Send an E-mail to USAir NOW about Charge for 2nd Bag
 

USAir plans to charge customers for checking a 2nd bag. Express your outrage right now by emailing customer service:

http://www.usairways.com/awa/content...tionsform.aspx

So? Pack lighter.

If this keeps the cost of my ticket down (and I check 1 bag), I'm all for it.

If it keeps them from raising the price of every ticket by $5 (a big "if" I know), I don't mind paying $25 extra on the one trip out of 20 where I might check two bags.

Passengers will not travel with less.

Selfish morons already try to carry on everything but the kitchen sink, and this misguided policy will only further encourage such rude behavior.

(And for the record, I never check more than one bag when I fly USAir.)

http://www.usairways.com/awa/content...tionsform.aspx

Learn to pack smart--with just one bag. If you need to take another bag, it's only $25. That certainly won't break the bank. You don't drive your car around town with an extra bag of cement in the truck of the car, now do you?

Next year, the airline will be able to say, "We lost only 1/2 as many bags this year as last."

I hear you, but it won't happen. People will NOT travel with less.

They will carry on MORE, and we all will suffer the consequences of this misguided policy.

(Like I said above, I never check more than one bag when I fly USAir, and usually I check none.)

It's not "only $25"; it's $50, at least if you intend to return with two bags as well.

While I admire the "travel light" philosophy, sometimes it's just not feasible. Last year, my husband and I took an Alaskan cruise. We live in Florida and took three checked-in bags total. We needed the space for heavy coats, hats, waterproof shoes, and other cold-weather gear, as well as for clothes to follow the various dress code nights on the ship. And we did laundry, so we didn't overpack--we brought what we needed to bring.

Congratulations if you can travel through Europe for 6 weeks with nothing more than a change of clothes in a Ziploc bag. Some of us can't travel that way, nor do we find it fun and exciting to do so.

Long discussion on same topic 3 weeks ago:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=35106240

Thanks, Gekko, for posting the link. I received an email today from USAirways and had planned to contact them to express my unhappiness and inform them that they will no longer be my carrier of choice, so you saved me the trouble of finding their website.

I agree that this policy will cause problems for everyone, not just travelers who have to pay the fee, since people definitely will try to bring more and larger stuff on the plane to avoid paying the baggage fee.

Have you considered a "nude cruise?" I had plenty of room in my suitcase for the booze.

People who think travelers will actually pack lighter and travel with less stuff are naive.

I posted my opinion, as well as my politically incorrect solution to the weight vs. fuel problem, on my travel blog: www.stricklandia.com.

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By expressing my outrage and not wanting to pay for the 2nd bag I will agree to higher air prices.

And as I never bring a 2nd bag, I will hurt myself financially.

Sorry, Gekko, I can't join your campaign.

No, you won't. <b>Time is money</b>, and longer security lines and delayed boarding (and deplaning) are inevitable if this misguided, moronic policy takes effect.

The obvious reality is, people will carry on more and larger bags to avoid the charge. It is inevitable.

(And I never check more than 1 bag when I fly USAir, so the fee isn't my concern -- it's the hell it will create inside the cabin and in the security line.)

RaymondLuxuryYacht,

I agree with you and expressed a similar politically incorrect solution on this forum in a post about UAL's policy change (link in a post above) and in my correspondence to USAirways. I'm a 115 pound female who travels with luggage that I can handle myself (wheels are great but people still need to be able to lift luggage and place it in the overhead bins). The travel process is going to get worse and slower for everyone as people bring more on planes, including heavier and larger bags. This will negatively impact security screening, boarding, and de-planing activities.

Does anyone have stats on just how many passengers would be affected by the 2nd bag rule? I suspect it is not many -- so many people do carry-on only, and most who check seem only to be claiming one bag when I'm at the carousel. The only time I check two is returning from a vacation where I bought stuff and had to use my extra folding bag. Apart from trips where sports gear (skiis, golf bags) must be checked, I think the fee would rarely apply to the average business or leisure traveler.

Over 60% of leisure travelers check 2 or more bags.

With the American Dollar so low, I never purchase much when I go out of the country.

Don't express your &quot;outrage&quot; by sending a note to USAir - instead, express yourself by flying another airline that doesn't charge the fee. USAir doesn't give a damn how you feel - all they care about is whether you will stop flying them. If USAir's market share doesn't change because of this fee, why would they care how &quot;displeased&quot; you are?

I've already been expressing my displeasure at poor service and change fees by flying an airline, Southwest, that has good service and doesn't charge change fees.

In many ways, though, such a baggage fee makes sense. Why should someone who travels with a carry-on pay the same fare as someone who travels with two heavy suitcases? That extra weight costs more money in fuel. Shouldn't the passengers who cost more in fuel pay more?

Perhaps USAir would have been more savvy by offering a $25 <i>discount</i> per passenger who checks only one bag and then simply raising their fares $25? Same thing, entirely difference perception.

When we vacation (in Europe or the US), we seldom have more than 1 bag per person (+ a small carryon per person), but we live overseas and when we leave the US in the summer I have LOTS of bags. Easily 3 per person - sometimes more if we are moving locations. So, I pay excess baggage anyway - but now I'll be paying even more.

I know I am in the minority, but this one hits me hard - especially since they dropped the allowable weight from 70 pounds to 50 pounds.

Hi Grcxx3 -

I'm in the same situation as you and have been for the past eight years. I've never flown US Air and don't plan to, but I do fly United, which I understand is also now charging for a second bag.

We fly enough on United and Star Alliance partners that we've been able to keep our Premier Executive status for the past five years, so we're still able to transport three bags each of up to 70 lbs per bag to and from the US.

We plan our travel so that our domestic flights in the US connect with our international flights without any stopovers, thus avoiding any excess luggage fees.

I assume you're a member of an airline frequent flyer program?

For what it's worth, when we started lugging our lives around in our suitcases (before we had any FF status), we were charged $150 per extra bag by United, so $25 doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

As you well know, living overseas has some definite perks, but the never-ending luggage issue isn't one of them!

Hi Melnq8 - Yup, you know exactly what I&quot;m dealing with. We always fly United and Star Alliance when we head back to the US in the summers. But we have had a hard time keeping our status at the Premier Executive level because so many of the &quot;little&quot; trips we take from here aren't on Star Alliance (not an option). We had much better success when we were in Cairo.

I am used to paying the $125 or so for my extra bags (usually 4 in the past) so now I guess I'll just be adding another $25 for each person's 2nd bag for an additional $100. Not the end of the world by any means - but certainly an annoyance.

We try to avoid USAir (or USAwful as my DH calls it). The only time we ever used it was to fly directly from New Orleans to Pittsburg, but since Katrina (well, at least as of last summer), that flight no longer exists. SO - back to United and connecting thru Dulles!

Grcxx3 -

I completely understand the challenges of keeping your Premier Executive status. I barely made it this year.

We spend entirely too much time on non-participating airlines (because sometimes that's all there is).

&lt;&lt;&lt; Over 60% of leisure travelers check 2 or more bags. &gt;&gt;&gt;

Might be true in America but in the rest of the world ONE BAG is the norm

The question therefore is - why do Americans pack so much more than everyone else?

It also might not be true? Got a source for that, Gekko?

One bag is not the norm in the rest of the world for checked baggage.

The norm is 2 pieces, 20kg/44lb total.

A few questions...

When you send them the email saying &quot;you are no longer my carrier of choice&quot; do you think they care?

1. If all your flights are the cheapest possible fares? Probably not, that's the reason this increase was passed.

2. If you fly once a year, or once a quarter. They probably don't care either.

And United has strated cracking down on &quot;carry on&quot; according to my sources since the implmentation of this fee.

This is the wave of the future. Americans want dirt cheap airfares. The economic model is broken. Airlines can't keep flying you for less then cost....

According to a USAir rep quoted by the AP, only 8% of passengers check more than one bag, so airlines may believe they do not risk alienating very many potential customers with the new fee.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23356288/

rkkwan apart from routes to/from the US ONE checked bag is the rule - unless you aren't in cattle class

CX - No limit on number, but 2 preferred:
http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_...ggageallowance

SQ - 2 pieces:
http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_U..._allowance.jsp

AF - 2 pieces:
http://www.airfrance.co.uk/GB/en/com..._en_soute.htm?

LH - weight only for shorthaul, 2 pieces for longhaul:
http://www.lufthansa.com/online/port...&amp;cid=18002

Just a few examples of some of the world's largest and popular international carriers.

My point is that what UA and US is proposing is <b>NOT</b> the normal practice for non-budget carriers anywhere in the world.

You won't have problem checking in two bags with total weight less than 20kg/44lb. But on UA and US, you're only allowed one, regardless of how light they are.

I hate to think about what the security and check in lines are going to be like this summer.

I live in Honolulu and from what I see when I'm at the airport, many, many, many tourists are checking more than 1 bag per person.

The check in lines for United are long and slow enough without thinking about the probable added time to process the fee for the extra bags.

Keep the heat on USAir:

http://www.usairways.com/awa/content...tionsform.aspx


(And perhaps Americans travel with more bags than Europeans because we bathe and change our clothes every day?)

Email your outrage to USAir right now:

http://www.usairways.com/awa/content...tionsform.aspx

If we customers don't nip this in the bud, it'll become standard practice.

Frankly, I'm less concerned with the $25 charge than with its results -- cretins who already try to carry-on too much will just add to our (and their) misery.

Will people travel with LESS? No. They will try to carry-on MORE.

Again, if you want to keep the &quot;heat&quot; on USAir, do so by flying other airlines. Why on earth would they worry about their new policy if people continue to fly their airline?

The threat of losing business could be enough to derail the plan.

But United is doing it too, and if Northwest, Delta, and American follow suit, all the people who fly only the &quot;major&quot; airlines will pay the new $25 fee no matter what. People already put up with steep change fees on the major airlines - why not this?

Because the fee will encourage people to carry on more and larger bags.

The result:

Longer security lines

Longer boarding &amp; deplaning

Frustration and air rage!

Well, to go through security, you are already limited to one carry-on bag (limited in size) and one &quot;personal item&quot; which is a purse, laptop, camera bag, etc. I seriously doubt a $25 fee for a 2nd checked bag will encourage people who used to check everything and carry on nothing suddenly to start carrying a bag and personal item through security. And as already noted, only 8% of USAir passengers check more than one bag. Sorry, I think your belief that these 8% will somehow go from zero carry-ons to one + personal item is greatly exaggerated and will have basically no impact on the security lines.

Don't be fooled by the 8% figure.

Much of USAir's passenger load is the shuttle -- of course these passengers don't check 2 bags.

Take the NYC-DC shuttle out of the equation, and the reality is clear -- passengers will carry on larger and more bags (despite the ignored policy of 1 carry on plus a personal item).

I can understand the frustration with this coming fee among vacationers.

However, the great majoirty of domestic air passengers are business travelers, who not only check one or no bags, they also pay higher ticket rates.

Business travelers have also been the ones most affected by the increasing change fees imposed.

The main advantage for business travelers are the FF perks, no small token. Now the leisure traveler is being asked to pay a more fair share of the load because they tend to take more with them when they travel.

Now if the security people and airlines will enforce the carry on rules, things won't be so bad.

And, as long as we're giving personal bag carrying info... all 8 of my Caribbean and S American trips in the last 3 years have been for business. One checked bag among all of them. The rest, carry on only.