Bungle Air is the latest to take unusual steps to tackle rising operating costs and the recession. Bungle Air has rolled out it’s new Air Use Fee which charges passengers for breathing on the aircraft. Passengers will be charged one cent per breath. A company spokesperson did clarify that the duration of the breath will not matter, thus encouraging passengers to take long breaths and holding it in for a while.

The number of breaths will be measured by an innovative device that looks like a face mask. A bright LED display shows the user their current charges. Passengers can purchase their own device for $100. The alternative is to rent one from the airline, a disinfected mask is available for a $10 charge and a community version is available for $5.

A company spokesperson highlighted all the innovative pricing models Bungle Air has rolled out in recent weeks. “We are very proud of keeping our advertised prices very low, thus providing customers with customizable low prices. Customers can choose their own breathing pattern to lower costs”, he said. Here are some other innovations Bungle Air has pioneered.

• Seat use fee – A Bungle Air ticket only promises transportation from point A to point B. Use of a seat requires a use fee of $20. A clean seat costs more, add a cleaning surcharge of $5.
• Bathroom use fee – Charges are calculated based on the time spent in the bathroom. A minimum 1 minute charge of $1 applies, 50 cents for each additional minute.
• Flight attendant fees – Any conversation with a flight attendant carries a $2 flat charge. Flight attendants can charge more if they deem it necessary. For example, “Orange juice please” is considered a normal request, “I would like orange juice and coffee with cream and sugar” qualifies for a surcharge. These surcharges are on top of the base cost of $5 for a drink and $8 for coffee.
• Emergency exit fees – In case of an emergency, the oxygen mask use fee is a flat $10. In addition, use of the emergency exits requires a fee of $10. Flight attendants have to collect the fees before they allow you to exit, exact change will be appreciated. Other passengers lives depend on exact change being available, fumbling around in one’s wallet may cost lives.

A Bungle Air flight from New York to LA will just cost $100 as long one does not breathe, keeps his or her mouth shut, does not eat or drink, is comfortable standing in the baggage compartment and carries no bags.

Twenty20 cricket is not really cricket, I propose renaming the sport Tricket. There are plenty of advantages to be had. Tricket is easier on the tongue than Twenty20 or even T20. Tricket fans will not have to join the staid and boring ranks of cricket fans. Fans of test cricket will not need to argue with addled tricket fans that tricket is not really cricket. Cricket players need not get confused about which format of the game they need to specialize in, they can just pick a new sport – Tricket.

Tricket will be free to change the rules of the game and not be bound by tradition. Tricket can add laser shows, music concerts, fireworks displays, roller coaster rides etc. to the mix. You can never be bored by a tricket match. Imagine a batsman hitting the ball, a fielder riding the roller coaster at that very moment, catches the ball just as the coaster hits a bend, the rock band hits a crescendo and the laser lights up the sky !

Given the crowded international cricket calendar, one of the formats is going to die. The current bet is on the one day format, it seems most likely to go extinct. But those are cricket’s problems, tricket on the other hand gets a fresh start, a brand new sport with a cool name and completely new calendar. Tricket fans need not wait for official cricket tours to go through time consuming test matches and one days.

Cricket has reached a fork in the road, too many formats, too many choices for players, fans and cricket boards alike. Fork tricket off as a new sport and may be cricket can be around longer.