Baggage Becomes A Big-Ticket Item

[question everything]

The Wall Street Journal

THE MIDDLE SEAT
By SCOTT MCCARTNEY


Baggage Becomes A Big-Ticket Item
March 11, 2008; Page D1

Pack light or pay up.

Forcing customers to pay for service previously included with ticket purchases, UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and US Airways Group Inc. will begin charging $50 round-trip for checking a second piece of luggage on May 5, and Southwest Airlines Co. has already implemented a similar fee for checking a third bag. Other airlines may follow, eager to collect hundreds of millions of dollars without raising ticket prices.

Airlines are under severe financial pressure from high fuel prices, and their finances may worsen if recession curbs some travel. Carriers have been scrambling for ways to "up-sell" fliers, including selling first-class upgrades, fancy alcoholic drinks and day passes to airport clubs. But they've also been stripping out previously free services and charging customers for anything more than basic transportation -- everything from use of skycaps and telephone reservationists to on-board meals and, at a few carriers, assigned seats and exit-row or bulkhead legroom. Customers have adapted to most of that, and giving fliers the chance to pay reasonable fees to improve their travel experience has been popular.

Baggage fees may be different, however. The stiff penalties can add hundreds of dollars to a family vacation, especially if travelers show up at the airport with bags heavier than 50 pounds or larger than the size limit airlines use -- 62 linear inches, the combined measurements of height, length and width. Fees for overweight and oversized bags have been raised by some airlines in the past year, even as baggage-service reliability has declined. And the fees are charged cumulatively -- an extra bag that is overweight and oversized gets hit with three fees. So a second checked bag that is overweight and oversized will cost $450 round-trip at United after May 5. At Delta Air Lines Inc., a third checked suitcase that weighs 71 pounds and is oversized costs $660 round-trip... Air Canada, a unit of ACE Aviation Holdings Inc., a pioneer in a la carte airline pricing, offers customers a $3 discount if they don't check bags. Beyond the potential expense, baggage fees test the boundaries of what constitutes basic airline service. What do you get when you buy a ticket, beyond transport from one city to another? Since most of us need clothes when we travel, baggage service has always been part of the deal, like a bed, shower and television in a hotel room. Is it fair for airlines to make it an add-on service the way hotels charge extra for movies, meals and telephone calls? Some travelers say no, especially when security rules limiting liquids force many to check more bags, and weight limits and the airline proclivity to lose bags encourage people to opt for multiple suitcases.

(snip)

Golfers and skiers will be hit hard by the new policies. Most airlines count a set of golf clubs or a pair of skis as one checked bag. Add a suitcase, and passengers on United and USAirways will have to pay the second-bag charge. Some extra items are exempt, such as duffle bags for military personnel and mobility devices such as scooters for disabled passengers. Many carriers automatically charge extra for scuba tanks. The rules, found on each airline's Web site, can be arcane and confusing, even getting down to fees and requirements on checking antlers, kayaks and surf boards. American, for example, allows each passenger to check one javelin for a $160 round-trip fee; Delta does not allow javelins.

(snip)


US Airways says if you pay fees for baggage handling and the airline doesn't deliver, it will consider refunding fees on a case-by-case basis, likely depending on how long you have to wait for your bag to be found and delivered. United, however, says it won't refund baggage fees even if it loses your bag.


URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120519352406325701.html (subscription)

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

1. I think the next time I fly

I'll take just the cloth on my back, and buy new close at my destination, and before I return home I'll donate it to someone.

[Captain Angry]

2. Thanks to the current value of the dollar...

I've read about Europeans coming to the United States with just their clothes, buying a new set of luggage, filling it with stuff, and flying home.

And some are doing this quarterly. They're not "rich" either. (Nor will they be if they're wasting their money on stuff like that, but anyway...)

As long as airlines have no competition from high speed rail, people still have to fly city to city in this country. A lot of time is wasted by people that have to do the city to city stuff here, sitting in line, security, check in, delays, etc.

What a mess.

[question everything]

4. See the story about European High-Speed Train

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3000868

[DCKit]

3. Jeebus!!! No wonder the CIA just charters the whole plane.

At those prices BFCE profits would be cut in half.

[qanda]

5. People carry too much junk with them

I'm not sure why anyone would need to carry 50 pounds of stuff, unless they're moving or going away to school.

[kineneb]

6. if I go somewhere for an extended stay, will ship stuff ahead...

people used to do this. Ship whatever you must have long term, and carry on only what you need for two days.

[unclebob]

7. Yet another reason why

I will never fly again.

Cramped seating, paranoia, worthless security, and the general idiots you have to deal with at an airport.

If I can't drive, I don't need to go there anymore.