktails, preparing gourmet meals, or providing down pillows and blankets and extra-wide seats.

It’s an airline flight, not a torture chamber. Get on, buckle up, take a nap and get off when it lands. That’s all there is to it. And it can be done without being served filet mignon or a glass of Dom Perignon. I know. I’ve done it many times, and believe it or not, I have lived to tell about it.

So while the cost to fly continues to climb, and airlines look for even more ways to wring consumers dry, it makes one wonder what could be next, because in their insatiable need to increase costs, airlines may well be pricing themselves right out of the travel market.

I know they are on their way to pricing themselves out of mine.

Lisa Carnley is managing editor of the Lampasas Dispatch Record.