No More Free Luggage on Cayman Airways

[caydiver]

Its not $50 per bag its $20. If there is a hurricane or whatever I totally prefer Cayman Airways. Had we been on American or Canadian carriers we would have been stranded many times over the years. KY has flown round the clock to get visitors off the island and residents home to their families. Sir Turtle and Business still have optons. Frankly I wish all airlines would charge for overhead space. Then we might get on and off with less hassle for all the folks that bring way too much carryon.

 

[KathyV]

We have flown Cayman Air from Chicago but they do not consistently offer flights from ORD to GCM - mostly during the high season - so we are often stuck flying American or United. The pricing was always similar and we preferred CAL when available for the free luggage, food, and rum punch - but now I guess it's all the same so pricing and availability will be the only criteria.

We have already booked flights for our fall vacation. We are flying AA from ORD to Charlotte to GCM on the way down and United direct from GCM to ORD on the way home, because a direct UA flight was not available for the trip down. So we will be paying the luggage fees and savoring the yummy pretzels and soft drink options during our flights!

Of course we fly CAL over to the sister islands from GCM and that can be a bit of an adventure but the announcement indicates that domestic luggage fees have not changed. You are allowed 55 lbs. (total, all bags) and may be charged for extra weight, including carry-ons because they may have to be checked if you fly the tiny twin otters - and you must fly the twin otters to Little Cayman. On our trip to LC last fall, I overheard a guy on our flight back being charged $90 for overweight luggage because he had a lot of camera equipment.

And don't count on all your luggage arriving with you when you travel to the sister islands, especially LC because they get fewer, smaller flights. Last year the bag with our clothes didn't arrive until the next evening but happily all our scuba gear came in on our flight. I am used to the nuances of flying to Brac and Little and so I had shoved medications, toothbrushes, sunscreen, swimsuits, clean underwear, and a few other necessities into a large purse that I was able to carry-on and squeeze under the tiny seat in front of me.

The staff at LCBR kindly offered to wash our outer clothes so we had something clean while we were waiting for our bag. Another couple that were on the same flight got their clothes but not their scuba gear, but the dive shop loaned them gear for the first day at no charge. So it all worked out, but it can be a bit challenging!

 

[scubadada]

Ok - not sure why you seemed to have been pushing back on the valid concern that the new baggage fees present to those of us who actually have been flying Cayman Airways to GCM.

Actually, what I'm saying is that we all have several choices in how we fly to our scuba destinations. We make those decisions based on availability, timing, convenience, perquisites, and, of course, cost. Sometimes, differences in cost are easily made up by the other variables. I'm not a huge fan of American Airlines, see my recent review of my trip to Galapagos Galapagos Aggressor III April 26-May 3, 2018 However, I have significant benefits when flying AA, including free luggage, and, out of Philadelphia, they are very easily the predominant carrier.

Good diving, Craig

 

[Joneill]

Its not $50 per bag its $20. If there is a hurricane or whatever I totally prefer Cayman Airways. Had we been on American or Canadian carriers we would have been stranded many times over the years. KY has flown round the clock to get visitors off the island and residents home to their families. Sir Turtle and Business still have optons. Frankly I wish all airlines would charge for overhead space. Then we might get on and off with less hassle for all the folks that bring way too much carryon.

It’s $25 per bag (1st bag) out of JFK - so $50 per round trip per person. For my wife and I that’s would be $100 extra per trip for zero benefit over Jet Blue. That’s a fact that they will now have to deal with as potential customers evaluate their options for travel to GCM (unless they are reducing fares as well as some have suggested - we'll see).

I agree on carry-on craziness and wish they further restricted it to ease boarding and deplaning delays. In fact, we each normally check 2 bags each (as it was free) and only each carry on a small bag that fits under our seats to make the on/off easier (and we hate dragging larger carry-ons around the airport). With this baggage policy change, doing that would now cost an extra $240 for us round trip out of JFK. That is a SIGNIFICANT change! Bummer to lose that benefit!

 

[Joneill]

However, I have significant benefits when flying AA, including free luggage, and, out of Philadelphia, they are very easily the predominant carrier.

Good diving, Craig

Similarly, Cayman Airways was very easily the best choice out of JFK in NYC - but that will not necessarily be the case any longer... that’s all! We'll see how this all actually "shakes out" the next time we book a GCM trip!

 

[KathyV]

I am sure that the carry-ons have increased so much on many airlines is due to the costs of checking bags. I see people trying to carry-on bags that are clearly not appropriate for the available space so in the past they were usually able to gate check them for free.

Some airlines are now charging less for a new class of tickets but you only get to carry one small bag on-board, either a purse or a business bag or small backpack, that will fit under the seat. If you show up with more bags or larger carry-on bags that need overhead space, you will have to pay the checked baggage fees in addition to a $25 gate check fee. AA's new "basic economy" fare is an example, see below:

American latest to add 'Basic Economy,' carry-on restrictions

 

[AggieDiver]

It’s $25 per bag (1st bag) out of JFK - so $50 per round trip per person. For my wife and I that’s would be $100 extra per trip for zero benefit over Jet Blue. That’s a fact that they will now have to deal with as potential customers evaluate their options for travel to GCM (unless they are reducing fares as well as some have suggested - we'll see).

I agree on carry-on craziness and wish they further restricted it to ease boarding and deplaning delays. In fact, we each normally check 2 bags each (as it was free) and only each carry on a small bag that fits under our seats to make the on/off easier (and we hate dragging larger carry-ons around the airport). With this baggage policy change, doing that would now cost an extra $240 for us round trip out of JFK. That is a SIGNIFICANT change! Bummer to lose that benefit!

Actually, I think it said $25 for the first and $35 for the 2nd out of JFK and ORD. So unless the price on the fares comes down by $60, you are paying more for no change in service...and less if you factor in no more free snacks.

I honestly can't figure out why everybody isn't emulating Southwest's practices regarding boarding and baggage. You could still offer assigned seats and board the way SW does. The problem comes in with the whole push to force people to carry all their baggage on the plane with them. That makes people want to be on the plane first to get the limited overhead space for their oversized carryons. That forces airlines to create a whole complicated mess of boarding priorities to decide who gets on the plane first. Which leaves people with assigned seats who board last wandering around the aisles trying to find an open space for their bags before trying to swim upstream to gate check them. There is a reason Southwest can turnaround a plane at the gate in about half the time of other airlines. They have realized that all of the slowdown in the boarding process comes from forcing people to carry everything on to avoid baggage fees. By allowing 2 checked bags free, they take away the incentive for that. By not having assigned seats, nobody feels tied to a given location and has to find somewhere else for a carryon if the overhead is full. They just find an empty space in the overhead and then sit down there.

I find that people who don't like the Southwest boarding process either have no recent experience with it and still think you have to show up hours ahead of time to get a good seat. Or they are people who fly last minute trips and make frequent changes, which puts them at the back of the checkin line for seats. I have flown probably a couple of dozen times on Southwest in the last few years, and by adding the "early bird checkin" for $30/round trip, I am pretty much guaranteed an aisle or window seat even if I show up at the gate about 20 minutes before the plane boards. Most of the time, I end up with an exit row seat with the extra legroom if I am anywhere in the A group.

 

[Damselfish]

Sometimes it's just not about the extra $25 or $100 bucks, but about the general attitude of an airline. The system is a mess, and they just keep messing it up more instead of fixing it. People flying someplace need to bring stuff with them - some more than others, but it's not like bringing luggage is a novel thing only a few people do, so getting charged for it is annoying. I know there will always be a market for the cheapest tickets possible, whatever the consequences, but lots of people don't appreciate being nickled and dimed over stupid things. I like Southwest's attitude and prefer them when it works for me. (Rarely the case, as my husband has enough status on American that baggage and everything else they might charge for is free, but if not for that I'm sure we'd be on it much less.) Southwest's moves and policies generally seem oriented towards making the average customers experience better, and I'm not sure I can say the same for any of the the other major US carriers.

 

[caydiver]

I don’t like not having assigned seats and am more than willing to pay for them but that is a personal choice. I totally agree with the carryon baggage fiasco!!! We have tons of miles and often use them for upgrades. I am cross when my overhead is taken up by someone sitting miles away. I think they they should assign a space with a seat and if it doesn’t fit it goes in the hold. If the one personal carryon item is your pillow, your coat or a bag I don’t care. Totally an individual choice which shouldn’t be allowed if someone chooses all of the above as it generally means the poor fool obeying the rules is the one who will get screwed. My bad when I said $20. Its is $20 CI for me and $25 US for most of you.

 

[Damselfish]

I do agree about wanting assigned seats, and maybe assigned overheads but that is trickier. I care a lot about not winding up in a hated middle seat, or back of the bus when I have a short connection. I usually pay the fee on SW for earlier boarding, I don't mind that and consider it money well spent.