"Like American, More Airlines Add Fees for Checking Luggage"

Sunday, June 13, 2008

Like American, More Airlines Add Fees for Checking Luggage 
By MICHELINE MAYNARD
The New York (NY) Times


For weeks, American Airlines stood alone in facing the ire of passengers
over its decision to begin charging $15 to check the first bag. But it now
has some company.

United Airlines will charge a $15 fee Friday for the first bag for leisure
fare passengers, including these at La Guardia Airport. 

United Airlines said Thursday it would put the charge into effect Friday,
two days earlier than American. The $15 fee, for passengers flying on
leisure fares booked in advance, is on top of a $25 fee for checking a
second suitcase that airlines began charging recently. 

And US Airways said Thursday it also was matching the $15 fee, effective
July 9. The charge would apply to flights to and from Canada, Latin America
and the Caribbean, making its program broader than its rivals. In addition,
US Airways said it would begin charging most passengers $2 for nonalcoholic
drinks, including bottled water, and $7 for alcoholic beverages, on Aug. 1.

Passengers on the US Airways Shuttle and trans-Atlantic flights will still
receive complimentary beverages, the airline said.

Airlines are attributing new fees and surcharges to high fuel prices, up
91.5 percent from this time last year, according to the International Air
Transport Association. 

"With record-breaking fuel prices, we must pursue new revenue opportunities,
while continuing to offer competitive fares, by tailoring our products and
services around what our customers value most and are willing to pay for,"
United's chief operating officer, John P. Tague, said in a statement.

Some passengers said they were sympathetic to the plight of the airlines. "I
can understand why they're doing it, to a degree," said Harry Sanders, an
engine inspector for Nascar who flew on United for this weekend's race at
the Michigan International Speedway. "Congress needs to get off their
backsides and do something about the energy situation in this country." 

The new suitcase fees are likely to make the fight for tight space in
airplane cabins more fierce, as passengers try to stuff more carry-on
luggage into overhead bins.

Milissa DuPage, a United passenger who works for a pharmaceutical company,
said Thursday that she would begin carrying on her bag, which she usually
checks to avoid the security rules banning carry-on liquids. 

"I guess I'll just have to get everything under three ounces," said Ms.
DuPage, of Harsens Island, Mich., while waiting at the baggage claim area of
Detroit's airport. "Then I won't have to sit and wait for it like I am now."

The full effect of the new policy probably will not be felt for a few more
days. For example, 75 percent of American's passengers traveling through
Labor Day have already bought their tickets, and therefore do not have to
pay the bag charge, said Mark P. Mitchell, the airline's managing director
for customer experience.

The carriers are also exempting premium members of their frequent-flier
clubs, as well as passengers with full-fare tickets, those traveling in
business or first class, and overseas travelers.

Spirit Airlines, a low-fare airline that flies mainly east of the
Mississippi River, already collects baggage fees, with discounts for
reserving space on its Web site. United and American said they planned to
eventually allow passengers to pay the fee on their Web sites.

United said it also was raising fees for passengers checking three or more
bags, for passengers who check heavy bags and items that require special
handling.

At the Detroit airport, Renata Wasserman of Ann Arbor, Mich., and her
husband Arthur, a math professor at the University of Michigan,
redistributed their clothes between their two bags to avoid a $100
overweight fee. On tickets purchased after Friday, that fee will rise to
$125.

"They might as well raise the overall fare, so at least you know what you're
paying," said Mrs. Wasserman, who was flying to Krakow, Poland. "Pretty soon
they'll be making us pay to go to the toilet on the plane."

United said its new bag fees would generate revenue of about $275 million a
year. American has not given a revenue estimate, but if all 25 million
people likely to be affected by the charge do check a bag, the airline would
raise about $375 million.

"It's really trying to find the right match of what customers value and are
willing to pay for," said Mr. Mitchell of American.

Those who want to avoid it are already becoming resourceful. A Colorado
Springs girls softball team sent its bats, balls, and uniforms ahead to a
tournament this weekend in a car driven by one of the mothers, rather than
ship them on United. 

"We used to check all that," said Andrea Kinkaid, a parent who arrived
Thursday on a United flight. But fees would have been well above the $500 in
gas that it cost between Colorado and Michigan, she said. 


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