Posted on 08/12/2008 7:20:47 AM PDT by Virginia Ridgerunner
American Airlines is charging troops for their extra baggage, a practice that forces soldiers heading for a war zone in Iraq to try to get reimbursement from the military. One of the country's largest veterans groups is asking the aviation industry to drop the practice immediately.
American, which recently charged two soldiers from Texas $100 and $300 for their extra duffel bags, said it gives the military a break on the cost for excess luggage and that the soldiers who incur the fees are reimbursed.
(snip)
Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) spokesman Joseph Davis said service members destined for Iraq should not have to spend the money out of pocket and should not have to worry about filing expense forms in a war zone.
"That's a lot to ask when the service member has much more important things on their minds, such as staying alive and keeping those around them alive," he said.
The VFW is asking the Air Transport Association (ATA) to urge member airlines to exempt military personnel traveling on official orders from all excess-baggage fees. "This should not be a very difficult decision to make," Mr. Davis said.
(snip)
When soldiers receive their travel orders, they should make sure that excess baggage is authorized and that soldiers can be reimbursed for additional fees that airlines impose, said Army spokesman Paul Boyce.
"We can help them with additional expenses for travel, but soldiers have to submit a receipt and it has to be looked at by our finance people," Mr. Boyce said.
"We appreciate the VFW's help in assisting soldiers. It would certainly make it easier for soldiers, but there are other ways to help them recoup their money for Army travel," Mr. Boyce said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
As a veteran myself, this really P*SSES me off. Maybe the airline execs should be given uniforms and rifles and sent to Iraq for an attitude adjustment.
It is bad enough the airlines are trying to nickel and dime regular passengers for bags, pillows etc., but inexcusable that soldiers on the way to a war zone are being charged.
My guess is that the Red Cross is involved somehow,in this scam ./ scar. off
If true - absolutely and totally inappropriate and inexcusable!!!
If our own military aren’t flying them on their way to war zones, or home from, the U.S. airline should not charge them for one d*mn thing!
During military action, you’d think any airline would fly the troops for free, voluntarily! The third amendment made sure that the defense of the nation rested on the government, not on the individual. It doesn’t say we can’t help those who need it most! Watching for action by Southwest first
Yes! Exactly my thought.
Should AA get reimbursed within reason? Of course, its weight and fuel which means money, but they should just invoice the DOD and wait their 90 days, it will all balance out in the end. To stick it to the soldier to pay on the spot and then be reimbursed later is BS in my book.
No kidding does it ever piss me off! Number 1 they shouldn’t charge them at all...number 2 if they feel the need to charge then they should bill the DoD directly!
Yet another reason for me to avoid flying if at all possible. . .especially American Airlines.
I’ll tell you another pet peeve of mine. I was recently at the post office and a woman was sending a sizable package to her son serving overseas. The clerk,who was very sympathetic, told her it was going to cost a fortune. Sorry, anything going to a serviceman or woman should be FREE!
I don’t usually watch Bill O’Reilly’s show because he’s such a blowhard, but I know that he can be relentless when it comes to some issues. Maybe this is one of those issues.
This makes me mad. The airlines could keep receipts themselves about the luggage and bill the DOD each month. That extra charge to a lowly dogface (see how old I am?) puts an awful strain on the family budget.
AA is probably just getting back after losing so many tech and pilots who were in the reserves. And yes, AA management needs a swift kick!
American, which recently charged two soldiers from Texas $100 and $300 for their extra duffel bags, said it gives the military a break on the cost for excess luggage and that the soldiers who incur the fees are reimbursed.
I don’t have a problem with an airline charging for the seat and excess baggage but the potential for gouging exist when they assume it isn’t an out of pocket expense for the traveler.
The military pays for the cost of the ticket, and it should also arrange to pay for the cost of the excess baggage. The military should expect that someone being deployed overseas is going to have a lot of baggage.
We shouldn't blame the airlines here, and we shouldn't expect them to shoulder the cost of carrying the extra baggage if we, the taxpayers, are unwilling to arrange for soldiers being deployed overseas to have this cost handled automatically.
At the end of the day, airlines are a business and it's unfair to pass military costs on to them.
It’s a lot more than irritating.
When I traveled with the White House, we routinely paid (OVER PAID) fees on bags. Then again, traveling by myself or with one other guy, I ROUTINELY had 22 bags, all loaded with communications gear, my personal bag and a carry-on.
Not only did I have to pay the fees, I had to get reimbursed later.
However - when traveling back and forth without the extra gear, I usually had to pay two bags fees, and still get reimbursed depending on the trip etc.
Waiting for a travel voucher to go through (and maybe get denied) while you’re dealing with your “government issued credit card” and repayment is a pain as a military person who does NOT get a “travel account”.
I used to carry a “Diners Club” card issued by the gov... and there was a stiff penalty if you missed a payment. And on top of that the government chewed your ass (or worse).
So, for military guys, this is the MOST ridiculous concept the airlines have ever come up with.
I agree that the airlines have a right for just compensation. I like your plan on how to do it.
Perhaps someone should contact DOD and find out what they require before re-imbursement is made. Maybe the airlines are trying to rip the govt off, and DOD needs things like baggage receipts that are actually issued to the person flying instead of a monthly bill from the airlines.
Exactly. Even if they hide behind the excuse that the DOD takes to long to reimburse, they could have the soldier sign the voucher.
Just who the h*ll do they think does the most to keep the next Mohammed Atta off their planes? Big hint: It ain't the buffons wearing the TSA uniforms.
I don’t understand the problem. Both of my daughters are in the Navy. They both have a type of credit card issued by the military for expenses like this. The military suggested “very strongly” that they have it. In fact, at my daughter’s new command here in the US, they were not happy that she didn’t have one already when transferring back to the states from the UK.
Back in the old days, we had a low-tech solution. Any soldier traveling on official orders was given advanced travel pay to cover actual transportation costs, food, lodging, if required. Many of them(us) used part of the money for extra party funds and, as a result, sometimes showed up at the terminal a little short. I’m not saying that’s what happened here, but it wouldn’t be unheard of.
American Airlines is not very “American”. I would suggest that the Pentagon do some negotiating with some other airlines...
I flew American once (recently). By far the worst service I’ve ever had. They refused to even check my bags and issue me a boarding pass because I got to the checkout counter 29 minutes ahead of time (the cutoff time is 30 minutes apparently). They claimed I couldn’t make it through security and to the gate in that amount of time (it took 10 minutes for me to get through). I ended up on the standby list and it took 3 more flights for me to finally get on a plane, causing me to upset the plans of the friend picking me up multiple times. Oh, and they took their sweet old time behind the check-in desk to announce that I was just on standby. I vowed I will never fly them again unless I absolutely am forced to. With this idiotic treatment of our troops, maybe I’ll just never fly them again period.
Common Sense out the door.
It is bad enough the airlines are trying to nickel and dime regular passengers for bags, pillows etc., but inexcusable that soldiers on the way to a war zone are being charged.”
This practice is plain out and out predatory....
Even IF a soldier is “reimbursed”, then the taxpayers are giving the money to American Airlines.
I have to make a trip next month. I don’t fly often anymore, but Southwest doesn’t charge for baggage or snacks.
They will get my business.
Kalitta Cargo flies lots of stuff to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Maybe they can take the “baggage” also.
I ran into a Soldier headed to his 2nd tour of Afghanistan on my last flight (Delta). He just happened to be behind me in line at one of those little magazine shops that they have all over airports. I don’t know about his baggage, but he definitely didn’t have to pay for anything else while I was around.
We had a nice long talk while waiting to board. He was extremely appreciative and I got to feel a little bit like a hero myself. :)
Why? I find nothing sarcastic about your comment at all. BTW, just this past Sat. during a conversation with a WWII vet among others, the same opinion of the Red Cross was expressed by all (albeit about a totally different collection of incidents.)
OK, let’s look at this logically, because something is wonky here.
First: Were these two soldiers actually on travel orders, or simply traveling on their own? For example, if you come home on leave from overseas, the Army will pay transportation to your home of record and back. If these two had a HOR of, say, Miami, and they decided to go visit a buddy in Seattle, the Miami-to-Seattle flight would come out of their own pocket.
Second: Where were they flying from and to? The military contracts the entire flight for soldiers going into the theater of operations, and typically the soldiers travel for “free” (the flight is paid for by the contract, not by the soldiers). So, this helps answer point one.
Third: There were only two soldiers. This is the fact that brings to mind points one and two.
Sorry, but I need some more facts before I can get real spun up over this one.
It costs money. Intentions are great, but it doesn't pay for things. A bankrupt airline flies nobody. On the other hand, the government is supposed to reimbuse the cost of travel. If there's a solution, it's to get the travel folks up to speed. Short term, make it easy to get these soldiers reimbursed.
I’d like someone to confirm/deny the claims from the left on this one. They claim that ALL traveling soldiers are issued a Credit Card for travel expenses, thus they don’t have to pay anything out of pocket.
A card similar to this - http://corp.bankofamerica.com/public/public.portal?_pd_page_label=products/industries/government/card/travelcard
It’s funny/sad that the only time you’ll see the left siding with Big business is when it’s Big Business vs American Soldiers.
Anti-American Airlines.
The fact is, AA allows soldiers traveling to or from duty stations, TWO checked in bags for FREE. Plus a carry-on bag and a personal item like a book bag or a laptop. One of the checked in bags can be a duffle or sea bag weighing up to a 100 pounds. That’s four bags total for free.
A lot of knee-jerking going on in this thread.
Why shouldn’t AA charge for carrying more than four bags?? AA already has waived the first and second checked bag fees...
AA probably figures that if they invoice the DoD directly they'll be waiting 900 days, not 90. This way they get their money up front, and there's be lots of pressure for the DoD to reimburse their own personnel pronto.
Semper Fi
An Old Man
Back in the old days my company did the same thing; they advanced me money which I used to pay my expenses. Then they decided that a multi-billion company should have it’s employees lend it money so they could do their jobs. The days of “travel advances” is long gone.
Hmm, I sent boxes to Iraq for my nephew, and along the way, I noticed that the heavier the box I’d send, the cheaper the cost per pound would be. The rate to send boxes to Iraq was cheaper than the rate to send to other parts of the U.S.
If I ran an airline anybody in uniform would get a half price ticket
Of course I realize that everything can’t be FREE. When I see the absolute disregard Congress has for our tax dollars and the stupid things they fund, I think that giving some breaks to folks serving in the military should be a priority.
While the POOR Airlines CEO makes millions.
Just out of curiosity, why do some guys have more duffle backs than others? I would think that the standard pack/bag would be pretty standard.
I think its stupid to charge them, but I can see some goof at the airport pointing to a rule book, and some stupid supervisor saying they cannot make exceptions because that is what they are told.
I think it is unfair to suggest this might an anti-american thing, when in fact it is the result of bad management and employees who are not allowed to make decisions on their own.
This is one reason the airlines will soon be whittled down to Southwest and whatever Nationalized aireline is left.
I think the postal service to Iraq is simply amazing. I put a 13 pound priority mail box to my buddy in Baghdad on Monday, and he is smoking the cigars on Friday night.
Simply amazing.
Unless the market forces them too - and I hope it does.
Personally, I’m glad to have the option of paying for additional services such as pillows, extra bags, etc., versus paying more for a ticket. I like to have choices; if ticket prices are increased, the only choice is to travel or not.
Letters out of a combat zone are free but families have always had to pay to send things to the troops. The Post Office does have a special rate for a priority mail box that is roughly the size of a shoe box to send things to the troops. It is amazing how much some people can pack in those little boxes. I send cookies to Iraq and the postage is steep but not so bad to complain about. Of course free would be better.
“American” Airlines my arse.. maybe this company should remember exactly who’s planes were Hijacked 7 years ago!
Unbelievable! The Execs at this company should be dragged through the streets naked and pelted with eggs and rotten fruit for this! Unbelievable.
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