Delta tried to charge “Frustrated Traveler” an illegitimate bag fee yesterday by claiming it was over the weight limit. He knew, however, that unless the bag had been eating tubs of frosting throughout the flight, it was still the same 47 pounds it was when he weighed it himself before boarding.

I was flying [Sunday] on business from Tampa, FL to Albany, NY, and sadly knew going in I was going to have to cough up $25 for Delta to stuff in its vast coffers to check a bag. Tampa International conveniently has self-service luggage scales outside of the airline check in positions; and knowing my bag was borderline I took full advantage, relieved to find it come in at 47 lbs – just 3 below the limit.

Fast forward a few joyous hours later after being stuffed in an over-crowded coach cabin and a fun-filled connection in the cavernous McNamara Terminal in Detroit to find out, upon waiting for my bag at baggage claim, Delta was going to demand a ransom!

Turns out, one of the savvy, well motivated members of Delta’s baggage handling operation decided to slap a “heavy” tag on the bag at some point after my check in. As a free prize for this distinction, Delta demanded an addition $35 – the apparent price difference for an overweight bag. “Nay!”, I cried! Doubting very seriously that my bag could have gained 3 lbs on a flight, I demanded the baggage super on duty weigh it in front of me.

47 lbs.

Good to know units of measurement are the same in Florida as they are in New York.

This is the airline just fined by the DOT for denying passengers their legally entitled benefit after involuntarily bumping them from a flight, and is also under investigation by the FTC for anti-trust violations involving AirTran – can you guess what the subject is? If you guess a fee for checking the first bag, you deserve an ice cream cone.

Frustrated Traveler

I wonder if he really said “Nay!” to the Delta employees. I hope so.

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