American - $15 Charge for FIRST Bag

[Aplmac]

Not looking forward to flying these days, too many changes.

Yup.

Definitely not lookin fwd. to flying these days - too many hassles!

Flying to meet a cruise is effectively going thru Hell

to get to Heaven.:cool:

 

Air Travel sucks!

[Pencruise]

Have just looked at AA's website and cannot see where it says they are going to charge for 1st checked bag - it still says 1st checked bag is free, unless there is somewhere else I should be looking.

[gazingm42]

From AA.com website....

 

 

Customers who purchase domestic economy class tickets on or after May 12, 2008 but before June 15, 2008 may check one bag for free and check a second bag for $25 each way. Customers who purchase domestic economy class tickets on or after June 15, 2008 will be charged $15 each way for the first checked bag and $25 each way for the second checked bag. Our carry-on policy of one personal item (such as a purse or laptop bag) plus one bag remains in place.

[Hypo]

We try to fly Southwest whenever possible. No extra baggage fees yet and you can check two bags and carry on a third.

 

Hypo

[Beachgirl6479]

Unfortunatly a lot of airlines either already do this, or will begin charging for checked luggage. I think on Spirit it was also around $15 per bag for the first two bags...but if you booked early online you saved $5. I remember when flying used to be a fun adventure, now it's just one big dreaded hassle.

[Toto2Kansas]

It took me a while to find it also. Look here http://www.aa.com/aa/i18nForward.do?p=/travelInformation/baggage/baggageAllowance.jsp&anchorEvent=false and then click on "EXCEPTIONS MAY APPLY". In the first paragraph, it tells all there with the dates.

[jbrambach]

Sorry but I don't see where she was trying to make anyone feel ashamed but was clearly stating the facts. Costs are going up for everyone. The airlines are in the business to make a profit as are any other business. This is just the cost involved when traveling.

 

I understand your comments about everything going up and agree, doesn't mean I have to be happy about it.:) But I was referring to the comment saying that "if you can't afford a few extra $$'s then you should probably go camping". That is not a fact, it is an opinion.

[sillylizzie]

Have just looked at AA's website and cannot see where it says they are going to charge for 1st checked bag - it still says 1st checked bag is free, unless there is somewhere else I should be looking.

 

This isn't on aa.com, but here's an article about it:

http://www.madison.com/tct/top5/287513

[Aplmac]

I remember when flying used to be a fun adventure,

- now it's just one big dreaded hassle.

yes, me too...and it started changing

even before 9/11 made it seriously awful for everyone!

 

.

[CanTex]

Ok, so the premise is that oil prices are driving all this nickel-and-diming.

 

Let's say oil prices drop someday -- even below $100/bbl. Do you really think the airlines are going to drop or decrease these fees?

 

I don't.:mad:

[BigDfromTN]

That sure makes shopping for airfare much harder as well. Who charges what for how much baggage, seats, etc etc etc.

[sixy-six]

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080521/american_airlines_reductions.html

AP

American to charge for 1st checked bag, cut flights

Wednesday May 21, 12:39 pm ET

By David Koenig, Associated Press Writer

 

American to charge $15 for first checked bag, slash flights, work force to offset fuel costs

 

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- American Airlines will start charging $15 for the first checked bag, cut domestic flights and lay off possibly thousands of workers as it grapples with record-high fuel prices.

ifRival Delta has no current plans to match American's fee for the first checked bag, a spokeswoman said.

American, the nation's largest carrier, said Wednesday the fee for the first checked bag starts June 15 and that it would raise other fees for services ranging from reservation help to oversized bags. The other fees will mostly range from $5 to $50 per service, the airline said.

Last month American announced it would join other carriers in charging $25 for second bags checked for some passengers, but it wasn't immediately clear how Wednesday's announcement would affect that.

Its proposed fee for a first checked bag would exempt people who belong to elite levels of its frequent flyer programs, those who bought full-fare tickets and those traveling overseas.

Delta Air Lines Inc. spokeswoman Betsy Talton said the Atlanta-based airline is considering all of its options in light of $130-a-barrel oil, but has no plans "at this time" to match the $15 fee American announced.

Chairman and Chief Executive Gerard J. Arpey said he expects the new or raised fees will raise several hundred million dollars, but that was the best estimate he would give.

The changes were being made to adapt to "the current reality of slow economic growth and high oil prices," Arpey said. He said the fees are an effort to get customers to pay for services they want.

Arpey didn't put a figure on the layoffs, but when asked whether he expected the figure to be in the thousands he said yes.

American plans to cut domestic flight capacity by 11 percent to 12 percent in the fourth quarter. American had previously expected fourth-quarter capacity to fall 4.6 percent from the same period in 2007.

Parent AMR Corp. said reduced flying will lead to an undisclosed number of job cuts at both American and its American Eagle subsidiary.

AMR expects to retire 45 to 50 planes from its fleet, most of them gas-guzzling MD-80 aircraft. Those were the plane grounded for faulty wiring last month.

American said rising oil prices have increased its expected annual fuel costs by nearly $3 billion since the start of the year. AMR shares tumbled $1.42, or 17.2 percent, to $6.78 after the announcement which came as its shareholders gathered for their annual meeting. They sank to a 52-week low of $6.72 earlier in the session

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Here are the exceptions from the AA website..........

 

 

The following customers will not be charged a service fee to check a bag provided the bag is within the weight allowance:

• oneworld Alliance Emerald, Sapphire or Ruby members

 

Should be passengers sailing on Emerald, Sapphire and Ruby:D :D

[HighlandCruzer]

I guess this is where it pays to be an AA Platinum member :)

 

We'll be flying to Miami this October for our Freedom cruise. Both of our tickets are in First class and our reservation agent told us our baggage fees are automatically waived.

 

As for my future travels, I'll have to send an email to see if my AA status qualifies for the first bag to be exempt. $30/RT isn't going to break me by a long shot and I don't fault the airlines for trying to balance out their costs no more than I do the cruise lines for trying to balance their own costs.

[KFL]

Well if this is the way the airlines are going to handle it, that is fine. I won't suffer as I will no longer fly unless absolutely necessary. The ones that will be sufferring are the airlines themselves and the cruise lines. If this policy is adopted across the industry, then I'll just be taking local vacations after November. This means that I will be cancelling our B2B Panama canal cruises and using the money elsewhere.

[BillOh]

I remember what a mess it was when People's express charged $3 to check a bag.

[DEBCAT65]

Get a grip people! Traveling is expensive, I can't remember a time when it wasn't. If your travel budget is so tight that a few extra charges here and there are going to make a difference, then you should probably go camping. :rolleyes:

 

I don't like to spend any more money then I have to, but we need to take a deep breath and relax. ;)

 

In reality it's cheaper to fly cross country now than it was several years ago. When my daughter was attending Boston University the average cost of airfare to get her home was around $400...I think the most I paid was $550 from Boston to Vegas, and that was 10 years ago.

 

Last month I flew to San Juan, PR for $400!!:eek:

 

With the rate of airlines that go under, and the fact that we are all so dependent on air travel, I can't blame the airlines for trying to stay afloat in this mini-recession and with oil so expensive. We are going to be much happier if the airlines stay around. Can you imagine a world with only a few airlines....and you think $15 is sticking it to you??:confused:

I understand your view that the airlines are trying to stay afloat. BUT, the same higher fuel costs they are paying are the same as the average American having to pay more to fill up their tank. Yea, it is only $15.00, but that is per bag, per trip, therefore, the least it would be is $30.00 Add that to 4 members of a family and it then becomes $120.00. Will it break the bank? NO, but all of these "extra" charges do begin to add up for most of us.

 

I was OK when the airlines started charging for the second bag. That would cause us all to do away with all of the "extra's" we tend to carry on and bring home unused. However, I really feel that charging for the first bag does cross the line!

[wernew2cruising]

And then what...they will charge for carry ons. Oh and then when that doesn't work...they will put the passenger on the baggage scale and charge US by the pound!!!! Only kidding but you never know!

[MBeamTX]

Check their list of exceptions to this benighted policy. Your gold Aadvantage status may make you exempt. Not that it will do anything for those of us who haven't reached that level of Aadvantage membership.:rolleyes:

 

Yes, it will make me exempt from paying the $15 fee, but not from the cabin chaos that will likely result from those who don't want to pay the fee. I drafted an email to American via their web site and am mulling over whether to bother sending it. Do you think that flying could become any worse any experience if you get on an airline's you-know-what list? Could I end up banned for life from American for calling this an IDIOTIC policy? :eek: ;)

[Cruising Greek]

No this means we need to increase the supply of oil. I don't think we are going to be able to convert AA's planes to wind power. :D

 

This is the USA, there is nothing we can't overcome, except the limits we place on ourselves. Blame your politicians who cave into every econuts demands, and say you can't do this, you shall do that, and you must never do that. Wake-up.

 

jc

 

I think we need to do both. Increase the supply in the short term, and also look into alternative sources. This doesn't have to be a one sided approach.

 

I do blame all the politicians and special interests. Time to get our act together and stop the outflow of our money overseas.

[twoputt.plusone]

I guess this is where it pays to be an AA Platinum member :)

 

We'll be flying to Miami this October for our Freedom cruise. Both of our tickets are in First class and our reservation agent told us our baggage fees are automatically waived.

 

As for my future travels, I'll have to send an email to see if my AA status qualifies for the first bag to be exempt. $30/RT isn't going to break me by a long shot and I don't fault the airlines for trying to balance out their costs no more than I do the cruise lines for trying to balance their own costs.

 

I have checked into becoming a preferred flyer since we travel to and in the US a lot. However, most require a US address so it doesn't work for some of us. :(

 

2P.P1

[kingsgirl]

No this means we need to increase the supply of oil. I don't think we are going to be able to convert AA's planes to wind power. :D

 

This is the USA, there is nothing we can't overcome, except the limits we place on ourselves. Blame your politicians who cave into every econuts demands, and say you can't do this, you shall do that, and you must never do that. Wake-up.

 

jc

 

Do you really think oil will last forever? It won't. Face it, we need to find a better source of energy - and not NUCLEAR either. That has problems enough on its own with not having a way to dispose of the waste.

[crusinpsychRN]

Yup.

Definitely not lookin fwd. to flying these days - too many hassles!

 

Flying to meet a cruise is effectively going thru Hell

to get to Heaven.:cool:

 

Air Travel sucks!

 

I HATE air travel. Most airports are too hard to get around. You go early because of security and sit and wait in a very boring area, planes are late leaving, late arriving, luggage messed up or lost or stolen. They give you a gate and its wrong so you end up walking in a giant U around the airport. (Newark, yuck!) Staff is rude, rude, rude in most places. They talk to each other and don't pay attention to you. Soon you'll have to go naked with a blue paper gown on! And mail your luggage.

[DEBCAT65]

I think it will actually be $15 x 2 (for the first bag) + $25 x 2 (for the second) x 2 (each way) = $160

There are 4 of us. 2 adults and 2 kids.

[Sea and Me]

Our flight in Oct. to NY is $131pp non-stop from Pittsburgh, PA. Thank goodness we bought our tickets in Oct.'07. All this means to me is the passenger who is going to have the overloaded carryon and putting it in the compartment above my head:mad: so as to save $15.00.

 

I'm still trying to figure out how to take one suitcase per person:)