American says bag fee will affect few passengers (Just give us your money and shut up!)

MSNBC ^ | 6/5/2008 | AP

[tobyhill]

DALLAS - American Airlines says its new $15 fee for a first checked bag will affect fewer than one in four customers this summer and won't lengthen lines at boarding gates.

The carrier said Thursday that it's taking steps, from curbside check-in to the aircraft cabins, to avoid disruptions from the new policy.

American last month was the first major airline to announce it would charge customers to check a single piece of luggage. The fee takes effect on tickets bought on or after June 15. American said three-quarters of summer travelers had already bought their tickets and wouldn't pay the fee.

[mnehring]

Well, there is a solution. They could just declare bankruptcy like other airlines, let the government bail them out, then we all will be paying with our tax money.

[kittymyrib]

From the reports of friends and relatives who have flown recently, this is probably true because fewer people are flying these days. They say there are plenty of empty seats after the huge price hikes on every airline.
I gave up flying last summer when a two hour flight became a 10 hour flight. Never again. If I can’t drive, I stay home.

[Michael.SF.]

As a frequent flyer (I log ~75,000 miles/year) I would rather see them charge for carry on (beyond a purse or lap top) rather then charge for luggage.

I have seen too many people lugging on large bags and then try to stuff them in the over head after the plane is 3/4 full.

[CitizenUSA]

I think it’s a bad move. The overhead bins are a pain for me and probably a lot of other passengers. This policy will encourage more people to cram even more luggage in the bins (imagine some moron using all possible force to pound their over-sized bag into a bin that also contains your luggage). This, I think, will further slow boarding and disembarking times.

[tobyhill]

This $15 bag fee is a scam anyway. The airlines aren’t going to eliminate enough weight to make much of a fuel difference. If they want to save money then the best ways to accomplish it without punishing the flying public is more direct routes and slow the planes down.

[tobyhill]

I hear you and agree 100%. I always get stuck next to the one that carries the dirty diaper bag and whips out the baby jugs.

[CitizenUSA]

Michael.SF. “I have seen too many people lugging on large bags and then try to stuff them in the over head after the plane is 3/4 full.”

I used to be a frequent flyer, too. Now, I only fly when I absolutely must, and it has nothing to do with cost. I see you reached a similar conclusion about the overhead bins.

[steveo]

I would rather see them charge for carry on (beyond a purse or lap top) rather then charge for luggage.

Amen to that. It delays boarding and leaving the plane 20 minutes each time minimum. I recently flew Southworst, they had employees with three bags, one non employee dude had four stacked bags (on rollers).

[Michael.SF.]

The airlines aren’t going to eliminate enough weight to make much of a fuel difference.

I am not certain if that is the reason. My first thought was they were trying to eliminate baggage handler's. Recognize that if a baggage handler makes 40K a year the elimination of the position probably saves the airlines at least double that figure in direct and indirect costs.

[Michael.SF.]

I see you reached a similar conclusion about the overhead bins.

Carry on bags has long been a pet peeve of mine. The only person I will help with a carry on is my wife. I have seen people unable to lift their bags into the overhead. I figure if they cannot handle their bag, they should check it.

Dollars to donuts says if you charged even just $5.00 per carry on (again, purses and laptops excepted) you would eliminate 30% of those bags.

[mnehring]

If they want to save money

This doesn't seem to be a money saving but a revenue generating issue. At $15, each bag pays for a little over gallons of jet fuel. 100 passengers paying this could pay for the fuel costs for a part of the flight.

[Kakaze]

I used to fly a lot, now only 3 times a year. When I go now though its for a couple weeks at a time, so carry on my back pack with the lap top and a change of clothes and Fed Ex the bags ahead.

[Kitanis]

unless I have too.. I am not flying anymore..

Between the higher fees... increased government intrusion on a private mode of travel and then the airlines want tax payer bailouts.. why should i feed their coffers with my money?

[Sarajevo]

let the government bail them out...

Weren't they all bailed out to the tune of over $15B post-911?

[wrench]

Weren’t they all bailed out to the tune of over $15B post-911?.
.
.
.
.
.
.
That money is gone, they want more. After all, the money is free, it comes from the government.

[Grandma Pam]

Since I’m only 5’2” tall using the overhead bins is out of the question for me. One Halloween I was flying to the West Coast and had to make a connection in Cincinnati. A woman got on the plane with a pumpkin that was at least 15” in diameter and proceeded to stuff it in the overhead bin.