A little while back, I posted about the “good guy” airlines who weren’t charging a fee for the first checked bag when flying domestically. I mentioned that those airlines would be watching closely to see whether they would gain any additional market share by being more customer friendly. Sadly, we’ve had some defections:
Continental Airlines has now jumped ship along with Hawaiian adding fees and Midwest Airlines charging for the first bag. Here’s the new list:
Good Guys: AirTran, Alaska, Continental, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Midwest, and Virgin America
Bad Guys: American, Continental, Hawaiian, Midwest, Northwest, Spirit, United, and US Airways
BOTTOM LINE: Support Delta (or one of the smaller guys) now or expect Delta to fold to competitive pressure and for all of us to pay later.
Filed under: airline fees Tagged: | airline bag fees, airline fees, Airtran, Alaska Airlines, Amazon, Amazon Prime, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Air, JetBlue, Midwest Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Spirit Air, United Airlines, US Airways
I agree with you. I am also thinking, after having a very unpleasant experience regarding Continental and their “Seating Policy”, that maybe we should all start exploring things closer to home and within driving distance. I have had some pretty amazing vacations that way. The airlines are a pretty scary group right now and maybe we need to stay away until they start realizing that we, the customers, are the people paying their salaries. They are acting like they are doing us a favor by letting us on their planes.
You are an idiot. The GOOD GUYS are the ones who charge people more for checking bags, and don’t make the other passengers who only travel with hand luggage subsidize the cost of transporting other passengers luggage!
For years we have had to say the same regardless of whether we checked in any bags or not. This meant WE were paying for people who check in two 50lb bags for free. That is just not right.
Don’t think of this as an extra fee (airline tickets are so ridiculously cheap as it is). Think of this as simply leaving out the playing field a bit. You luggage whores have gotten a free ride for long enough!
Don’t forget Southwest! They’ve always had one of the most generous baggage allowance policies, and some of the best other policies as well.
AirTran charges for the first bag now:
“1st checked bag: weight: 50 lbs. or less; dimensions: 61 inches or smaller… Booked on November 12, 2008, or later $15″
Delta charges now, too, per their website
“$15 fee, first bag; $25 per additional bag”