If airlines are hurting so much due to fuel costs, I'd prefer they increase the fuel surcharge on the ticket prices than nickel and diming for baggage. How soon until airlines start charging for carry-ons?!

I can somewhat see the reasoning for baggage charges as a way of an airline recouping costs for rock-bottom priced tickets. But I just purchased an $850 economy class ticket for summer travel in the US. I purchased it because it matched my restricted business travel schedule. It is outrageous that I should have to turn over an additional $20 bill (or whatever) when checking in. If baggage fees are a way to offset the competitiveness of rock-bottom fares, then that is where they should be applied. The irritation level of us frequent business travelers is high enough already.

The additional fees for baggage is superfluous!
I am a business traveler and travel "Business" frequently. Thus having a multitude of FF miles on various airlines. Why would airlines charge their "coach" passengers an add'l fee when they cannot afford it as the Business/First Class passengers. Everyone has to travel with a bag! Why would you not consider charging the B/FC customers and extra $45 or so for their tickets which would help defer some of the costs.
What you all have done makes no sense!

Yet another reason to avoid visiting the US. In Asia, we would not live with this poor service and I am surprised the US public is prepared to. I hate to say it, but 15 years ago, US airlines set the benchmark in good service. Now they set the benchmark in terrible service. Maybe the next step is to make passengers pay for their ticket based on their actual weight. That's seems to be the next logical conclusion.

I fly for business and will no longer be flying as often and certainly will try to find another carrier that does not charge a stupid fee for 1 bag. You would be wiser to increase the cost of the airfair by $15.00 other than tack on a silly baggage fee. You people dont know anything about business, thats why you are always in financial trouble!! Why just irritate patrons with nickel and dime price increases that inflame your patrons?
Besides who wants to pay $15.00 for your luggage to be rifled thru by employees looking for prescription drugs or other valuable items they can steal. Now we are paying them to steal!!

Just increase the cost of the flight for goodness sake...The time it will take to charge or not charge will increase check-in time and cause rediculously long lines! And if someone carries on the luggage and it won't fit or there isn't enough room in the overhead bin because everyone is trying to carry on to avoid the charges will the gate attendant then charge, causing delays pushing away from the gate??? Stupid...We all understand about increased travel costs - we pay to gas up our cars - of course the costs need to go up - just don't inconvenience us!!!

This seems to be very time-consuming and costly to implement. They should just add $50 (or some amount) to the other fees and charges for everyone. There will be battles for overhead bin space, refunds to process for cancelled flights, etc. that will add to the aggravation for everyone...passengers and airline employees alike. Did anyone think this through before implementing?

What happens if they mishandle your bag do you get the money back

I guess the $1000 tickets isn't enough, add another $200 in nickels and dimes and these creeps are like the gas boys. Don't hold your breath on the prices coming back down even if gas does. Note: I said IF!

Raise the price of the tickets. Don't nickel and dime us to death. This is taking the airline industry back to the early days of flying when it was converting from mail service to passenger service. I sure hope they take all the new revenues and purchase more comfortable seats...

Dum, Dum, Your baggage fees alone now make driving ro the destination much more reasonable than flying. Do the math!

2 hours early for the flight X 2 = 4 hours lost
1 hour to exit the airport X 2 = 2 lost hours
--------
Travel by car = 6 hours gained

Parking = > $20.00
2 bags extra = $ 200.00 = 50 gallons=1500 miles
Renting car = $ 100.00 (Rental at destination)
__________
> $320 saved on trip for 2 for
anything Do the math!

Spirit charges $20 for the first bag.

Seems to me when a passenger chose an airline to fly, it was based on a number of factors, inlcuding price and the term that were in place at the time of purchase. It's outrageous that the airlines can then tack on other fees after the original purchase of the ticket, leaving the passenger with no way out of paying those fees. I don't mind the fees if they are stated up front prior to purchase. However, I take issue with adding fees after the fact. Seems like a bait and switch type tactic to me.

I find this whole baggage thing very interesting. I fly usually short flights in the Midwest. Most of these flights use smaller planes where there is not enough room in the overhead bins as it is. Now with more people bringing carry on luggage...it will be necessary to check the bags plane side. Not only will this be free to the flyer, but will lengthen the time at boarding.
The ticket prices for most of my flights are nearly or are double already.
I can see the airlines position with regards to fuel prices, but this latest is a bit much. Pretty soon we will be weighed at check in and charged accordingly.

I think it stinks charging extra fees. the service you get for the extra money is zero. I am considering not flying anymore. for you cant even smile at the airport anymore. Charge just one flat rate and be done with it.

The airline industry should be taken over by someone that knows how to run a business the old fashion way. By hiring people that can give service.

This is total ridiculous. The cost of the ticket goes up and now I have to pay to check a bag. This means the overhead will be more packeted, delay in getting the plane to leave on time of so people can over stuff the over heads and argue with the attendents. This is just one more rip off from the airlines.

It's already impossible to stow a small briefcase or handbag in the overhead bins because of excessive carryon luggage. These new policies of charging for checked bags is going to make the carryon situation even worse--flight attendants better be prepared to deal with some very irate travelers.

Another example of a bad business striving against all possibilities to make itself less bad, with no success.

The new fees have changed the traveller habits and now there are more travellers using carry ons and most planes don't have enough overhead space to accommodate the volume.

How many flights do you see where the last few passengers and flight crew are stressed trying to figure out where to put the carry on. Plus it causes further delays! They juggle luggages around on the overhead and sometimes are lucky to find some space. Or worse case, the luggage has to be checked in, so my question is "will the passenger then be charged for this"? How will he/she pay? And why should the passenger pay when it was not his/her intention to check luggage?

Other passenges also have to be more considerate during these times. They should not be storing their jackets, hats and laptop cases in the overhead to save the 'valuable' space for other passengers with real carry ons

At some point airlines will have to rethink and find a solution for the overhead and carry on situation, it's a new problem they created by charging for checked bags

This is very inconvenient. Why can't they just add a charge to the ticket price instead? Will I get to charge them every time they lose my baggage?

Why don't you have Southwest Airlines listed?

This is ridiculous to charge for my luggage. I will fly the carriers that don't charge for the first piece of luggage or that don't charge at all.

The trips have already increased significantly since last year over and above what it costs for fuel.

If the airlines are going to charge to check bags - then they ABSOLUTELY NEED TO ENFORCE the size restrictions of the bags that people are carrying on and STUFFING into the overhead bins. They can't continue to allow people to carry on bags that take up the whole overhead bin when more of us will be needing to store our regulation sized carryon bags.

I think its a sign of bad service to charge for even the first bag. All it will do is have passengers cram ever more items into ever larger "carry-on" bags to avoid it. Just call it what it is: a fuel charge. Everyone knows that fuel is skyrocketing in cost, we see it every time we fill our vehicles. Airlines are no different, but don't charge us a baggage fee unless they plan on delivering it to our room at our destination.

So I hope I have this straight. To continue to fly the "Friendly Skies" (with the sometimes not so friendly flight attendants) we now have to pay for our luggage to be mishandled and also for the miniscule beverages that seem to be grudgingly offered.

I guess all cost of flying around our lost luggage to exotic locations is starting to take its toll.

I predict that next, we will be required to partially share our seats with other passengers who need to purchase two seats but still try to squeeze by with one. Oh, wait, we do that already!

Thank goodness we still have the ambiance of the shreiks and crying of little cherubs for inflight entertainment.

If I sound jaded, over 80 flights in the past year has clouded my judgement and tackfullness. I do believe some of the airlines (Southwest, Air Tran, and Jet Blue) still do exceptional jobs, given all of the restraints placed upon them!

The airlines now want to charge a fee for loosing and abusing our baggage. Talk about adding insult to injury.

I am concerned about the number of passengers that will opt to carry on their baggage versus check in. There are already a large number of passengers that bring their, just fit, carry on, filling the overhead bins to capacity. Just how much is too much for the overhead bins? Then there's the scramble to retrieve all of their stuff from the overhead bins when departing the aircraft. Are we looking at possible safety issues here?

I thought it was an awful policy when AA started it and I still think it's an awful policy. It's the wrong thinking about baggage in the travel industry and it not thr right approach for thinking about improvements for the way the industry is run and the way it deals with customers. Interestingly, the fee isn't changing the weight of the bag (and thus purported fuel cost savings) it's changing whether people will check it or carry it on. Perhaps the airlines didn't want to admit that the fee is intended to reduce the work-load for the baggage handlers. This bad-customer service policy has exacerbated two problems 1) long, slow lines at security are even slower because more people are funneling luggage through personal security lines and 2) overcrowded carry-on storage has already reached it's limit. My flight last week on US Airway had no fewer than 22 people who had to check their luggage at the jet-way because there was no more room in carry-on storage. The end result of this fee is the worst customer service in airline history taking an even deeper downward spiral.

Im so sick to death of companies nickeling and diming us, charging fees for every thing they can think of. Handling baggage is part of the service they offer. I will discontinue flying United or American and fly on the airlines who are not charging this ridiculous fee. I will also recommend my frineds and family do the same thing. As if we arent paying enough for the tickets with rising gas prices.

Will there be a conversion to grease from restaurants in the future to support Tubine Diesel for these airlines?

It seems quite clear that it can be done based on some eco programs that were shown on the National Geographic, History Channel, etc. So what is the hold up on developing the manufacturing of this fuel? It hardens our arteries but can prop a jet for travel without OPEC influences. Thanks

I am a frequent business traveler (~36 bookings per year) and I find this ludicrous! The Southwest commercial where the airline charges for ringing the attendant bell, coin machine at the bathroom, collections for pillow, collections for moving the seat back, etc. etc. is what we have to look forward to, and this cost for baggage check in is just the 'ice breaker'! I have become extremely proficient at travel and rarely check any baggage unless it is an extended stay. I also fly Southwest, no frills, get from Point A to Point B in the cheapest and most efficient manner possible.

Recently, I DID have to check baggage for an extended stay and when I returned to my home base, my luggage was destined half way across the country. It took 1.5 days to retrieve it. So, in this case, if it cost me a 20 spot to check that bag, I paid to have my baggage lost! Think about it. (I have not read the policies so there may be a stipulation that if they lose the bag, you are refunded?) If so, Big deal! If not, be OUTRAGED!

Better yet, be OUTRAGED anyway!.... I am....
Think long and hard about this and fly southwest whenever you can!

It is absolutely ridiculous that tickets and fees to fly continue to increase yet the service we as customers receive continues to decline. Staff is sometimes unhelpful and even rude, we have to pay for food if we want something other than the 2 oz of juice and 5 pretzels, and now we have to pay if we want to check in a bag?!?!? I think pretty soon we will be herded like cattle onto the plane, have to stand for the duration of the flight or asked to pay an additional fee if we would rather sit. This is an abuse of power.

Are the airlines now following the lead of home land security, trying anything they can to keep us from air travel? Now there will be more carry on bags and MORE flight delays. If we keep up this pace, we might as well drive to our destinations.

i would much rather the airlines just raise the cost of a ticket to cover the rise in fuel than to create extra charges on baggage, food, drinks and headphones etc. all the extra transactions lead to more time spent ie:swipe a credit card and wait for a response then a signature or wait for change from cash on the plane. if say approx. 3 minutes is spent on one person making these transactions, multiply that by only 10 people and they have wasted 30 minutes of people's time who are standing on line waiting.

multiply the 30 seconds it takes to make change for 1 person on the plane by say 200 transactions and the amount of time that is wasted is amazing. 9 times out of 10 the attendant doesn't have the correct change on them and has to make a second trip later in the flight. just raise the price of the ticket if you have to but don't waist my time.

not just annoying but incredibly inefficient.

This is ridiculous we all know fuel is more expensive put it in the price of the ticket and stop nickel and diming us to death. Now people who don't travel for a living will cram every single thing they can into bags and security line will be even slower. Everyone needs to be able to check 1 bag with no charge. $7.00 for a drink are you kidding me I will just bring my own food and drink and a HUGE carry on bag.

I strongly agree why don't they increase the flight cost by 150 dollars rather than charge for the first 2 bags

It's outrageous to charge for your first bag. I will fly another airline before flying those that are charging for your first bag. Will carry-on's be next???

Two things about the new baggage policies irk me: the irrational charge for the 1st piece of luggage and the SIZE LIMIT of the checked baggage (63 inches, x+y+z). Has anyone got a bag that small? Nothing I have every checked is that small. So if I show up with a reasonable sized piece of gear, I can get whacked $80 each way, on top of the initial $15 each way. That's $190 for the bag!!