Want to check a bag? That’ll be $15 extra.
United Airlines announced today that it would start charging passengers $15 for the first checked bag on all flights. This follows American Airlines’ decision three weeks ago, which made it the first U.S. carrier to implement the unprecedented fee.
Most U.S. carriers already have instituted a $25 charge for checking a second bag — part of a potpourri of new fees that reflect a struggling airline industry passing along record fuel prices to passengers in the form of higher fares, fuel surcharges and service charges.
…”The major airlines are truly a la carte now — you don’t get anything free any more,” said Parsons, chief executive of the travel website Bestfares.com. “You get a tin can in the air, and anything else you pay as you go.”
He expects the legacy carriers to follow the lead of discount carrier Spirit Airlines, which now charges extra for seat reservations — $5 for middle seats, $10 for window and aisle seats and $15 for exit-row seats. Other airlines also have begun charging for window or aisle seats.
The only U.S. airline that still allows passengers to check two bags for free is Southwest. Snacks are still complimentary on Southwest flights, as is the option to sit wherever you like. They continue to have the lowest fares of any U.S. carrier. They’re also the only U.S. airline that’s actually doing well financially.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Southwest is capitalizing on the “nickel-and-diming” of America by launching a brilliant ad campaign:
What do you think? These fees may have been inspired by the recent skyrocketing gas prices, but were these types of fees inevitable? Do you plan to adjust your traveling habits to compensate for these changes? If so, how?
American is still the best way to get from St. Louis to Orlando, unless you want a punishing one-day drive of over 900 miles. Good nonstop MD80 flights at convenient times. Just booked today.