American to charge for first checked bag 

American Airlines made an announcement that I dare say made every traveler who read it, bristle. While we all have resigned ourselves to the latest round of fees in the face of meteoric fuel prices, this one seems to embody audaciousness that could sour even the most jaded traveler.

The airline will begin charging $15 for the first checked bag. And while $15 is not a lot of money, it still takes time to collect that fee. Think about it; you have 150 people checking in for one flight, and it takes 3-5 minutes to process the payment transaction and another 2-3 minutes to have the passenger share their thoughts with the agent who's collecting the fee. (Don't do the math.)

Then, you’ll have the rebels who will try to carry on all of their baggage to avoid the fee. It seems to be the perfect formula to produce delays. We all get that airlines are losing money, but it seems that policies instituted to generate revenue should not impede the efficiency of the airline.

fyi...

The fee, which is effective for tickets purchased on or after June 15, does not apply to the following AAdvantage program members: Gold, Platinum and Executive Platinum, and those who have purchased full-fare tickets in the Economy, Business and First Class cabins; and those with international itineraries (except to and from Canada and U.S. territories, such as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Currently, no other domestic carriers have instituted this policy.