Let’s say you are in the military and have to undergo some training before you are deployed to Iraq to fight in a war. Let’s also say that this training requires to you bring 3 bags of equipment. If the airline you’re flying charges a $100 “excess baggage” fee, but waives the $15 first checked bag fee, and the $25 second checked bag fee… is that “generous?”
American’s policy allows military personnel “one checked 100-pound duffel-type bag, one standard checked 50-pound suitcase and one standard carry-on suitcase of up to 40 pounds.” They’re getting “a total of 190 pounds of free luggage,” said airline spokesman Tim Wagner, in an e-mail to the El Paso Times.
Staff Sgt. Ashley Serrano doesn’t see it that way. He says that other airlines see his uniform and waive their baggage fees. “I have flown Southwest, Continental, and when they saw me in uniform, they didn’t even ask,” Serrano said. “I flew American a couple of times before, but I never had this problem.”
Serrano said he was confronted Friday at the El Paso International Airport with a demand for $100 for his third bag, and when he mentioned he was headed for Camp Bowie – where Texas Army National Guard soldiers train before deployment – he said they told him, without a smile, that the Army should have given him a voucher. Serrano’s fellow soldier and traveling companion had three extra bags and was charged $300, he said.
“I am not aware of any ability by our agents to waive an excess baggage fee, even for military personnel – since they already have the common checked bag fees waived in our policy,” [an American Airlines spokesperson] said. “Otherwise, our policy is very generous as you can see, and intentionally so. We’re very proud of our military forces – and many of our employees began their flying careers with the military – so we’re pleased to be able to help.”
Serrano doesn’t seem to think the policy is generous.
“You couldn’t fit it all into two (checked) bags if you tried,” he told the paper.
Airline baggage fees hit soldier flying out of El Paso for training [El Paso Times] (Thanks, Gabe!)
(Photo: benh57 )
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@kepler11: the issue isn’t really whether there is a bag charge – maybe the military IS supposed to give them vouchers. The issue is that a) there is a $100 bag fee at all and b) the characterization of the waiver of some bag fees as “generous”.
With a little less stupid, AA could have successfully explained that the military is forcing its soldiers to carry so much stuff that they will be hit with bag fees, and then not reimbursing them.
Sure, it’s nice of the airlines that offer it, but I don’t know why being in the military should entitle anyone to discounts of any kind.
Why doesn’t American Airlines debit George Bush’s personal bank account for the overage? Seems fair to me…
This really is not as big a deal as its being made. When I had to take a trunk full of photo and video equipment with me to Kuwait, I was charged such a fee. But that’s why the military issues credit cards – to cover travel expenses when traveling on official orders. He’s a Staff Sergeant; I’m surprised he didn’t already have one or know how to get one.
Keep in mind that not all military personnel travel in uniform while on travel orders.
As for the senseless debate on military jobs and deserving discounts…
There are plenty of military personnel who come into the military doing one job but then end up doing another. I’m doing CE, finance, contracting, security, etc, even though my career field is non of the above. We’re often away from their familes for months at a time (I’m on a 1 year remote in a truly remote location). We have to move every few years, and are often not fully compensated for moving expenses.
As for paying up front and getting reimbursed, I’m still waiting 2 months after the fact to get my travel voucher paid.
There are plenty of jobs in the civilian world that should be getting the same sorts of discounts/praise/support as military personnel. Just don’t think that we’re adquately supporting military personnel. It’s not just about pay.
@kepler11: Yeah, having a lot of respect for someone who puts their life at risk for you is being brainwashed. Damn media and it’s Grand Theft Auto, making people do and think whatever it is they want them to. If only we had free will….
@Trai_Dep: I think the President would have a pretty strong case for a chargeback if they did that.
Having been in the military, I can tell you that getting “vouchers” or travel cards is very difficult for most personnel. The normal procedure is to pay for any out of pocket expenses up front then request reimbursement after the trip. the problem with that though is that an E-1 to E-5 will most likely not have that kind of money. E-5 and below really don’t get payed much and most live paycheck to paycheck.
I deployed twice, and had to pay extra for my baggage each time. And that was before they had all these jacked up prices for baggage.
It’s not the Airline’s job to cover the cost of flying for the military. That’s one of the things the military budgets for when they’re planning wars.
And they DO occassionally have strictly military flights, which are about as sucky as commercial, but at least you’re surrounded by fellow military members, who are also as trained to “hurry up and wait” as you are.
My flight back from my first deployment took an additional 10 hours, and that’s AFTER we left the ground (it took a full 13 1/2 hours just to get us loaded ONTO the plane, starting at 3:30AM). There were SO MANY bags (yes, we did leave some behind) that we didn’t have enough fuel for more than 5 hours of flight, necessitating stops in Italy, Germany, Iceland, Maryland and finally our destination, Norfolk.
We weren’t allowed off the plane at any of the stops except Germany, and even there not a single restaurant was open (it was 10pm). I’ve been on commercial flights that were delayed 30 minutes on the ground and had more complaints that that hellacious flight back from the desert.
@banksnld: True, but he’s National Guard, so it’s likely some of this hasn’t trickled down as well (or their command hoped to save money by getting comped).
@RandomHookup: I agree with you, I know the National Guard unit where I’m at doesn’t deploy very often so they are often unaware of expenditures that could pop up while going TDY.
@katylostherart: Thanks for bringing that up – yes, they get reimbursed, but they *don’t* get paid much to begin with, and getting their money reimbursed can take a very long time, months even… depending on how well their local command is run. Younger folks and those who are enlisted really get the shaft with this. My spouse (who was then enlisted) had to wait four months for one reimbursement.
I think if American was truly generous, they would negotiate this directly with the Pentagon to cover 3 bags. Mind you, people, the Air Force is currently being investigated for having wasted taxpayer dollars (more than a quarter million) for “comfort pods” on military planes – [www.washingtonpost.com] (Money that was supposed to be spent on combating terrorism.)
People are not going to be carrying 3 bags unless they’re headed for combat (or training before combat), leaving or reentering CONUS from somewhere like Korea’s DMZ.
I’m surprised by American’s attitude. Last month I saw a great documentary on flight attendants. One interviewee had a long history with Pan Am, who as noted, carried many young men to Vietnam. She noted that often her airplane brought the guys there, and brought them back – sometimes in coffins.
At the end of the day, these guys are yes, public servants, but they’re also headed into a war zone. They have enough to worry about – with some of them reservists who have given up their job and may worry about how their training will stand up – and all of them saying goodbye to friends and family…
The *generous* thing to do is to give them one *less* thing to worry about before heading into a combat situation.
@Ein2015: I am wondering why (again) there is a seeming public perception that the airlines owe them a living…Now think about it for a sec….I can’t think of one other place of business where people have a million reasons why they shouldn’t have to PAY for the price of the product. I am as big of a consumer advocate as it gets, but the airline thing really bugs me because EVERYONE everywhere seems to act like their reason for travel (military, funeral, wedding, fireman, cops, nurses, cause du jour worker etc) trumps the need to PAY the business for its service. “Consumers” like that abuse the system and it dominoes and makes flying the nightmare it so often is.
It’s not so much being in the military but being in the military and traveling on orders.
That said, as has been mentioned above this guy should have a Government Travel Charge Card to pay the fee. If for some reason he didn’t all he needs to do is submit a travel claim with the receipt for the charge. In the long run he doesn’t have to pay this fee.
@RickinStHelen:
Yes you get reimbursed…usually when the military gets good and ready to hand over the money. Meanwhile the credit card company is waiting on their money, and the soldier/airman is caught in the middle. Sometimes the places you are going don’t have facilities for you to file a travel voucher right away. Those government issued credit cards WILL show up on your credit report, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I had my extra bag fees waived several times, I didn’t expect it but it was a very nice gesture seeing as the government is probably overpaying for the ticket in the first place…it is, after all, the government.
@banksnld:
I have to tell you the military issued travel card can be a HUGE pain in the ass. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t, it’s like gambling in Vegas. Just another headache for our service member. Can’t tell you how many times I used my own CC because the gov’t travel didn’t work.
myself and my husband both are military.
and to the person who feels that its the same to ask for a discount on a steak you are special.
depending on training, you can be flown back and forth to different commands every couple of weeks. it’s not like we’re going on leave.
so say i have a 2 week school in pensacola. then back to san diego then i fly to japan for a deployment. then to WA.
thats redic. think how much money that is on checking baggage alone.
and no they don’t give you vouchers.
they are “supposed” to pay you back. but that doesn’t always happen on top of it still comes out of your pocket. and contrary to popular believe, we are not paid well. so shelling out an extra 100-200 bucks every couple of weeks while being flown about is not really possible.