I accept the luggage fees, but I fell for the bait and switch with the seating fees.

I've managed to fly without having to check a bag. I'm a dude that's fine wearing the same pair of underwear for a week straight though. Is that wrong?

I hate these fees. They aren't grounded in anything but pure profit. A pound is a pound, and it doesn't have anything to do with weight or balance like it once did.

Although I think it makes more sense to charge for luggage by the pound and not the piece I don't generally have a problem with charging for checking bags. My only complaint is that after the fees started to be introduced you saw a lot more people trying to skirt the 1 plus carry-on rule or trying to pass off bags the size of mini-fridges as carry-ons. In my recent experience, though, gate agents and flight attendants have started cracking down on that more. (fyi, I fly almost exclusively on NWA/Delta)

I factor the fees into my ticket cost and if there are comparable prices I try and stick with the non fee airlines.

I used to fly American, now I do fly SW, so they may be right.

All this has really done is make people bring more and bigger bags into the cabin. Next, they're start charging a fee to use the overhead bins. Hate these fees! It's a bag tax, and people change their behavior to get around it.

I'm going to hold off on being upset over this until I see the financials. It could very well be that this change was required by many airlines in order to maintain and/or improve operations, as opposed to doing it just to screw consumers over.

@exploded:
nope

i try to fly everywhere jetblue does.
i can understand those people that take tooooo much luggage and make it seem like they are moving all their stuff in a moving van.
first bag should always be free, always.

@exploded:
it's only wrong if you are still wearing the comic book characters

I hate the fact that I can't comparison shop because now there are a million small fees that add up and make your trip double! Would all merchants please stop the nonsense of advertising a price that you can't possibly get!!!!!!?

If you must pay a "convenience" fee, add it to the price. Will call fee? Add it to the price. Service fee? Add it to the price. Shipping? Add it to the price. Tax? Add it to the price. Sur charge? Add it to the price. This is all I want. Just make the fees included in the price.

@ennTOXX:
edit: i "can't" understand...

I fly with a single, carry-on duffel bag. Seriously. I just pack Woolite packets and all my clothing in like colors for mix and match. You just need three outfits. One to wear, one dry and one drying after being washed in the hotel room sink.

Flying to Orlando tommorrow. Here is what sucks. I need to bring Sunscreen.

But I can't BRING sunscreen on my "carry-on" because apparently I can hijack a plane with it.

So. Delta just made $15 due to "security reasons".

This just doesn't seem right.

@exploded:

As long as you aren't that dude trying to jam an enormous bag that he should have checked into the overhead bin and I don't have to sit next to you at the end of your week, by all means.

Agree. Now, we have to take even longer to de-board the plane since everyone has so much carry one luggage!@Gargoyle_A2:

If t@Sean Masters: if they are going to charge fees, why not just raise ticket prices? That would make more sense if the revenue is needed to keep their heads above water. Or additionally cut down of flights, for instance does AA need to have 5 flights a day between chicago and fort wayne? I've done this route many times and there is never more than 6 people on the plane.

Packing light is an art form eveyone should learn. That and the art of carrying your bag. No self respecting male uses a bag with wheels.

@CreativeLinks: Can't you buy sunscreen in Orlando for less than $15?

Lately, with all this carry on hassle, I've seen the screeners really care less. I've brought canned food, gels, and even a bottle of Dr. Pepper on my carry on...no problem. I hope you can too.

BTW, we need to stop terrorist from using sunscreen!@CreativeLinks:

When I fly for business I have no say about what carrier I use, but that's for my employer to deal with. When I fly for pleasure, Southwest Airlines and their lack of fees FTW!

I fly Southwest, no fees ftw

I just drive if I can. Between the TSA and fees... air fare isn't convenient anymore.

@chiieddy: I am pretty low-maintanance, and even I need more than three outfits for a week-long stay. What if you're doing some tourism crap, and then going out to a fancy dinner? Or you have several business meetings? Or you're going to the beach? Sometimes you need heels AND sneakers, sometimes you need a pair of jeans and a few comfy shirts, AND a nice suit.

@HIV 2 Elway: Some people are so judgemental and picky about how other people travel, jeez. What if said male has a back problem? Or needs to carry some kind of heavy equipment? Or has business meetings AND beach time planned, so he needs more than just two outfits?

@nerdtalker: Actually they were grounded in not making a loss last year when they fuel costs were soaring.

The were grounded then. Right now, they just pull them out of thin air.

@HIV 2 Elway: ...or bring less than 3 oz of sunscreen on your carry-on bag?

@nerdtalker:

you're right. Checked bags magically transport themselves from the counter to the plane's hold, then off to the luggage carousel. There are no systems necessary to track checked luggage either, it just knows where to go.

Paying more for this service makes sense - of course there's no way of knowing whether non-luggage-checking passengers are paying less than they did before (yeah right), but paying more for using more resources is absolutely fair.

@CreativeLinks: You may pack as many 3.4 ounce bottles of sunscreen as you like, just put them all in a gallon-sized clear plastic bag when you go through X-ray.

But how much does that 278M come out in terms of Percentages. As in, whats their total Revenue - Profit - Operating Cost thingy?

I mean I detest these fees as much as anyone, but 270M does not sound like a lot for an airline.

Ofcourse, Very likely that I am mistaken. Anyone care to provide any numbers?

I have no problem with these extra fees, I welcome them in fact. All my life I've prided myself on packing light. When we'd go on vacation growing up, I'd have my nice little duffel bag and backpack slung over my shoulders, while my sisters would be bogged down with their suitcases, tote bags, random pillows, etc. "Help your sister, Michael, you have two free hands and she can hardly hold onto her luggage" my parents would say. And then I would be forced into lugging around my sister's crap, all because I brought a reasonable amount that I knew I could carry comfortably.
Man, it's amazing how worked up I still get over this. Maybe I should tell this to my therapist...

@Nurburgringer: But I think the problem that a lot of people, like myself, have with these fees is that it used to be that your plane ticket included the cost of everything. It wasn't as though the cost of the ticket was simply for passage on the plane, it went to cover fuel, maintenance, food, drinks, baggage costs... everything. Now it's as though the cost of a ticket is simply just for the right to step on the plane and that fees cover all the rest.

I would be happy (relatively speaking, of course) if instead of separating the costs of all these things out in fees, they just included them in the price of the ticket like they used to and as a result, ticket prices went up. That way, I wouldn't feel as though I was being charged for something that almost seems like it could be avoided, but it really can't.

@nakedscience: Slacks, blouse and a jacket to put over it work in most casual AND fancier situations. I just had a change of shoes and some jewelry and makeup to add. I just wore slightly nicer than jeans and a t-shirt when at the Colosseum. This works well in Europe where people dress nicely anyway.

I tend to avoid the fees by traveling light. I've hardly ever needed to check bag and usually get by with two carry-ons (one for clothes, one for other stuff). Fits in the overhead or under the seat.

Then again, if you're traveling with your family or lugging equipment around, those fees would start to pile up pretty fast.

@Matt Palmer: The problem with raising ticket prices is if Airlines A, B and C raise prices and Airline D tacks on a fee, airline D appears less expensive to bargain hunters and gets more business.

@wheresmymind: People who travel with pillows should be suffocated with them. I saw someone at opening day bringing a pillow into the ballpark, WTF?

@chiieddy: But not everyone is you, and not everyone travels the same way as you, and not everyone travels to the same places as you, or does the same things as you. And what if you get a stain on a shirt? Or a hole? Then you're screwed, or you have to suddenly find a Target.

And if you're traveling to Arizona (where I live), I want you to wear a blouse and slacks when you're trying to go casual and it's 110 out. Yay sweat stains.

For those who ticked off "Yes, I avoid airlines with fees," what airlines are you getting on? Air Mongolia?

I don't know of any major international or nationwide carrier who is not charging luggage fees.

@nakedscience: The scientific name for a wheeled suitcase is a "Nerd Caboose"

This doesn't irritate me too much UNLESS they charge me a fee and I arrive at my destination without my checked luggage. I think I'd try and get a refund for the fee at that point, although I'd probably fail.

@karmaghost: Ah, but then they'd lose the psychological benefit of telling you the ticket price is $500, when after the fees are all tacked on it's really more like $650. You snap up a $500 ticket, but might think twice about the $650.

Same principle as pricing something $9.99 instead of $10.

I usually can't pack light enough for just a carry-on if it's any more than 2 nights. For this reason I LOOOOVE Southwest. Dirt cheeap too. And always friendly. I also like the open seating policy. Rewards people for checking in early online. Punishes lazy stupid people.

@packcamera: For domestic travel: Southwest. For overseas travel: no idea.

Southwest is good for domestic, though they probably aren't as big as others. No bag fees, no curbside check in fees, free food, even on puddle jumpers.

@Steve Duane: The carry on limits are actually a FAA restriction, not an airline one.

And ladies, you are usually the worst offenders.

Google "southwest raises ticket prices" and you'll see why they don't charge for bags. They simply rolled it into the prices of your ticket. Those that fly with no bags are subsidizing those that are traveling with bags. Just sayin' ....

@karmaghost: @karmaghost: Unfortunately, airlines have razor-thin profit margins currently, and one way to increase profit margins are with multi-part tariffs (i.e. charging separately for basically EVERYTHING). Think of it this way: by charging to check bags, airlines are able to charge LESS for the actual ticket price, meaning that those who do not check bags are actually better off in the end. This means that the people who check bags (which cost the airline from $5-$10 per piece) pay for it and those who don't don't.

@HIV 2 Elway: I love watching people struggling to "wheel" their luggage up steps. "Allow me to introduce you to an activity called "lifting.'"