From MarketWatch:

"It's helping us all to run better operations," Parker said. The new fee at US Airways accounts for most of the $400 million to $500 million in annual revenue for services, he said.

US Airways' new baggage fees help improve performance [MarketWatch]
(Photo: zonaphoto )

I just checked in at Denver International to find that NWA is charging $15 for the first checked bag, used to be free. Skycap said this just started today. Looks like I picked the wrong day to fly.

The Skycap is correct, today is the first day that Northwest is charging for the first checked bag.

From the Detroit Free Press:

The fees will be waived for certain passengers:

• Those who bought their ticket before July 10.

• Those who are traveling internationally.

• Those who are Elite, first-class and World Business-class passengers.

If you bought your ticket before July 10, don't let them sock you with this fee.

NWA's bag fees start Thursday [Detroit Free Press]
(Photo: So Cal Metro )

Completely unrelated to delays, bumpings or overbooking, we had a shockingly traumatic customer service experience with Airtran coming back from our honeymoon yesterday morning that I wanted to share with you.

We were checking three bags at Boston's Logan airport and the woman checking us in said one of our bags was oversized and would incur a $29 oversize bag fee. We were surprised, since we weren't charged a fee for an oversized bag on the first leg of our trip. When we asked her about this, she acted really put out and annoyed and got her supervisor. Her supervisor came over, even more annoyed, and said "If you don't watch it, I'll charge you for that first leg, too." (From a conversation with a customer service person 20 minutes later on the phone, we learned that this is absolutely not authorized under Airtran policy...I'm not sure where that "retroactive extra fee" would have gone).

We protested, and asked for her name and title. She refused to give us her last name and walked away. We asked the woman checking us in for her name—she too refused, and tucked her name badge inside her sweater so we couldn't see it. Fortunately I had already looked and wrote it down. Deciding that our conversation was over, she yelled out "Next!" We didn't leave, and asked again for her name and title because we wanted to complain about her hostility and her threat to charge us retroactively for something that obviously wasn't our fault.

Her response? She yelled "Get the hell out of my god damn face!" in front of about 100 people waiting in line, including many families with small children. We were absolutely shocked, and when I asked her "Did you really just say that to me?" she screamed it again, making threatening gestures and frightening both us and the people around us. Her supervisor watched from about 20 feet away, doing nothing.

When we approached her supervisor to complain, the supervisor's response was "She didn't say that", and her tone insinuated that we had made it up. She added, "There aren't any witnesses." When we pointed to several people who could attest to the fact that a) her employee had indeed exploded in the unprovoked, threatening manner described above, and that b) there were dozens of witnesses, the supervisor responded to the effect of "Don't worry about it. Go to your flight and I'll handle it." Her tone was casual, dismissive and condescending, and I'm fairly certain that no disciplinary action was taken since she had essentially watched the episode unfold before her eyes without doing or saying anything.

I'd like to note, too, that when asked again, this supervisor refused to give us her full name.

We had a plane to catch so all we could do was file a formal complaint on the phone and demand our money back for being subjected to such an emotionally traumatizing experience without cause or provocation. They said the best they could offer us was a $25 travel voucher, since "the airline doesn't compensate for rudeness." When we explained that this incident transcended rudeness to include being physically threatened and lied to about corporate policy, they didn't budge.

Any ideas for what we should do next? As you can imagine, we're furious and want some kind of appropriate resolution—no company should be permitted to treat paying customers like that without repercussions, and we feel like Airtran knows it can get away with this without any consequences.

Sincerely,
Jon

Jon, your best solution is to buy your own airplane. Ha ha, but seriously, we hope you didn't accept that voucher just yet. Check out this soldier's story of how he persisted with his demands until they were finally met—it may give you some idea of how to proceed. Check out our "Fighting Back" post for other tips.

However, if AirTran really doesn't compensate for rude treatment, then the voucher may be all you'll be able to get—in which case we suggest you cross AirTran off your list of desired carriers.

(Photo: Getty)

Adam says:

I've been mulling this one over for awhile, and by "this one" I mean what I want to do about my experience last week on Virgin America's anniversary flight from JFK to LAX. I flew out on one of the first last year and had an awful experience, which involved a four hour delay and a MacBook Pro power adapter that melted on me, and received a free flight as an apology. I really didn't mind the delay or the melted power adapter. Chances are it wasn't their fault as Apple makes crappy adapters, and they handled the delay very well. One year later it seems they've forgotten how to operate as an airline that serves its customers to the point that I've decided any compensation on their part would be unsatisfactory. Well, that's not entirely true, but it would involve cash and lots of it. But really I'd rather they get a bit of bad press and hope they change their ways. They should be the best airline around.

I got on the plane around 11:00am on Friday, August 8th. I didn't get off the plane for a little more than ten hours later. When we boarded we had a 30-40 minute delay that one should be accustomed to if they've ever flown out of JFK before, but by the time it was our turn to leave one of the air conditioning units broke. So, we went back. They figured it would take about half an hour to fix but quickly realized it would take much longer. They informed us we'd be let back into the airport to hang out in comfort but the messages stopped and the pilot went radio silent. The flight crew didn't know what was going on and no one was let off the plane for a good hour and a half. Those who were finally let off were not let back on. The rest of us, who stayed, ended up waiting well into the afternoon when the plane took off five hours late.

Fine, delays happen. However, you'd think during the delays that someone from the flight crew would have the opportunity to stock the plane with food. Apparently they were only able to grab a few sandwiches and chips. Being a vegetarian I could only have the chips. My fault for my abnormal ethics, I suppose, but they were almost out of sandwiches when they got to my row. I was in row 10. By my estimation, half the plane went without food. To their credit, they did have plenty of water. For ten hours most of us didn't eat or had very little. I always bring a few snacks on board just in case there isn't much to eat but nothing to survive for an entire day. Luckily I did bring plenty of entertainment because their entertainment system was down as well. We never got the free movie we were promised. Supposedly we were given a $25 flight credit none of us will ever use, but I haven't bothered to check.

All of this I can deal with. I had no intention of complaining. The whole event, thus far, was almost a blessing in disguise as I wasn't looking forward to being in Los Angeles and by the time the flight was over I couldn't have felt more glad.

Then I got my luggage. One of my bags had been ripped open. It could have easily been unzipped, but it was ripped. I'm not going to speculate as to how it happened but only my Apple TV and some DVDs were missing from the bag. No clothing or other small items fell out, oddly enough, but I wasn't in the cargo bay of the plane so I can't say whether or not it was stolen or simply lost via bag damage during the trip. Either way, I wanted someone to check and see if it had fallen out on the plane. I walked into the bag office and Joyce greeted me, before I said anything, with "all I can do is file a courtesy claim."

Throughout our conversation she continued to tell me there was nothing she could do when all I asked is that she call baggage and make certain they hadn't found any stray items. After half an hour she finally called, but this was long after her numerous accusations that I was trying to defraud Virgin America by claiming they stole my items. To be fair, those are my words and not hers. What she said to me was that her experience can rule out the TSA and airport employees so the only possible option is that it was my fault.

I asked her why she thought it was okay to accuse me and not them. She said, "you want me to accuse the TSA of stealing from you?" I told her "no, I don't want you to accuse anyone at all," at which point she decided to start filling out my claim. Throughout the process she asked me the same questions repeatedly. Given this is the sort of thing you do to a criminal I pretty much assumed she wanted to make sure I remembered my answers, but maybe she was just a complete moron. I feel I should give her the benefit of the doubt there. I could go on endlessly with examples of why this woman was horrible and cruel for no good reason other than what joys one might assume her job can bring, but I would like to mention one more thing. When I let her know which items were missing and how much they cost she laughed at me. She actually laughed at me.

I had a nice cab driver. The cab was cheaper than expected. Those are my silver linings. That and the plane didn't crash nor was anything else of value stolen or lost. What a great day. Thanks Virgin America.

Hey, why not let the DOT know about your baggage complaint? They keep track of that sort of thing. The TSA has admitted that it has a problem with theft. You should give them a heads up as well. Finally, when your baggage seems tampered with, you should report it to the airport authorities so they can investigate. A spokesperson from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport once said: "We find that people often make a claim for an item to the airline, but never report it to the airport or the police, and then we don't know that a theft problem is developing."

(Photo: Maulleigh )

The fees are:

1) Beverages— Bring an empty water bottle and hit the drinking fountain.

2) Checked luggage— Avoid certain stupid airlines or become a carry-on ninja.

3) Award tickets— Fuel surcharges are making award tickets suck. Cash in your miles, or use your awards for something else.

4) Unaccompanied minors— Avoid airlines with insane fees or fly with your kid. At these rates, it might be worth it.

In depth explanations and more specific advice on how to get around these fees is given here, but we liked this way the best:

Of course, the best way around all of these fees is to fly on an airline that doesn't have them. Southwest Airlines still allows you to check two bags at no extra charge. JetBlue still serves free drinks and snacks and charges $25 less than the big airlines for unaccompanied minors. Supporting these less fee-prone companies will hasten the inevitable demise of the airlines that erroneously believe they can surcharge their way back to a profit.

Four new airline fees — and how to avoid them [CNN] (Thanks, j!)
(Photo: hellochris )

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 )

You can avoid the charges by becoming an "elite" member of Delta's frequent flier program, or by flying internationally. The fees do not apply to First Class passengers. In addition to the fee for a second bag, the charge for checking a third, fourth or fifth bag, now $80 for each bag, will rise to $125 apiece, says the New York Times. Checking a third bag internationally will now cost coach passengers $150.

“Fewer than 20 percent of our customers check a second bag; I would imagine that it would be even less for a third,” a Delta spokeswoman, Betsy Talton, said. “It’s still a good value when compared with shipping or luggage services.”

Delta Raises Fee for a Second Bag [NYT]
(Photo: saramarie )

Around 11:45am on Monday I was headed home to San Diego from JFK. As I arrived to the Jetblue terminal I noticed the lines inside were super long, so for the first time I decided it was worth a $3 fee to take advantage of the curbside check in.

Upon checking in, the attendant took my bag and brought it to the other check in station (if I were actually thinking and anymore paranoid I would have watched him weigh the bag). When he returned he told me my bag was overweight and there is a $50 fee for any baggage over 50lbs. Before I could even respond with "are you kidding me?" he told me he could he get it through if I "gave him a big tip". I quickly weighed my options and decided the tip option was clearly the way to go. As soon as I told him to go ahead with that option and handed him all the money I had ($15 tip + $3 fee) he took one look at the cash and asked "this is a big tip right?". He then counted it in front of me and was clearly unstoked with the amount, so I assured him it was all I had. He printed out my boarding pass and I headed to the gate.

As I sat on the flight I felt like A) I had been scammed, and B) it was my own fault. As soon as I got home I weighed the bag and sure enough, 46lbs. The following morning I called Jetblue to file a complaint, and also sent them an email. Their representatives were of course very apologetic and disgusted by the transaction, and promised to look into the situation.

I'd like to get my money back as much as the next guy, but I'm fine with leaving it here. My major issue is that in this day and age where the average traveler is being gouged for everything possible by the airlines, someone else has to take it one step further and take advantage of customers outside of the business bubble.

I wonder how often this happens at every airport? Do I blame the attendant, his employer, or myself?

Desperate times make for desperate measures.

We think everyone deserves a little blame here, but you shouldn't beat yourself up about it. JetBlue has certainly had its share of low-life scamming employees working at JFK. You only lost $15 and now you're sharing your story so that others can avoid this scam, and you reported the scammer to his employer. I'm sure that our readers, and JetBlue itself, appreciate your sleuthing!

And, just for those of you who are from out of town and flying through JFK, don't take anything anyone says at face value when you are in that airport. Stick to the straight and narrow, and if you know Obi Wan Kenobi, ask him if he'd mind picking you up.

(Photo: ellimac )

Josh cc'd us on his Executive Email Carpet Bomb:

Dear American Airlines:

My name is Joshua, and my AAdvantage number is XXXX. I am writing in regard to ticket XXXXX, under record locator XXXX.

I would like a refund of the $15 fee I paid to check a bag on AA 4794 on June 27, 2008, as the flight was cancelled and I (and my checked bag) did not travel with American.

When the flight was cancelled, I called your customer service 800 number and requested that my itinerary be refunded. Your customer service representative processed this refund over the phone without difficulty. However, the refunded amount did not include the bag fee.

I am now advised by your telephone customer service that, in order to get my $15 refund, I must mail a letter with my original receipt for the bag fee to your refunds department in Tulsa. They have told me that they cannot issue a refund over the phone, and cannot waive their policy on the matter.

I do not find this to be an acceptable solution. You should not require me to mail a paper receipt when the information about the fee already exists in your computer systems. Indeed, I am not even sure what I did with that receipt after I left the airport. More broadly, while I understand your rationale for charging a fee for the first checked bag, you should not make it unreasonably difficult to collect a refund of the fee when the service is not provided.

I recognize that I am not currently an elite-level American customer. However, I qualified as AAdvantage Gold in 2006 and have over 100,000 lifetime travel miles under my belt on American. I have recently moved to Washington, DC and will be traveling frequently to New York and Chicago. Those are places to which both American and its competitors provide frequent service. I hope to continue doing that business with American, contingent on the refund of this fee.

I hope that you will be willing to refund this fee to me without further difficulty.

Sincerely,

Joshua

American's contract of carriage is silent on baggage fee refunds.

While Josh's EECB is detailed and concise, American's recent cash-hemorrhaging makes them less receptive to reason. Give the request an added punch by asking the Department of Transportation for their interpretation of American's greedy conduct.

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

"[Business travelers will] push back big time," said Mike Boyd, a Colorado-based aviation consultant. "It's one thing to simply raise fares. It's quite another to do it by imposing restrictions that appear to make it harder to conveniently fly."

Major carriers scrapped most minimum-stay rules - put in place largely to discourage big-budget corporate travelers from snatching up the cheapest seats - at the start of the decade, although United and other airlines recently started bringing the overnight rules back piecemeal.

Friday's changes are far more sweeping because they also apply to highly competitive routes where United goes head-to-head against lower-cost rivals such as Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways.

"What we did this week was almost across the board," [United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski] said. "At the end of the day, it's all about improving our profit as we combat these record high fuel prices."

We previously suggested that travelers evade overnight requirements by buying back-to-back one-way fares, which can be cheaper than a round-trip ticket with a hotel stay.

In related news, United also raised the price of one-way tickets.

United Airlines to require minimum stays from Oct. [The Canadian Press]
PREVIOUSLY: Airlines Revive Hated Minimum Stay Fares
(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

He writes:

On a recent flight, on United Airlines, I had my suitcase damaged. When I reported it to the United baggage office in Portland, OR, they apologized for not having the proper form on which to report the problem and suggested that I contact the United baggage office at one of the airports in my home city, Washington, DC. Upon returning home, I attempted to contact United's baggage department by phone. The "800" number was of no help, nor was the "Customer Service" call center in India. When I called the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority in an attempt to obtain the telephone number for one of the United baggage offices, I was told that United had instructed them not to release the number FOR SECURITY REASONS!

I have written to the VP of Customer Affairs at United to congratulate him on following the example of the now defunct Soviet Union which had no telephone books for security reasons.

Sid

We checked United's policy on damaged luggage and it seems that the first baggage office screwed you with bad advice. From United's website:

Please report any damage to your baggage immediately after retrieving your baggage from the baggage claim carousels. A customer service representative at our Baggage Service Offices will be happy to complete a damage report for you. Please have your passenger ticket receipt and claim check available when filing your claim. All baggage claims must be reported within 24 hours of travel.

You've already launched an EECB of sorts, so all we can really suggest is that you also file a complaint with the Department of Transportation and CC: it to Graham Atkinson at United.

Filing official complaints with the government will sometimes reduce the time it takes for an airline to get around to dealing with your complaint. You might also try filing your complaint in person, again, but we could understand why you might not want to trek out to the airport with your luggage.

(Photo: Ben Popken )

Your first checked bag will remain free, but a $20 service fee will be assessed for a second bag starting June 1, 2008.

"We have found that a majority of our customers check only one bag, and with this new policy, customers who check extra bags may continue to do so for a nominal fee designed to offset the extra fuel required to transport the extra bags, which will help us maintain our competitive fares for all our customers," said JetBlue's CEO David Barger.

JetBlue Announces First Quarter Results (Press Release) [JetBlue]
(Photo:meghannmarco)

When BA was called out on misreporting the number of lost bags, it claimed it was difficult:

A spokesman said: "Taking a snapshot is difficult, but we estimate that the number still to be reunited with their owners is now slightly over 20,000.

Referring to Mr Fitzpatrick's figure of 28,000, BA's spokesman said: "It's not a figure we recognize."

Bags of Terminal 5 embarrassment for BA" [The Times]

5. MESA AIRLINES (operates flights for Delta Airlines, United Airlines, USAirways and Midwest Airlines)

4. SKYWEST AIRLINES (operates flights for United Express, Delta Connection and Midwest Connect)

3. ATLANTIC SOUTHEAST AIRLINES (operated by Delta Airlines)

2. COMAIR (operated by Delta Airlines)

1. AMERICAN EAGLE AIRLINES (operated by American Airlines)

Air Travel Consumer Report (PDF) [DOT]
(Photo:Cubbie_N_Vegas)

Queens prosecutors said Monday that a 51-year-old worker and his 39-year-old supervisor are charged with grand larceny and possession of stolen property. They say the jewelry was stolen last week from a container marked "high value" that was being shipped from Switzerland to Brazil.

If convicted, they'll face 15 years in prison.

JFK workers charged with taking diamonds [BusinessWeek]
(Photo:Peter Gene)

According to USAToday, U.S. Airways is trying something different this holiday travel season. They're offering $100 to every employee in the company if two performance goals are met.

...at least 60% of all flights must depart at the scheduled time or earlier, and mishandled bags must be limited to no more than seven bags per 1,000 bags.

US Airways to pay workers $100 if baggage goals are met [USAToday]
(Photo:otakuchick)

Workers at American found that printers that produce adhesive tags for bags were often dirty. That made bar codes hard to read, leading to misdirected bags. Regular wiping of the printer heads helped, but even with a clean printer, the bar code readers are only about 90 to 92 percent accurate, said Denise P. Wilewski, manager of airport services for American here.

"We never hit 100 percent — 90 percent is acceptable," she said.

"There's a lot of opportunity for failure," said Hans Hauck, manager of baggage operations at American's headquarters in Fort Worth. Since Mr. Hauck started his job in September 2006, American has not met its bag-handling goal in any month. As of late last week, though, Mr. Hauck remained optimistic that he would make his November number. A look at American's bag-handling operation, which is the biggest of all United States carriers, shows it is making lots of little improvements but still losing ground.

Travelers' Odds Decline on Airline Baggage [New York Times]
(Photo:Ben Popken)

Delta Flight No. 4718 took off about 9:40 a.m. and was forced to circle back to Midway shortly after takeoff when a pressure problem in the cabin was detected and instruments showed a cargo door had opened during flight, FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said.

After the plane landed safely and taxied to the gate, a crew inspecting the plane found one of the two cargo doors ajar, said Kate Modolo, a spokeswoman for Atlantic Southeast. A baggage inventory determined two pieces of luggage were gone.

We are not sure if Delta was under the impression that dufflebags could fly.

Officials find bag that fell from jet near Midway [Chicago Tribune] (Thanks, Daniel!)

United appears to be following a strategy set by Air Canada, which gained billions of dollars after it emerged from bankruptcy in 2004 by spinning off its maintenance division and frequent-flier program into separate businesses, analysts say.

"Every management team needs to address it," said Kevin Crissey, senior analyst for U.S. airlines with UBS Investment Research.

The Chicago-based carrier is also the first in the U.S. to navigate the disquiet, even anger, that these strategies engender in employees. Many United workers are dismayed that the company didn't explore the spinoffs during its bankruptcy, when the proceeds could have been used to fund pension plans that were terminated.

United chief chases change [Chicago Tribune]
(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

From Bloomberg:

Federal agents today arrested 18 people who were part of an international heroin, cocaine and ecstasy importation group, Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf said in a statement. The group concealed narcotics in luggage and used airport workers to smuggle the drugs aboard commercial flights to JFK, she said.

``The investigation uncovered a major international drug importation and distribution organization'' prosecutors said in their criminal complaint unsealed today. Both airlines said they cooperated with investigators.

JFK is a hotbed of crime lately, just ask the JetBlue employees who went on a spending spree using stolen credit cards.

Delta, American Workers at JFK Charged With Smuggling (Update2) [Bloomberg]
(Photo:Jingles The Pirate)

"XYZ Airlines lost my f**cking luggage. F*ck. Sh*t. They won't call me back or listen to me. I hate them. I miss my shoes, my camera, my ren. fair costume, my dog, my saxophone, my collection of rare Hummels, my great aunt suzy's diamonds, my lizard... (No, seriously. The lizard and the ren. fair costume are real complaints. Airlines will lose, steal or mistreat anything.)

I hate XYZ airlines. What can I do to make them find my luggage?"

Let's assume that if you're writing to us your luggage has been missing for a long time. Ok. It's gone. We're sorry. Next time don't check bags through Philadelphia. Here's what to do when you've given up all hope:

• Accept the fact that you're going to need to fill out another claim form with the airline. You probably already did this when your bag failed to greet you at your destination. Sorry. It's time to fill out a second form. If you took more than one airline, the last airline you traveled on should be responsible for your baggage. Get a claim form from them.
• Make an itemized list of all your lost stuff. The airline is going to compensate you for the depreciated value of your stuff rather than its replacement value. Use this tidbit of information however you see fit, but do understand that airlines will reject a claim that they suspect is fraudulent.
• Expect to negotiate. The airline doesn't want to pay you. They may ask for receipts or other proof of the value of your crap.
• Here's the fun part. There are limits to how much compensation you are entitled to. In the US, the limit is $3,000. For international flights there's something called the Montreal Convention that establishes the limit. This limit is currently 1,000 SDR. The value of SDR (Special Drawing Rights) changes daily. You can check out its current value by visiting the International Monetary Fund's website.
• Once you've got all of that settled, you'll want to register your complaint with the Department of Transportation. Complaints sent to the DOT end up in that Air Travel Consumer Report that media people just love to use to embarrass the airlines.
• After all is said and done, if you're in the neighborhood, check out the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama. This is where most of the lost baggage eventually ends up. Perhaps you can buy your stuff back.

  (Photo:saramarie)

  File A Complaint With The DOT

By far the most popular complaint was over delays, missed connections, and cancellations— resulting in 2,011 complaints from Jan-June 2007, almost twice the 1,045 from Jan-June of 2006. Mishandled baggage complaints were up too—from 923 in the first half of 2006 to 1,348 in 2007.

Which airlines are being complained about the most?

Shocking no one but themselves, US Airways managed to take the top spot as the most complained about US airline, beating United Airlines (#2), American Airlines (#3), Delta (#4) and Northwest (#5). Aloha Airlines was the least complained about airline, followed by Southwest and ExpressJet.

Ranked separately by the BTS, British Airways was the most complained about foreign airlines, drawing 137 complaints—81 of which were about baggage handling—by far the most common complaint for that airline. For those of you who do check baggage, you might want to make note: American Airlines leads the carriers in baggage-handling complaints with 209, followed by Delta with 171, and United with 160.

Did an airline ruin your day? Don't forget to complain to the US. Department of Transportation so that your complaint can be added to their report.

Air Travel Consumer Report (PDF) [BTS]

Overall, the airline experience got worse in 2006, due to increased passenger load and decreased capacity to handle it, according to Dean Headley, associate professor of marketing at Wichita State University (WSU) and co-author of the study: "We're back to full passenger volume similar as we were before 9/11. We also have about 18-20 percent less seat capacity in the system now," Headley said. "It's just a very complex system with high volume, and it just doesn't hold up well to the pressure."

Most of the complaints were about flight problems or baggage handling. The overall mishandled baggage rate increased from 6.06 per 1,000 passengers in 2005 to 6.50 in 2006. The airlines with the overall best 3 scores were Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue and AirTran. —MEGHANN MARCO

Airline Quality Rating (Press Release, PDF)

(Photo: Drewski12112)

But these American Airlines skycaps at Miami International Airport went too far in pushing for tips:

I checked one bag with him, and, after giving him $2 plus $1 tip, he said my tip wasn't enough. I thought he was joking. He said $2 went to American Airlines, and he needed more than a dollar tip per bag to make a living. I said I thought the gratuity was up to my discretion. He said not if I wanted my bag intact when it arrived in Chicago - and suggested I take my bag inside if I didn't give him a better tip.

I was stunned and asked the skycap next to him if harassing customers for tips was part of American's policy. He said yes, with a smug look. I said I was going inside to talk to customer service. As I walked away with my baggage-claim number, he said he couldn't guarantee my bag would arrive safely in Chicago.
[...]
I boarded the plane and picked up my suitcase in Chicago without a problem. But, when I got home, I found bags of messy garbage in my luggage! I had to dry-clean some clothing and am considering throwing away the suitcase.

American's response: "Appropriate action was taken." The passenger got 8000 frequent flyer miles and an apology. No reimbursement for the dry cleaning bill. Stay classy, American! — MARK ASHLEY

Give a good tip to Miami skycap or get a surprise in your luggae (sic) [Daily Southtown] (Run a spell-check, people!)
(Photo: dann :*)

Two young baggage handlers who are accused of stealing everything from cigarettes to laptops to credit cards were arrested last week in two separate incidents that have airport officials looking into whether those thefts were just the tip of an iceberg.

Bob Parker, a spokesman for the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, said a 22-year-old man was arrested on Thursday last week after an investigation by Port of Seattle detectives into the suspect's cigarette selling side business.

"He was selling a lot of cigarettes and detectives initially thought he was selling them for somebody who got them off a truck or something, but it turns out he was going through the luggage and taking anything he thought he could sell," said Parker.

Two Sea-Tac baggage handler arrested for theft [Seattle Times] (Photo: Scott Beale / Laughing Squid)(Thanks, Kalun!)

The first bag is free. The second, $10. The third? $100. Don't even ask about the the fourth piece of luggage.

When our grandparents visit Florida, they check at least two bags. Spirit already reduced the weight limit from 70 to 50 pounds. Plus, there is a surcharge for any bag over the reduced limit.

Spirit claims the new baggage fees are needed to stave off fare increases. Come on. Charge an extra $5. Lose the variety snack pack. Don't charge us $110 for three bags. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER

Spirit's Baggage Tariff Irks Travelers [ConsumerAffairs.com]

Airlines face higher baggage liability [Business Week]

Christy says that after bringing it to an American Airlines employees attention they, "...didn't apologize, didn't say, wow, why don't you go wash your hands, let me get security down here with gloves..."

American Airlines (AA) say there's no biohazard as a preliminary look revealed that baggage handlers made no note of any bloodletting incident.

AA sent the bag to a laboratory for testing.

As having your baggage drenched in blood is not a service contractually covered in her ticket purchase, Christy will be surcharged an extra $150.

Watch the CNN Video here.