Are airline bag fee's changing gear ownership

[dmaziuk]

Most of the "exploding laptop" country airlines are government subsidized or even government owned.

You mean, one cousin in the ruling family owns the airline while another owns the oil? -- My heart bleeds. Literally. Every time I take a bite out of Delta's infilght thing they call "snack".

 

[teknitroxdiver]

You mean, one cousin in the ruling family owns the airline while another owns the oil? -- My heart bleeds. Literally. Every time I take a bite out of Delta's infilght thing they call "snack".

It's surprisingly easy to do business when making a profit is not a concern.

 

[dmaziuk]

It's surprisingly easy to do business when making a profit is not a concern.

On my last flight across the pond I was told I have to pay an extra fifty to get the seat I ticked when buying the ticket (online). You'll have to forgive me for giving surprisingly little beep for that airline's profits.

 

[Wookie]

Fifty? I pay 50 to upgrade to an exit row when flying from Key West to Miami. One of the costs of not having to go fly to paradise.

 

[TMHeimer]

I think my real point was that instead of raising the ticket price by $100, some airlines have eliminated free baggage on some tickets. So people thunk they are getting a great deal and then get pissed when they realize that they have to pay at check in time.

From a ticket price perspective you can not really make any valid comparisions since prices change randomly. A few years ago my divebuddy flew business class to London England because it was cheaper than economy - on the same flight! On our last trip to bonaire we flew 2 different routes: Toronto - houston- bonaire and returned bonaire - newark - toronto. All due to prices being more than $500 different to use the same route both ways.

Air Canada baggage allowance is very confusing since they have many many levels of tickets, not just business and economy. They have Air Canada and Rouge airlines. Then there is Economy Tango, Economy Flex, Economy Latitude, Business Class and business Class Flexible. For me, these all get mixed with my Altitude status which causes even more confusion.

Yeah, agree on all of that. They had baggage fees in the US (or if your destination was in the US) maybe 10 years before domestic flights in Canada. How the heck did we ever manage that?
No matter how you slice it, you know the airlines are at least making the same money if not more, regardless of baggage fees. Kinda like cable/satellite TV---If they start offering for you to select and pay for only the channels you watch and not "packages", I've heard this might actually wind up costing you more in the end.

 

[Kharon]

Nah. I will never rent. I dive warm water so I only need soccer shorts and a nylon T. I dive solo so having the exact kit I dive cold (sans wetsuit) is important. I maintain all my own regs & equipment and they are a known quantity. Something I rent is not. Plus, I ain't sticking anything into my mouth that has been used by someone else.

I can fit everything I need into a checked bag and a carry-on. I just switched to a soft backplate and harness which frees up a lot of room that my BC used to take up. Don't need much in the way of clothes because I cook for myself and don't party out. So all I need is a few shorts, a few nylon T's, and a few pairs of under-trousers (which I can wash every 2-3 days on 2 week trips).

 

[rongoodman]

On any dive vacation I've ever taken, I've spent far more on tips than baggage fees. They don't even come into consideration.

 

[NYCNaiad]

The wife and I pretty well fly Delta everywhere we go because of points and credit card. First checked bag for each us is free so we pack our gear minus computer and regulator in checked bags then carry on the other. The overall right answer is to take less clothes. Been doing it for years since I was in the military and now my wife has gotten wise to it. Next time you are going somewhere warm take stock of how many clothes you bring and don't need.

Yes, exactly! I've got this down to a science & even wash my clothes if I've staying somewhere for 2-3 weeks just so I don't have to bring much.

Works really well until I'm on a non-dive trip for work. I went to Ireland & had no clue how to pack. I got giddy & packed crazy amounts of clothes since there was all that room without my gear. My coworker staying in the rented apt with me told me that she didn't know I was such a clothes horse. lol

 

[archer1960]

We (Southwest) have no plans to charge for bags. Investors keep hounding our CEO to charge for bags, but we've proven that NOT charging for the first 2 bags has increased our traffic!

Safe diving!

I've done plenty of flying over the last couple of years, and have found that as soon as you add a baggage charge to the other airlines, the total cost is nearly identical to Southwest's, so if I'm flying with one or more checked bags, I'm on SW for sure. Now if they would only fly to Cozumel... (I know they go to Cancun, but then I have to catch a ferry to Coz.)

 

[dmaziuk]

Fifty? I pay 50 to upgrade to an exit row when flying from Key West to Miami. One of the costs of not having to go fly to paradise.

That's "upgrade" vs the seat I (thought I) already paid for. But anyway, I agree that $25 or $50 for one checked bag is small change compared to what I spend on the trip, so meh. The part where airlines and attendant agencies are alienating their customers to the point where I'd rather drive for 30 hours than fly for 3 is a different story.