magnumholmes

My wife and I just flew to Pensacola and were socked with $85 total charges for checked luggage on the flight there and the flight back. It was through Northwest.

I know this subject has been talked about before on here, but until now we had not been affected.

We were charged $15 apiece for one bag apiece when we boarded in St Louis to go to Pensacola. When we returned, we had bought so much stuff, we had to get another bag. We were charged $15 apiece for a first bag and one was charged an additional $25 for the second bag.

When all of this started, the Airlines complained that the gas prices were too high and they had to add the charges to keep up. Now the price of fuel has decreased back to the level at which it was several years ago. What gives?

Tell me about any airlines you have had to deal with recently that charges for luggage? By the same token, are there any airlines that don't add any charges?

I realize this could change, but I just want to know about now.

Thanks

rkkwan

Most do, but most exempt their elite frequent fliers or certain credit card holders for fees for at least the 1st bag.

Do not expect those fees to go away. It's the new reality of airline pricing. Delta has resisted for the longest, but will start charging first bag on Dec 5th.

The most notable exception is Southwest, which continue to allow for 2 free bags.

But of course, Southwest doesn't fly to many markets, like PNS and surrounding area.

yk

There is actually an article in this past week's Wall Street Journal (The Middle Seat column) where it calculated how much it actually cost an airline to fly your checked luggage.

Between the $ for staff to handle your luggage (a mininum of 10 people will touch your luggage from check-in to arrival at carousel), plus the actual $ of fuel etc, the WSJ article came up with an amount of just around $15 - which is what the airlines incidentally had come up with to charge passengers.

tchoiniere

Even though the gas prices have gone down, it will still be a long time, if ever, that airline prices drop. The airlines have lost a lot of money and need the extra fees to recoup some of this money. Its either have the fees or just raise ticket prices for everybody. Having the fees is how I prefer it. At this point, everybody should know that there are fees and expect it.

rkkwan

Airfares have already dropped quite a bit. But the legacy airlines have changed their pricing model to more a "a la carte" way, following their own move for buy-on-board meals a few years ago and/or Ryanair's fee-for-everything models.

They're not going back anytime soon, regardless of crude oil prices.

AnnMarie_C

Someone posted the following website not too long ago--there's a toolbar at the top of the page that allows you to select alphabetically the carrier you're flying for baggage allowance.

http://airlinealacarte.com/

PeaceOut

Thanks to Southwest, we can fly our college kids home with their skis and boots, and no extra baggage charge. They check one bag plus their ski gear, and there's no charge.

We're so thankful Southwest flies where we need to go most times. I love that airline! And, their change policy has saved me many, many times, when our college students' schedules change.

emcash

On a related note, Delta is now charging $90 if your bag is overweight. So, it seems to make sense to just pack an extra bag if the charge for one is less than $90.

karameli

Honestly, I may be the only person who supports the baggage fee. I figure the airlines could have imposed an across-the-board $15 fare hike, which would have been a much better PR move (since few people pay close enough attention to airfares to notice a $15 increase). Instead, they're imposing the fare only to those who use the resources (gas, baggage handlers, etc). It's a PR nightmare, but given the choice, I'd rather have the cheap airfare and the option to stuff everything in my carry-on!

tchoiniere

You are not the only one who supports it. I definitely agree with doing it with fees as you should know about them ahead of time and be able to plan around them. I just wish they were more uniform.

rkkwan

I don't like it. Not because of the fees, but it encourages passengers to take as much as they can onboard.

tchoiniere

rkkwan, I definitely agree with that point but that should also be uniformly enforced, which it is not at this point.

magnumholmes

How did this get misconstrued as a question about fares?

I don't care what the airlines do with the fares. I think the question is: The motive of the fees for checked luggage?

The reason they gave was the price of gas was getting higher and higher. Now the price of gas is back to where it was well before the fees were put in place.

I didn't ask anything about the fares for flying. I think people should be outraged at the charges and the motive for the charges. I was pissed at the time and still am pissed today.

Thanks for the link in the one post.

rkkwan

The high fuel cost forces the airlines to change their pricing model. Lower fuel cost doesn't mean they have go back to the old model if they feel the newer one is fine for them.

All the discussion in this thread is totally on-topic. If you cannot understand it, or refuse to try to understand it, it's your problem. Not ours.

cfntmpn

Unless you are an elite flyer - you will pay the fees. No getting around it. I was at EWR checking into an international flight and people were paying over $600 for over sized, over weight bag fees.

I can't find the article - but I read once that the airlines MUST identify the extra fee as baggage fees (or something similiar). They CANNOT simply increase the cost of your ticket. Which is why they have not simply hidden these costs into your ticket fare.

As long as they are getting away with it, it will not go away - regardless of the gas prices.

WhereAreWe

"When all of this started, the Airlines complained that the gas prices were too high and they had to add the charges to keep up. Now the price of fuel has decreased back to the level at which it was several years ago. What gives?"

Well, they didn't start charging the baggage fees as the price of gas started creeping up several years ago. The airlines had to eat that cost for a long time until they finally decided it was too much - do you really expect them to immediately drop the baggage fees once gas prices drop even though they didn't charge for a few years when prices were high?

rkkwan

The airline industry in the US have been deregulated for about 30 years. Airline can fly to wherever they want domestically and charge whatever they want - fees, no fees - and provide whatever they want - food, no food.

When the US airlines put in the fees for checked bags this year, most fees only apply for tickets purchased after that announcement date, with a start date of the fee sometime in the future.

And when you buy a ticket now, you know exactly how much the ticket is, and exactly how much checked baggage fee you'll pay when you check your bags.

If one doesn't like the fees, he/she can fly Southwest, or they can use alternate means of transportation. It's a free country.

There is no outrage because none is warranted.