All Fodorites to call AA to complain immediately about $15 baggage hike
 

Its official. Call American Airlines now to state your disapproval for their $15 baggage fee. I called. Have you? Let your voice be heard. Let's make a difference!

While you're at it, why not complain about the increase in change fees to $150.00. If you call reservations, do you really think the agent will pass on your comments?

Yes I do! I also wrote them a letter. Give it a try Orange Cat. What do you have to lose?

I'm not trying to be contentious but maybe it's a good thing that we are being forced to economize. I assume that less baggage means less fuel consumed which means that air travel isn't quite as hard on the environment.

I'm not sure if you live in the US. I do and I think it's time that the "think big" mentality starts to change here. Big cars. Big plates. Big Gulps. And 2 big bags.

Since 1984, when our country was hit with the OPEC embargo on oil, the average weight of the American car has increased by 1000 pounds. Take that, OPEC!

Anyway, just my thoughts. I've got a 20" rolling bag that has room for camera equipment, a laptop computer, and enough clothes to allow for a little variety during my 5-week trip to Europe this summer. And it's all under 30 pounds.

People wanted cheap air fares and they got it. wow $15 for a bag. What's wrong with paying for what you get?

I weigh less than the average American woman, who I understand weighs 140 lbs.

Can I bring on my bag for free?

You really think you are going to make a difference by bugging the airlines? Dream on. Besides I don't feel "disapproval" of that fee, I think it's fine. Sheez, if they had simply raised the ticket price 15 bucks you wouldn't have even known it.

YOU GO SSHEPARD!

Yes, I think it would Suze. You snooze you lose!

Did you hear the news tonight? They may start charging for overweight PEOPLE. That will start a war.

So Rhonda, did you call yet? Help me Rhonda!

If AA gets me to and from Europe safely, I'll gladly pay the 15 bucks. If not, our cats will have a little less money to share.

((H))

On balance, I'd rather the airfares reflected the actual cost, given the increase in jet fuel prices, rather than all these extra charges. It's starting to feel like the charges some hotels have added on that are really part of doing business, like housekeeping.

I'm with Underhill on this one; I'd LOVE to see more transparent pricing. As for Fodorites calling AA?...I suspect that when the board of directors decided to charge the extra 15 bucks, they factored some "incurred wrath" into the equation. Welcome to the future of air travel. SIGH

How about a compromise?

I don't object to the bag fee.

BUT: if my bag doesn't arrive with me I get a refund.

Seems fair to me.

Good news!
Please remember those of us who hardly ever check a bag yet have to pay for mountains of others' bags containing, I suspect, supplies of bottled water and lard.
Hope all airlines do this.

Lard? What are you talking about.

And I doubt you'll be celebrating when more passengers revert to carry-on and they start charging for bin space.

I'm not trying to be contentious but maybe it's a good thing that we are being forced to economize

This is NOT "economizing" and here is why I think so:

If fuel prices ever drop the fees will remain

The airlines refuse to 'economize' in their front offices and continue with multi-million dollar salaries and packages for CEOs which is way out of line with what we see in many other countries

If you really wanted to "economize" then you would probably do something other than fly..perhaps have that meeting via teleconferencing or take a vacation closer to home.

Sorry, I'm not into the passive "well I guess it must be good for us" stuff...we've already been down that road with the current Administration.

>> And I doubt you'll be celebrating when more passengers revert to carry-on and they start charging for bin space.

Wait until it takes an hour to board while everyone stuffs their oversize carry-ons into overflowing bins. What I figure will happen will be that US airlines will next invoke strict size/weight limits for carry-on along the lines of those in European budget carriers. Then what will you do?

I also agree with some others that they should simply raise the ticket price instead of adding these extra fees. Of course, my personal pet peeve is the advertising of one-way fares when you have to buy a round-trip ticket. Why should they be allowed to advertise something you cannot actually buy?

Paul

<i>Yes, I think it would Suze. You snooze you lose!</i>

Not at all true. Suze accrues the benefits equally if your campaign succeeds, so why should she waste her time? You have a collective action problem, which is why these consumer mutinies rarely, if ever, work.

But hey, keep trying to change their minds. I'll worry about the things I can control.

No sense calling AA. Other airlines will quickly follow suit. So, what would you do, start calling all the other airlines? Utterly futile. A total waste of time. Plus, with oil hitting around $135 a barrel today and sure to climb higher, other additional fees will come. So save your breath.

As for the $15 fee, the airlines should just add it to the ticket. Paying the fee at check-in will only cause more delays. Can you imagine how many people will be fumbling for their cash to pay the fee? Waiting to get change back? Or charging the fee on their credit card?

&lt;&lt;Did you hear the news tonight? They may start charging for overweight PEOPLE. That will start a war.

Why would that start a war? If the issue truly is weight for the plane why is it OK to charge for luggage but not people?

There are certain activities we've had to comply with weight limits: riding mules down the Grand Canyon, zip lines, etc.

And I think Dukey is right. If oil prices fall, we won't see these extra fees go away.

$15??? How do you feel about paying $30?

The cost for checking a first bag (tickets purchased after 6/15) is $15 ONE WAY. Therefore, your total cost added to a roundtrip will be $30.

And if you're checking a second bag that additional $25 adds up to $50, meaning a grand total of $80 for two checked bags -- roundtrip.

Why should I complain - I'm sick of the people who pack everything including the kitchen sink because they have the space &amp; baggage allowance for it.

Can't see what's wrong with only paying for the services you use.

And why are you posting this in the European forum - my understanding it only applies to the folks in the cheap seats in the US.

I support a baggage fee...but here is how I would do it.

You can have a carry-on, but it cannot be a piece of luggage. Based on size of overhead, you would be taking more than your fair share. From what I see some people lug into the plane they are only being selfish.

You can bring on a laptop, soft-side bag (gym size or smaller) or anything in that size range.

One large bag to be checked. If you can't fit everything into one large bag (and the majority seem to be able to) you should pay the price.

I have no problems with airlines saying that since the air ticket purchased prior to arrival has no way to adjust for what you are bringing with you, they should be able to add extra charges when you show up with your 2 large bags.

Some people need to adjust their packing habits, or accept that those extras will...cost extra.

&quot;I assume that less baggage means less fuel consumed&quot; - no, as the carry-on will replace the check-in. People will not bring less, they will get more creative in trying to bring the same.

If only I could figure out how to wear 4 shoes :))

You're wasting your time. Do you think AAA cares at all what some random strangers say to them by writing or calling? Well, they don't. They don't even care what FF customers say, believe me, I've had complaints when them that have escalated several notches in the CS hierarchy, and I was a paying customers with a FF account and they refused to even give me some extra FF miles to resolve my complaint.

They are doing that to gain revenue. I think it's duplicitous as they should just put it in the price, they change them all the time, anyway. So this way I imagine they think they are going to fool people who will get stuck with it at the airport without knowing, and more favorably compare in some searches by price.

But that is AA for you, I don't like them anyway. But the fact is the only thing they will care about is if it affects their bottom line, which means less bookings.

They aren't going to care at all about your letters, believe me. They didn't care about mine and I had a much better beef than this.

If we don't complain, they forget that we travelers are as important as the shareholders.

The way the business commentator on CNN explained it, we will be paying the $15 for EACH LEG of the trip. How often do we get to fly nonstop?

So if your route entails flying into an hub airport, then on to your destination city that will be two legs at $15 each. So we'll be paying $30 for the trip each way X 2 people that equals $120 for one bag each to europe. That's a big bite.

I suspect one of the reasons the charge is a separate fee, not just an increase in the ticket price, is so that it will apply to travelers who are using frequent flyer miles for a &quot;free&quot; ticket.

Domestic airline travel is in a state of liquidation. They care not about your complaints. Notice how it is not applied to international travelers.

They know where the money is.

&quot;If we don't complain, they forget that we travelers are as important as the shareholders.&quot;

No...you are not as they are in business to make money.

Well alright.

On a plane, you pay for space and weight. So...

Charge accordingly. Charge passengers a base fee for the space they occupy - the size of the seat - and the weight they bring along. Weigh both passenger and bags, and have a per-pound charge.

Done. I for one am tired of getting sat on by some fat person who overflows their seat and can't even get the armrests down. You take up my seat, you pay for my seat.

Back to the per-bag fee - what's silly is that it will lead people to get the biggest allowed bag, and then stuff it to the gills. So the airlines will have fewer, bug larger and heavier bags to contend with.

Hear, hear, Michel. I already hate the carry-on crowd.

Most carry-on luggage is simply too large for the bins as it is. It's over the dimension guidelines set by the airlines, though the airlines don't monitor it. Add to that the fact that people bring 3 or 4 carry-on items.

This already means that if you're not one of the first people to your seating area, you will not find room for your properly sized carry-on. Many of the the carry-on class have absolutely no shame about taking more than their fair share for this.

So, the airlines should either just build additional charges into the ticket prices with a maximum baggage limit, or charge for the carry-on and checked baggage that won't fit under the seat in front of you. It's the only fair way.

&lt;&lt;&lt; Most carry-on luggage is simply too large for the bins as it is. It's over the dimension guidelines set by the airlines, though the airlines don't monitor it. Add to that the fact that people bring 3 or 4 carry-on items. &gt;&gt;&gt;

European airlines seem to cope - so it can't be beyond the ability of the US to do something about it

CptDondo has a good idea. The airlines should figure out a way to charge each passenger accordingly for TOTAL weight of passenger + baggage. I agree ... it totally ruins a flight when you are seated next to someone who slops over into your seat.

They would likely have to have some sort of height/weight formula, though.

But seriously ... why should I pay full fare for two thirds of my seat when the person next to me is using theirs and the other third of mine?

Run it like the post office. :)
You and your baggage are a 'package', so based on weight, dimension, distance, and 'class', you pay $XX

travelme~ I think you should call American Airlines and complain about their ticket prices. They are just too darn expensive lately. Tell them to lower them. Let your voice be heard!

I have been flying for business for quite a long time and have logged more than 4 million miles on AA (I have also been premier on UA and have also flown most other major airlines throughout this time). When I flew (from CA) in the late 80's and 90's to Dallas and Chicago, it was not unusual (in fact - it was customary) to pay $1000+ per ticket). Ticket prices are now much cheaper to most locations to which I travel (Hawaii being the exception right now).

I don't think that AA is perfect - by any means - but I have been a frequent flyer with them since 1988 and they have - on most occasions - &quot;done right&quot; by me.

I, too, am concerned, that flyers will try to cram everything in a carry-on bag and hold up boarding procedures, etc. However, you can be certain that it won't be the flyers who fly regularly who will cause this problem - it will be the occasional flyers who are uncertain about almost everything concerned with flying (including getting through security, etc.) that will cause delays. How many times have I been held up in a security line because passengers ahead of me didn't know/read information about not being able to take on bottled water?? And then proceed to argue with the transportatation safety officials about why THEY should be allowed to take on their bottled water! All the while stalling the line behind them?

While the baggage fees don't impact me on AA (I'm Executive Platinum on AA)- I do understand the necessity for charging passengers based on effort required to get them to the end of their journey along with their bags. If/when I check a bag (and I usually check ONE bag), it requires that the airline hire people to get the bag into the baggage area of the airplane, unload it - perhaps multiple times if there are multiple legs of a trip involved - and then to offload the bags at the end of the trip. That is NOT required when a passenger takes his/her own bag on board and it does add costs to the trip - not only for fuel, but for baggage handling.

If we want multiple airlines to survive these fuel prices, etc., then we need to understand that they can't absorb all the increased fees without passing some of them along to the passengers.

I agree with the other posters here who said don't bother complaining, the airlines don't care what we think. If they get into trouble, they'll be bailed out once again with our tax dollars.