I hate to say it but the suggestions to just increase ticket prices won’t work. The vast majority of passengers choose an airline ticket *just* by price. Amenities such as meals, in flight entertainment and leg room are just not considered by most people.

As much as I miss the days of hot meals, jet fuel is now one-third of expenses for an airline. That doesn’t count wages, maintenance or the cost of the airplanes themselves!

American’s cost of jet fuel was up $665 Million in the first quarter alone compared to 2007 — the equivalent of $60 per roundtrip flight. Did your tickets go up that much in price? Probably not.

Lots of good comments. We all are getting screwed. Especially those of us that live in St Louis, not many choices. If you are going to charge $15 make sure you enforce the carry on size limits, isn’t that what those boxes are for at the gate? Maybe they are setting themselves up for a merger? A merge with SWA would be great, then they could get rid of all the crabby AA flight attendents.

Sorry to say, but American - your sun is setting.

The $15.00 charge for luggage to be checked in, will this cause more people to carry on luggage and no space. Should they charge if you bring it on board?

I will absolutely avoid American Airlines. How exactly are you suppose to travel with no luggage? At least one checked bag should always be included in the price of a ticket. For people who continue to fly American Airlines this policy will force them to try and push carry on limits and cause problems inside the plane. Shame on American for this!!

Cut service and raise prices - what a great idea!

You are all working too hard here. I’m going to wear all the clothes at once that I’ll need for the trip and not use luggage. It may get a little dicey when it’s a long trip, but it will save me the $15 or more. Also, I’ll be using the hotel’s in-room shampoo, conditioner, iron, and lotion. If you stay at a Drury Inn or Hampton, you can pick up toothpaste, toothbrush, and hairspray at the front desk. Sure, it might be uncomfortable flying, but really, I won’t have to worry about my bags coming up missing. Since airlines aren’t worrying about how heavy I’ll be, I should be golden. I’ll also be able to ask for that expandable seatbelt that they give extra large people. I’m toast, however, should the airplane get stuck on the tarmac for a couple of hours…

The additional charges are crazy. There is not an icrease of fuel charges due to baggages. People are not increasing the amount of luggage when they travel from years past. If they have to start charging then they should add it on to the ticket costs.

AA is acting like they are inconvenienced by people traveling with them. If they can no longer operate without tacking on these additional charges maybe they should restructure and become a small private commuter operation for business travelers.

The idea of charging people for bringing clothes on a trip. What next charging for the air they breathe in the cabin or for use of the lavatory? Are they going to reduce the pay for flight attendants and expect us to make it up in tips?

That is why I always fly Southwest. They are definitely the most reasonable and their customer service is awesome. American Airlines will basically go out of business at the rate they are going.

I have sympathy with the airlines when it comes to the increased cost of jet fuel. There can be no argument there. We have to understand this and accept some ticket upcharge if airlines are to continue to exist. That said, this is an absolutely stupid decision that has implications beyond their own baggage load and is arrogant and selfish. More carry on baggage means more on-boarding chaos. More carry on baggage means more parcels going through and slowing down security check points, affecting more than just American flights. More carry on baggage creates even more surly flight attendants. All of this on top of a flying experience that is already atrocious. Until other airlines’ fares are too expensive or they too go to this length to make fliers’ lives difficult, I will evade American Airlines. This is the same airline that grounded planes for days upon days not long ago because of inspection issues. I would think after that fiasco that American would have a more customer-centric approach to revenue generation. Additional revenue generation by American, I accept. Doing it in this manner is outrageous.

Is upper management agreeing to pay cuts of their bloated, obnoxious salaries to help right the ship? I thought not. God forbid millionaires should suffer.