Delta Airlines announced yesterday that they will be doubling the fee for a second checked bag, blaming high fuel costs and asserting that it’s “still a good value when compared with shipping or luggage services.”
luggage
Delta Increases 2nd Checked Bag Fee To $50
By 7.29.08
Delta announced today that it’s doubling the fee for a second checked bag from $25 to $50, effective on new bookings starting July 31st for all travel after August 5th. Got a third, fourth, or fifth bag and a lot of money to burn? Fees for those will rise from $80 per bag to $125 each.
United To Require Minimum Stays Starting In October
By 6.21.08
Sorry travelers, as expected, United Airlines will require minimum stays on all flights starting in October. Gone are the halcyon days of jetting away for a business meeting after breakfast with time to spare before returning for dinner. Most United fares will now require a three-night or weekend stay, but it “will depend on the destinations involved, the price of the ticket and the length of the flight.” And, yes, you will still be charged $15 to check your first bag.
Spirit Airlines Increases Fees For First Checked Bag
By 6.16.08
Spirit Air will raise its fees for checking one bag, according to an email from the airline. On June 20th, Spirit will increase the fee for checking one bag from $10 to $15 if the checked bag is declared online, and from $20 to $25 if it is declared at check in. And Spirit’s belief that any publicity is good publicity continues.
Dear Greyhound: Thanks For Ditching Me In Philadelphia. May I Please Have My Bags Back Now?
By 5.31.08
Greyhound ditched reader Austin at a Philadelphia rest stop on the way from Chicago to New York. During the previous stops, the driver clearly announced that the bus was about to depart. This apparently wasn’t necessary in Philadelphia, even though Greyhound ordered off all the passengers so the bus could be cleaned and refueled. After thirty minutes, Austin quickly dashed into the bathroom. When he returned, the bus had disappeared with his bag. Now, Greyhound’s executive office is refusing to talk to Austin, or provide any compensation for his missing bag.
United Airlines Will Not Let You Report Your Damaged Baggage For "Security Reasons"
By 5.5.08
Reader Sid is having a hell of a time reporting some damaged luggage to United Airlines.
Spirit Air Burns Woman's Luggage
By 4.24.08
Sean writes, “Lost luggage? That’s so 1990’s… Spirit Air’s all about burning bags instead.”
British Airways' New Hi-Tech Baggage System Routes All Luggage To A Big Pile
By 4.1.08
British Airways is having trouble with its new baggage system—namely, that it doesn’t actually sort and route the baggage to the correct flight. On Sunday they claimed that 15,000 bags had missed their flights and were now being stored at Heathrow. However, the UK’s Aviation Minister said yesterday that the number was closer to 28,000.
5 Airlines You Shouldn't Trust With Your Luggage
By 2.6.08
The Department of Transportation’s 2007 Air Travel Consumer Report is out. Here are the 5 airlines with the most baggage handling complaints per customer in 2007. Better luck next year!
By 1.24.08
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“Hi, you’re not going to believe this,” the caller said “but I am calling from Fort Worth, Texas, and I accidentally picked up your husband’s luggage. When I opened the luggage, a cat jumped out.” [NY Daily News]
Confessions Of An Airline Executive
By 12.15.07
Threatening to complain to the media or the Department of Transportations is the single best way to reach an airline’s executive customer service team, according to an anonymous airline executive. The jaded executive also shared his dour insights on the availability and effectiveness of short-term sales.
American Airlines Baggage Chief: "There's A Lot Of Opportunity For Failure"
By 11.21.07
The New York Times is taking a look at American Airlines’ recent effort to improve their checked baggage operation. Who would have thought that dirty printers were causing lost baggage?
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.
Watch Out For Bedbugs When Traveling
By 11.13.07
The next time you’re in a hotel, whether it’s a cheap day-rate one for your sad little affair or a luxurious business suite that the company has unwittingly paid for, check to see whether the mattress has an “allergy free” cover on it—it’s a codeword for “bedbug-proof.” Also, if you see trained beagles roaming the hotel sniffing out mold, there’s a good chance the “mold” is another codeword for “bedbug.” Hotels are quietly doing their best to locate and exterminate the insects to protect themselves from particularly vengeful lawsuits—but since an infestation can occur anywhere (it has nothing to do with “cleanliness” or sanitation), it’s a tough battle to win.
United CEO Weighs Fees For Speedy Luggage Delivery
By 10.22.07
United Airlines CEO Glenn Tilton is determined to wring added lucre from his now-profitable airline. Tilton is considering 250 unpopular ideas, such as charging economy-class passengers a fee to avoid receiving their luggage last, and spinning off United’s already wounded frequent flier program, Mileage Plus.
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.
United Airlines Says It Will Deliver Your Luggage Within 25 Minutes
By 9.7.07
United is already one of our more entertaining airlines when it comes to stories—they’ve rerouted direct flights without telling ticket holders, given us duct tape heroics, and hire Disney executives to improve customer service (we hope that means pilots dressed up as giant huggable pilots). Now comes news that they’re pledging to reduce waiting times for baggage from nigh-infinity to 25 minutes, as part of a comprehensive new “Customer Commitment” pledge to improve customer service and avoid Federal intervention.
