View Full Version : AA to charge for checked luggage
TravelGal
05-21-08, 11:59 AM
Shades of the low-cost European carriers. I wonder if this will catch on with the other majors? From today's ARTA E-News
American Airlines will begin charging $15 for a passenger's first checked bag, the first major American carrier to do so. There is a current charge of $25 for the second bag, which remains. American's AAdvantage Gold, Platinum and Executive Platinum members, first class and full fare coach customers will be exempt. This takes effect on June 15,
Great, it will only encourage more passengers to carry on luggage. Luggage that won't fit in the overhead. And of course, more pieces than they are allowed to carry on. :grrrr:
Insomniac
05-21-08, 12:12 PM
Does that mean if you already booked with AA before today for a trip after 6/15 you'll have to pay to check luggage?
Great, it will only encourage more passengers to carry on luggage. Luggage that won't fit in the overhead. And of course, more pieces than they are allowed to carry on. :grrrr:
My first thought as well. :irked:
TravelGal
05-21-08, 12:26 PM
Good question Insomniac. I wondered that as well but I'm fairly certain that the answer is yes, you'll have to pay. You still have the value of your ticket. They are adding a fee for something you may or may not do so it most probably applies.
Steve, that was EXACTLY what I thought. It's a mess in the cabins now and with people attempting to bring larger and larger carry ons, it's going to slow things down measurably. However, that is our only hope of having the charge rescinded. That, and if the others don't go along, much like the fare increases that are attempted every week.
Brickman
05-21-08, 12:44 PM
Good question Insomniac. I wondered that as well but I'm fairly certain that the answer is yes, you'll have to pay. You still have the value of your ticket. They are adding a fee for something you may or may not do so it most probably applies.
Steve, that was EXACTLY what I thought. It's a mess in the cabins now and with people attempting to bring larger and larger carry ons, it's going to slow things down measurably. However, that is our only hope of having the charge rescinded. That, and if the others don't go along, much like the fare increases that are attempted every week.
It's all a bummer. I just became an Advantage Gold member, guess I'll have two bags during checkins. But I can see the absurd lines of people paying for bags...
I just read where the Sky Caps are suing AA for their $2 charges that is dinging their tips.
Spirit Air has been charging for about two years now. They do give you a little discount if you buy your checked luggage before you get to the airport. I think they take two bucks off.
TravelGal
05-21-08, 01:22 PM
It's all a bummer. I just became an Advantage Gold member, guess I'll have two bags during checkins. But I can see the absurd lines of people paying for bags...
I just read where the Sky Caps are suing AA for their $2 charges that is dinging their tips.
Yes, and they won. So AA is now prohibiting them from accepting tips at all. Let's see how they can defend THAT position! "American Airlines today [May 1] announced that, effective immediately, it will implement a no-tipping policy for all assistance with passenger baggage at Boston's Logan Airport. This change is to ensure that American Airlines is in compliance with the Massachusetts tips law in light of the recent jury verdict." :rolleyes:
WGN Chicago noon news had a report on this. Interviewed a few very indignant passengers. And one lady who had packed one large suitcase rather than two smaller ones to check in order to save money by not having to pay for the second suitcase. She was attempting to repack everything at the airport. Her one large suitcase was 56 lbs. 6 lbs. over the 50 lb limit which would result in a $50 surcharge. She was hoping to be able to include the additional 6 lbs in her carry on. Good luck! :D
WickerBill
05-21-08, 02:20 PM
Final straw... I'm going to use up my free tickets and move on.
Kiwifan
05-21-08, 02:29 PM
We have just flown the Ditch with Jetstar (budget offshoot of QANTAS) and they give you a $20 discount if you don't have checked on luggage, only carry on.
As Steve said, it's a mess . :( So many people trying to cram stuff into the overhead lockers. On the flight home we were held up on the tarmack for an hour while they took off someones huge box that had to go down into the hold. Grrrr. :mad:
I know Jetstar is a no frills airline but this whole thing seems a dumb idea.
Rusty.
Insomniac
05-21-08, 03:16 PM
Good question Insomniac. I wondered that as well but I'm fairly certain that the answer is yes, you'll have to pay. You still have the value of your ticket. They are adding a fee for something you may or may not do so it most probably applies.
That seems wrong. You have a non-refundable ticket that you buy in advance and then they can add more fees on top of that. I'm not booked on anything, I was just wondering if you knew. I'd be pretty upset if I was getting hit with that charge after the fact.
oddlycalm
05-21-08, 03:52 PM
Final straw... I'm going to use up my free tickets and move on. We just did the same. Used up the miles with three first class tickets for the wife and adult children and will cancel the credit card and treat them as any other airline for future travel, which I hope is minimal.
My first flight was on AA, as was my first jet flight, and I was one of the first flights of 747 service to Phoenix with the piano bar in the coach lounge (you got free drinks if you played) and more transcons and overseas trips than I could ever count. AA was always a little bit better at getting it done, whether it was pilot training or taking care of customers. I forgave them the ill fated Convair 990's that cost me some long delays, and I suffered the Super 80's because they always upgraded me to first class anyway. Even long before mileage upgrades AA took care of their regulars.
But that was a different airline and those were different days. Now they run their operation like a discount bus line and customers are treated as a necessary evil, which is to say like all the other airlines.
oc
At least they are upgrading all the cabins with new seats...
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/9219/subwaycarinterior2hr0.jpg
Problem: Too many passengers are carrying on luggage too big for the overhead bins.
Solution: Charge customers $20 to check bags and eliminate overhead bins. :gomer:
Solution: Charge customers $20 to check bags and eliminate overhead bins. :gomer:
Geez, I hope they don't read this forum. ;)
TravelGal
05-21-08, 04:46 PM
That seems wrong. You have a non-refundable ticket that you buy in advance and then they can add more fees on top of that. I'm not booked on anything, I was just wondering if you knew. I'd be pretty upset if I was getting hit with that charge after the fact.
I am happy to say that I was wrong on this and you are correct--to a point. I finally got my hands on the press release. It says, ""valid on tickets purchased on or after May 12." Why they backdated it a week, I don't know.
They learned from the cruise lines when they imposed their fuel surcharges. As many passengers know, fuel surcharges were added and there was no recourse except to cancel if you didn't want to pay. Eventually the State of Florida sued and the US cruise lines had to withdraw some of the charges on bookings that had been made long before the boiler plate had been adjusted to say that fees might increase. Foreign lines like Louis Cruises in Greece were not affected. (To retaliate for having to refund some $$$ they already had in their hot little hands, the cruise lines raised the fuel charges even higher on new bookings. See also the post about the tips, above.)
It's infuriating to me but Ryan Air started it successfully. Of course, their philosophy is to keep ticket prices to almost free. AA's is not. As Trish mentioned Spirit has been doing it for a while. It's a fee-based service so in fact, inherently much more fair than a flat fuel surcharge that makes an 80 pound child pay the same as a 300 pound man. At least that is the argument you are going to hear.
I told y'all forever ago.
Amon Carter Blvd. == bunch of no good, dirty, rotten, ****ing commies.
grungex
05-21-08, 06:02 PM
It's a fee-based service so in fact, inherently much more fair than a flat fuel surcharge that makes an 80 pound child pay the same as a 300 pound man. At least that is the argument you are going to hear.
I'm waiting for them to start charging passengers by the pound...
I'm waiting for them to start charging passengers by the pound...
Me too, I'm sick of subsidizing all you fatass el gordos!
:D
Insomniac
05-21-08, 06:48 PM
I am happy to say that I was wrong on this and you are correct--to a point. I finally got my hands on the press release. It says, ""valid on tickets purchased on or after May 12." Why they backdated it a week, I don't know.
They learned from the cruise lines when they imposed their fuel surcharges. As many passengers know, fuel surcharges were added and there was no recourse except to cancel if you didn't want to pay. Eventually the State of Florida sued and the US cruise lines had to withdraw some of the charges on bookings that had been made long before the boiler plate had been adjusted to say that fees might increase. Foreign lines like Louis Cruises in Greece were not affected. (To retaliate for having to refund some $$$ they already had in their hot little hands, the cruise lines raised the fuel charges even higher on new bookings. See also the post about the tips, above.)
It's infuriating to me but Ryan Air started it successfully. Of course, their philosophy is to keep ticket prices to almost free. AA's is not. As Trish mentioned Spirit has been doing it for a while. It's a fee-based service so in fact, inherently much more fair than a flat fuel surcharge that makes an 80 pound child pay the same as a 300 pound man. At least that is the argument you are going to hear.
That is odd on the 1 week thing, but I'm glad they aren't just hitting people with surprise costs.
I'm a bit confused though. Didn't the ticket pricing have assumptions about the luggage typically carried by a plane? I don't think they are "separating" out the cost of checked baggage (and lowering all ticket prices) and then charging people who check baggage to get back to the same point. Seems more like a plan to get passengers to bring less baggage to reduce weight and save fuel.
oddlycalm
05-21-08, 09:00 PM
The irony is that in doing this they are taking us back to the pre-jet era when weight was an issue because the plane wouldn't get off the ground if it was too heavy and that wasn't all that much. All baggage was weighed when checked and you were either charged if you were over a specific maximum amount or it simply wasn't allowed on.
Today it's MBA speak like revenue enhancement, cost recapture or whatever the weasel catchphrase de jour is. What's really going on is they want to carry more freight and mail because they can't raise fares. I see a chapter 11 in their future with the people doing the work taking a fast hard one.
oc
Brickman
05-21-08, 11:50 PM
I'm waiting for them to start charging passengers by the pound...
Noooooooooooooooooooo ;)
TravelGal
05-22-08, 01:20 AM
I'm a bit confused though. Didn't the ticket pricing have assumptions about the luggage typically carried by a plane? I don't think they are "separating" out the cost of checked baggage (and lowering all ticket prices) and then charging people who check baggage to get back to the same point. Seems more like a plan to get passengers to bring less baggage to reduce weight and save fuel.
Originally the ticket prices did assume luggage but, as OC alluded to, the US domestic carriers are trying to turn even the passenger portion of the plane into freight. You are correct, AA is not attempting to lower ticket prices, although some smaller airlines do. AA just wants more moola.
The irony is that in doing this they are taking us back to the pre-jet era when weight was an issue because the plane wouldn't get off the ground if it was too heavy and that wasn't all that much. All baggage was weighed when checked and you were either charged if you were over a specific maximum amount or it simply wasn't allowed on.
You still get that in Tahiti. On the smaller islands, you and your carry on get on the scale before boarding and you watch as someone writes down the figure. Fortunately their scales are quite lenient so you don't usually incur charges but they DO have to be careful of the weight for safety reasons.
Noooooooooooooooooooo ;)
I hear ya! (see above) :D
WickerBill
05-22-08, 07:49 AM
You still get that in Tahiti. On the smaller islands, you and your carry on get on the scale before boarding and you watch as someone writes down the figure. Fortunately their scales are quite lenient so you don't usually incur charges but they DO have to be careful of the weight for safety reasons.
Classic comedian bit: guy is flying amongst some small islands, and they ask him his weight when he boards. He asks why they need to know, and the answer is "we need to know how much fuel to buy and put on board". He says "Then I'm 900 pounds! Fill it up!"
Ed_Severson
05-22-08, 12:00 PM
You still get that in Tahiti. On the smaller islands, you and your carry on get on the scale before boarding and you watch as someone writes down the figure. Fortunately their scales are quite lenient so you don't usually incur charges but they DO have to be careful of the weight for safety reasons.
I can go one better than that. On our honeymoon in Fiji a few years back, we had a couple island hopper flights where we and our luggage were weighed and recorded by hand before boarding. On top of that, the guy doing the recording was also assigning seats based on the results -- making sure the plane was balanced left to right and front to back. The engineer in me offered to double-check his math, but he wasn't interested.
I got to sit in the back row, next to the box of chickens. :)
TravelGal
05-31-08, 01:25 AM
I just read where the Sky Caps are suing AA for their $2 charges that is dinging their tips.
Yes, and they won. So AA is now prohibiting them from accepting tips at all. Let's see how they can defend THAT position! "American Airlines today [May 1] announced that, effective immediately, it will implement a no-tipping policy for all assistance with passenger baggage at Boston's Logan Airport. This change is to ensure that American Airlines is in compliance with the Massachusetts tips law in light of the recent jury verdict." :rolleyes:
UPDATE May 30: American had dropped its fee for curbside check-in at Boston's Logan Airport and has lifted a ban on tips for skycaps. In exchange the skycaps will drop a federal lawsuit claiming the airline banned the tips in retaliation for their recent legal victory
So, it didn't last very long. I couldn't imagine how it could.
Also, to add to one point earlier in the thread. I found out why the date for the luggage fee was May 12 when we all heard about it May 21. Apparently it was published, announced, or whatever word you want to use that means bureaucrats knew but the public didn't, on May 12. We know this because the DOT issued rulings dated May 13 on notice requirements. It was considered a material change in the rules so must appear with all fare quotes and on the first page of all websites selling airfare, etc., etc. Oh fun. :p
oddlycalm
05-31-08, 03:04 PM
The engineer in me offered to double-check his math, but he wasn't interested.
The engineer in you was right. Left/right balance is a consideration, and gross weight a bigger one, but the biggest issue with light / non-turbine aircraft is center of gravity. I lost a friend to a CG issue when a commercial operator didn't pay enough attention in 1979 and they went down after takeoff. His family was there waiving when he went down. :( It's also one of the more common failure modes in NTSB findings.
oc
I got to sit in the back row, next to the box of chickens. :)
I'll bet they 'talked' during the entire flight. ;)
-Kevin
Must have got the family discount.
http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/7853/chickenairplanecm2.jpg
TravelGal
06-06-08, 12:19 PM
From ARTA E-News 6 6 08.
American said that passengers will not be able to prepay the checked baggage fee with the only two options being cash or credit card at check-in. [from me: tough luck if you only have a check]
The policy applies to passengers who purchase tickets on or after June 15. Passengers will be able to use a credit card at American's self service kiosks, pay at curbside check-in or at the check-in counters inside terminals. [from me: heheheh, those skycaps gonna make a killing! Tips, bah, they can get $15 a throw!]
This part is for Ank and his devotion to (trashing) AA.
AP reports that yesterday the airline contacted the media around the country to try and convince them to convince the public that the fee wasn't so bad. I have seen very little written in favour of the fee and not one other airline has matched it so far.
Insomniac
06-06-08, 03:40 PM
AP reports that yesterday the airline contacted the media around the country to try and convince them to convince the public that the fee wasn't so bad. I have seen very little written in favour of the fee and not one other airline has matched it so far.
They're all probably waiting to see if AA's ridership drops.
TravelGal
06-06-08, 04:45 PM
They're all probably waiting to see if AA's ridership drops.
BTW, the final sentence is the writer of the newsletter's, not mine although I completely agree. If AA gets away with this, the others will follow in a New York minute. She then went on a quite a rant about refusing to fly on AA.
It is also a factor of how much more staff time it takes to process the payments (for those at the desk) and basic crowd control techniques (for those waiting in line for the machines) because it will take longer to process every single passenger.
cameraman
06-06-08, 04:55 PM
It is also a factor of how much more staff time it takes to process the payments (for those at the desk) and basic crowd control techniques (for those waiting in line for the machines) because it will take longer to process every single passenger.
This is the part that beggars the imagination. If they are going to do something like this they need to write the code that will allow them to process the payment before people arrive at the airport. The lines at the American terminals must be insane.:shakehead
Insomniac
06-06-08, 07:16 PM
This is the part that beggars the imagination. If they are going to do something like this they need to write the code that will allow them to process the payment before people arrive at the airport. The lines at the American terminals must be insane.:shakehead
Maybe they'll hire more agents? :D
grungex
06-06-08, 11:14 PM
They had better start rigorously enforcing carry-on rules...
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