Delta Adds The "Fee For Not Paying A Fee" Fee
Following in the fee-laden footsteps of US Airways, Delta has added a $5 fee for not paying your baggage fees online in advance.
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Atlanta-based Delta already charges $15 for the first checked bag and $25 for the second checked bag on domestic flights.
But starting Aug. 4, Delta will start charging those who pay for checked bags at airport ticket counters, kiosks and curbs $20 for the first checked bag and $30 for the second checked bag, for tickets purchased July 15 or later.
Can someone think of a way that we can all agree to start charging the airlines our own fees? Sorry, there is a $5 "these snacks suck" fee and a $10 "seat is full of crumbs" fee...
Delta adds $5 to fee for bags checked at airport [AJC]
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Comments:
@Adrienne Willis: in addition, what flippin difference does it make if you check you pay for it online or at the airport? The airline employee is still making the same salary, they are performing their job so why do I have to pay more at the counter for them doing their job? I really dont understand this fee.
Why not just charge a fee for the convenience of paying in advance online? That way they can get everyone.
The part of this that makes me the maddest is these baggage fees were supposed to offset rising fuel prices. But even when fuel has gone down and the fees are going up.
They need to add a $5 convenience fee for the comfort of paying online at home so they can avoid the $5 luggage check in fees in person.
this seat is soaked in urine fee, $35
reminds me of the simpsons episode where they refinanced their mortgage and ol' gil was rattling off the fees 'not understanding the fees fee, talking to me fee, sitting in a chair fee'
This is exactly why I avoid flying and when I must fly I fly with WestJet (Calgary Alberta based Canadian airline).
The other carriers are just getting too STUPID!
Just flew united this past weekend and they are already doing the same thing. 5 dollars cheaper if you pay online in advance. Of course it's advertised as a 'discount' to pay in advacne. But same thing.
Continental just raised their fees as well. They are adding $5 to checked-bag fees for people who do not prepay online and increased the fee for telephone reservation by $5. They are also cutting 1,700 more jobs on top of 1,200 job cuts previously announced.
(full disclosure: my Mom works for Continental, since 1989)
@Pigmann:
I agree totally. Also note that Papa Johns kept their "delivery fee" after gas prices sunk to record lows? One reason I'll go pick it up myself. $1.75-$2.00 delivery fee, then $2-3$ tip, and $1.50 tax on a $12 pizza? Hell no.
Lately, I have been paying the "I'd rather drive my car there if I have the choice" fee.
@Saboth: Down by my office on John Street in NYC this place called Lenny's charges a delivery fee and what kills me is all their deliveries are done with a bicycle. I now go and pick up my lunch.
Wait, is this fee in addition to the bogus "gratuity" requested by the curbside checkers after they take your bags hostage?
Well crud, what if we buy our tickets through a 3rd party, like Hotwire like I just did? Then we don't even have the chance to not pay their fee for not paying a fee. Rubes!
@Adrienne Willis: More employees ate needed if everyone pays at the airport. That or you wait in a line 30 deep to get to the 2 desk agents.
Soon it'll be cheaper to fly with no luggage at all and buy whatever you need to wear at your destination.
OR you can probably get away with shipping you're clothes UPS or FedEx straight to the hotel for cheaper.
@tenners: Charge a fee for loading the website. Charge a fee for allowing the user to click next. Charge a fee for the service required to charge the fees.
Is the fee for using an airport just ahead. No, instead we will get a fee for using the TSA checkpoint, a fee to access the corridor, a fee for checking at the gate, a fee for sitting in the waiting area, a fee for HVAC in the waiting area, a fee for lights in the waiting area...OMG I just realized I should have been an airline executive!
Just. Stop. Flying.
@K-Bo: So what were they doing beforehand when people didnt have to pay for checked bags? I ask honestly because everytime I have flown my bag goes in the overhead bin so I have never checked it.
@GreatWhiteNorth: I don't see why everyone loves WestJet so much, they don't fly to a ton of places and when they are an option they aren't any cheaper than Air Canada. WestJet and Air Canada are basically a coin toss as far as I'm concerned. That being said, they're both a hell of a lot better than Air Transat (which sucks donkey balls) but I guess you get what you pay for; they're generally the cheapest option if you're going overseas.
@Erik Schlange: Maybe. But some hotels now charge a fee for accepting packages for you. So I'm sure the hotels will start getting into the fee for a fee game too.
The reason airlines charge these fees is simple. The average consumer is not willing to pay the actual cost of an airfare. The tickets prices for airfare are just far too cheap. Paying $199 for a midrange round-trip transcon flight just does not make any financial since. Even business jets like a Gulfstream G5 cost about $11,000 an hour to operate, let alone 737. Until passengers are willing to accept an increase in ticket price these fees will keep occuring. Personally I would much rather pay a higher all inclusive price than be nickel and dimed every step of the way.
Delta is considering the following new fees;
A $25.00 per one-way ticket "We Can't Think of any Other Fees" fee.
For frequent fliers a $500.00 yearly "Get Out of Being Charged any of Our Other Fees Unless We make Up New Fees After You Pay This Fee" fee. (Note that certain additional fees may apply.)
Fuck you, Delta. And the rest of you assholes.
@Erik Schlange: "Soon it'll be cheaper to fly with no luggage at all and buy whatever you need to wear at your destination."
Unless they start charging you a no luggage fee.
@LastVigilante: I faced this a couple of weeks ago. I had purchased tickets on Expedia for US Air and United. When you check-in online 24 hours before your flight you have the option to also indicate how many bags you will be checking and then pay the fee online. Of course, you still have to wait in line at the aiport with said bags and still hand them off to a human for tagging. So all it really saves is them taking payment at the airport.
@CurtBabarong: I've seen this rationale before and it's one of the oddest, ass-backwardest ways to blame the consumer I've ever heard. If these airlines can't make money at the current airfare levels, then RAISE THE FARES. Oh wait. They don't want to do that because then a)they'll lose passengers and b)said passengers will seek out a low-cost carrier than can do the job without nickel-and-diming them to death. Like I do. Southwest turns a profit. AirTran turns a profit. And neither of them charge me random fees up the wazoo.
@CurtBabarong: so would I, not only that it would bring flying back to a classy event. Now that everyone and their mother can fly it has become the equiv of a greyhound bus on wheels.
I think between the airline fees and the government's security theater, they're both doing an admirable job encouraging people to just stay home.
I often wonder if the execs complaining that traveler numbers are down consider that maybe their greed has something to do with it. Revenue might rise if they didn't treat people like cattle. I'm not saying roll out the red carpet, but keep the prices fair, cut back on superfluous gouging and just do a good job.
@Bogart's Falcon aka Philly Falcon: and the whole cavity search because you are a suspect if you fly with no luggage
How about I charge them a $5 Fee-Processing Fee and a $10 Making-Me-Get-Out-My-Wallet Fee. I'll even be generous enough to give a 10% discount if they'll pay me in cash...
@dfwguy:
The September 11th Security Fee covers the TSA.
The Passenger Facility Charge covers use of the airport.
@ebcindc: If I have to check bags I always aim for the curbside check in if available. Well worth it for the convenience. I was a bellman for 5 years and felt the standard $1 per bag tip was appropriate (more for unusual stuff like a stroller or car seat).
Spirit airlines has been doing it that way for quite some time. They also charge for reserving your seat in advance as opposed to getting a random seat at check-in. And how much you pay for your reserved seat depends on which seat it is (aisle/window vs. middle).
Airlines like Delta are going to start getting killed in the marketplace if this keeps up.
I just flew Air Transat to Cuba the other month; they are a charter airline. Not only does every seat on the plane have amazing legroom, they are also upholstered in leather, and every passenger gets one free checked bag up to 20kg!
A charter airline!
Delta was such a great airline when we used to fly with them in the 80s. Things have really gone downhill!
If I open a pizza place and need to sell my pizza's for $50 to make profit, then I'm probably not going to sell very many pizzas. If I instead opt to charge $10 for the pizza, $5 for toppings, a $10 oven fee and a $25 delivery fee (delivery being the only option). I'm still not going to sell very many pizza's because people aren't willing to pay $50 for a pizza. Should I sit around and figure out a way to get people to buy $50 pizza, or figure out a way to sell my pizza for a price people are willing to pay?
Why should the airlines be immune to market pricing?
@You know what ole' Jack Burton always says: Indians (mostly grad students) already do that when flying from India into the USA. Multiple layers of clothes, with lots of stuff packed into the pockets. Security screening takes ages.
I was carrying very little luggage last time (since i can now afford to buy stuff in this country), so I could not resist taking a jab at a noob:
"You know, USA is colder, but not THAT cold."
Vote with your dollars. If you don't like the fees they charge, select a different airline that doesn't charge the fees. Southwest comes to mind; they don't charge any of those fees. And they are the only major airline not be in or flirting with bankruptcy during the past three years. Hrm......methinks there is something to that!
Flew Delta to Louisville, KY last week. I had a hell of a time. Never before in my life had to run like a crazy woman on fire to make a connection!!! But I learned something very helpful. Pack as light as possible, so you just have one carry on to take. It doesn't matter if you check in at the counter or on line, tell them you have no lugagge to check. Once you're at the gate the agent will walk around ten to twenty minutes before the boarding time. What for? Well, (s)he will make an assestment of the size of your "carry on" and tell you you cannot take in on board. So (s)he will tag it for "plane side" check in. You'll leave it at the side of the airplane door and it will be at the same place when the plane arrives. No muss, no fuss, no fees!!!
@haoshufu:
I was watching an Onion video and it said at the end "airlines to add landing fee". I'd say they're not far from that.
OMG you have got to be kidding me? Right? Right?! When will this nonsense end?