Holidays, especially those that fall in late December and early January, are meant to spread cheer and goodwill toward fellow humans. Apparently the folks over at Spirit Airlines don’t quite get that concept because they’ve decided to up the baggage fees for holiday travelers.

The fee-happy airline sucked all of the upcoming holiday cheer out of the air by announcing it would charge $2 more for checked baggage, The Los Angeles Times reports.

The surcharge is in effect from December 18 to January 5 and brings the online baggage check-in price to $42 and to $102 if you check your bags at the gate. Of course, there are myriad other fees for bags depending on when and where you decide to check them.

Officials with Spirit say the fee intended to “encourage customers to pack a bit lighter” for their travels.

“Winter is coming…and that means holidays. Which means more people than ever will be flying with Spirit to visit their loved ones,” the airline says on its website. “To make sure we have room for everyone’s bags, we’re encouraging customers to pack a bit ligther…Spend less time packing and more time laughing with family and friends this holiday season.”

While it’s a nice theory to pack lighter while traveling – bulky winter clothes and gifts for others tend to make that a bit difficult.

The fee is just the latest for the airline, which already charges extra for everything under the sun, including boarding passes printed at the airport, carry-on bags and drinks during the flight.

Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza has repeatedly explained that these fees are a trade-off for travelers looking for bottom-dollar airfares.

Spirit Airlines goes yellow, raises bag fees for holiday travel [The Los Angeles Times]

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