Airline to Charge for Checking Luggage

[DandyDon]

Charging more for less. The last line in the story is kinda absurd.

From: http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/Travel/story?id=2865236&page=1

Airline to Charge for Checking Luggage

Feb. 10, 2007 — First airlines took away free food. Then blankets and pillows disappeared. And now checked luggage may be on the endangered list.

Today, Spirit Airlines will become the first U.S. carrier to allow passengers to check only one piece of luggage for free. A second bag will cost passengers $10.

"I'm surprised it's taken them this long to get around to doing this," aviation analyst Darryl Jenkins told "Good Morning America Weekend Edition."

Spirit says it's a way to keep ticket prices low, but passengers worry about other airlines joining in.

The Spirit deal is a bargain compared to the new policy at British Airways. Passengers on certain flights could pay as much as $235 extra each way for a second bag.

Europe's low-cost RyanAir charges passengers for every bag they check.

"This is a back door way to get additional revenue without increasing your cost, without increasing the airline cost by one penny," aviation analyst Martin Deutsch said.

Airlines have also reduced the allowed weight on checked bags to 50 pounds each. Anything heavier carriers a heavy price tag.

Last year, U.S. airlines made $426 million in bag fees.

Even with that added revenue, airlines lost nearly seven bags for every 1,000 checked — the worst record in 16 years.

"You know what I do on international flights? I FedEx my bags to my hotel," Jenkins said.

One way to avoid all these fees is to fly in the front of the plane. There usually are more generous policies for those flying business or first class.

 

[Cacia]

yea, they tried to get me on that already.

Well...they don't even lift your bags anymore, anyway.

One of the majors, I forget which one charged us about 3 dollars per bag recently.

So...now I don't tip, that's fine....they lose though.

 

[Scububbs]

Personally I expect this is going to become the norm in the airline industry. Banks have made fortunes over the years by charging fees for everything they do, and the airline industry is going to have to do something similiar to stay in business.
We got word several months ago that Air Pacific has dropped the allowable weight per bag to 50 pounds for economy passengers. We sweated our last trip to Fiji because we were new divers and didn't really know what we could do without.
We're going back at the end of this year and thought we would have the baggage issue under control, but now with 40 pounds less per passenger we're back to sweating it again. I'd rather they quit screwing around, raise the ticket price by a hundred bucks and let us keep the heavier baggage limit.

 

[Diver Dennis]

"You know what I do on international flights? I FedEx my bags to my hotel," Jenkins said.

To send one bag (32kg) from Canada to Manila FedEx would charge me $885.16.:11:

I agree Don, that last sentence is absurd.

 

[ReefHound]

Charging more for less. The last line in the story is kinda absurd.

From: http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/Travel/story?id=2865236&page=1

What, fly first class to avoid the fees? You aren't interested in paying $400 more per ticket to avoid a $25 bag fee and get a couple of $5 beers for free?

 

[Mossman]

With all the restrictions on carry-on bags, more passengers are checking in luggage than ever before. Passengers that used to just check in one bag are now checking in two since they need the extra room. Since they're checking two bags now, they don't pack as light as they used to. Planes are getting heavier, they require more fuel, and the airlines spend more money. Spirit sounds like it's trying to persuade passengers to stick with the one bag they were originally planning on bringing.

There's nothing wrong IMO with charging passengers according to the varying baggage loads they bring with them, since weight = money in airline calculations. I just hope they don't extend this to charging passengers by the pound for their own personal weight, though such a measure might help to counter the depressing worldwide trend toward obesity.

 

[Diver Dennis]

Vancouver to Manila First class - $10,906.08 CDN

Vancouver to Manila Business class - $7556.08 CDN

Vancouver to Manila Economy class - $1462.08 CDN

I stick to economy...

Economy class gets an allowance of two - 32kg check in bags.

 

[Cacia]

by the pound for their own personal weight, though such a measure might help to counter the depressing worldwide trend toward obesity.

Danger, danger...

kidding...good points on fuel and the fiscal realities. I know the reason I hate this, is it makes it harder to "buy" special treatment with a tip...they have, in effect leveled my playing field with the non-tippers.

 

[Diver Dennis]

:d :d :d

 

[Mossman]

What, fly first class to avoid the fees? You aren't interested in paying $400 more per ticket to avoid a $25 bag fee and get a couple of $5 beers for free?

There are other ways. I used miles to upgrade my upcoming flight to Bonaire on Continental for instance, miles which I accrue using their credit cards for personal and buisness expenses. While there is a monetary equivalent to the miles, they come to me for free (except for the $65 annual fee) so the "expense" is negligible.

That lets me avoid not only a $25 bag fee for each of two overweight bags, but a $100 bag fee for a third 70 lb bag, all allowed free under Continental's generous first-class luggage allowance. Order Courvoisier VSOP instead of beer and tell yourself that a decent restaurant would charge you $12-15 for the same cognac. You might actually get a meal, there's practically guaranteed overhead carry-on storage, early boarding and disembarking, priority luggage handling (sometimes), and, the main reason for most of us: a nice big comfortable seat and lots of legroom. (Of course the length of the flight determines the necessity - for Bonaire, I'm about 8 hours in the air each way from L.A.)