American - $15 Charge for FIRST Bag

[BillOh]

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!

 

 

It makes sense, might help the gastric bypass industry. ;) Or since they talked about requiring somepeople to buy a 2nd ticket and use 2 seats, maybe you can buy seat for your bag.

[Pencruise]

Thanks, I can see it now. Suppose the answer is to take a cruise from an International Port then you can take 2 checked bags free.

[Aplmac]

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 number 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.

Best thing to do now might be to start seriously boycotting air travel

unless you absolutely have to (medical or business reasons)

 

Sorry Mom, won't be making it this Thanksgiving

- just not worth the effort, the co$t, the stress and the extra grey hair,sorry!

DRIVE or take the train, or simply stay home

and stop gadding-about all over the place.

 

You'll live thru it...save lotsa money too! :)

[teripp]

I saw the news article and could not type in CC web site fast enough to see if anyone reported on AA. (I should have know it was already a thread)... And the word is that the economic depression has not even hit yet!!! No more AA for me It's bad enough that I can not bring my garment bag with out a fee. I can not justify a charge for the first bag too.

 

Next cruise will have to be out of NY.... Oh well they do cruise from NY too!!!

[RetireeWannabee]

No I don't like it but here's the part I don't get. Maybe someone can enlighten me.

 

Why don't they just raise the fare and be done with it? It's no longer feasible for most people to travel with only a carry-on. For instance, where do you put your liquids?? IMO raising the fares still gives them the income they require. Fair in my mind after all they are in business to make a profit. However they would have the added bonus of not ticking off their customers with all the nickel and diming. You're going to pay somewhere along the line. Why not make it up front?

 

I don't get it? :confused:

 

2P.P1

 

Yeah, but, what if I do only have a small carry-on cuz I'm going to my fully-stocked beach house. Why should I be penalized for the extra space, weight and processing of someone elses 2 checked bags? At least this way I can avoid the fees if I really want to. I like having the choice.

 

If it serves to decrease the overall weight of the plane, that does help fuel mileage. Not a lot, but some.

[LauraS]

BigDFromTN asks ". Who charges what for how much baggage, seats, etc etc etc."

 

 

Our sister site, Independenttraveler.com, has a roundup of all airline surcharges:

 

Surge of Airline Surcharges

[ruskatab]

2 weeks ago we flew Delta and if you were in zones 4 or later to board you were dang lucky to find a spot for your carryons in the bins. I saw people with 2 carryons and then a back pack, it was ridiculous. There were also people bringing on way too big carryons. These are the people who should be paying extra for more luggage. I never saw a delta rep enforce the rules either. American is encouraging people to bring on too many carryons, the extra weight could cost them in fuel since people will be bringing on more and more. One thing tho, we did the express luggage after our cruise and were not charged the 25.00 for the extra suitcase we checked.

[ruskatab]

BigDFromTN asks ". Who charges what for how much baggage, seats, etc etc etc."

 

 

Our sister site, Independenttraveler.com, has a roundup of all airline surcharges:

 

Surge of Airline Surcharges

 

Great information, Thanks!

[Linda74]

Just booked our tickets to San Juan on American. It will be carryons for us. If we buy items on our cruise, perhaps we will ship a bag on the way back home. It will force us to travel lighter and that is a good thing. I suspect, if the other airlines don't follow suit, American will be losing a lot of business.

[amybear912]

Why should I pay a higher fare to supplement others' extra baggage???:confused:

[RetireeWannabee]

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

 

Hypo

Thank you, I was hoping someone would point out that it isn't ALL AIRLINES (yet...).

 

We're flying Frontier to Cabo in October and can so far take 2 checked bags FREE. Under 50 pounds each.

[cruiserbryce]

Hopefully the other airlines will not follow suit on this one...I cant imagine the meeting where this was decided...I like AA but wont fly with them again if this is the case...2 of our next 3 cruises are going to be from driving distance ports so hopefully this wont affect us too much

[Onessa]

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:)

 

On two flights in the last year, our takeoff has been delayed due to issues with carryon luggage (there was too much for the overhead compartments and the idiot pax balked at checking it). These STUPID rulings by the airlines are simply going to make that type of situation more and more common.

 

The airlines should eliminate the overhead compartments and make eveyone (save the bulkhead pax) fit their carryon beneith the seat in front of them.

[cruiserbryce]

prior to this or any extra baggage charges, some of the carry on luggage sizes was neyond questionable...now I cant imagine some of the bags that people are going to try to get on

[firefly333]

I thought that was the news that you were talking about, fewer planes. AA announced they were cutting the routes that are not profitable and they dont feel they can make profitable with $125 oil (its $132 now)

 

The new bag fee isnt even making the news, CNBC is all over the cut in the routes. AMR down 18% on the news of less flights.

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/american-airlines-cut-capacity-further/story.aspx?guid=%7BBDE08C34%2D6707%2D4E23%2DAE16%2D87C58DFE1321%7D&siteid=yhoof

 

AMR shares plunged almost 18% to $6.72. Earlier shares traded at a five-year low of $6.67.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier said it will slash between 7% to 8% from its domestic capacity in the fourth quarter, up from the 1.6% forecast in April. Domestic capacity from its mainline American fleet will be reduced by 11% to 12%, compared with a prior plan of a 4.6% reduction.

As a result, AMR said it will ground at least 75 mainline and regional planes, including many of its MD-80s and some Airbus A300 planes

.

[amybear912]

prior to this or any extra baggage charges, some of the carry on luggage sizes was neyond questionable...now I cant imagine some of the bags that people are going to try to get on

 

They'll try, sure...

 

But I still say, you'll see much closer scrutiny of those bags and people being forced to check carry-ons that don't fit "the box"... Think about it...

[ruskatab]

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:

 

As you can see Ive been on 3 cruises in the last last year so I can afford to travel but for American to charge for a 1st bag is ridiculous. How many people do you known that get on an airplane and travel for a week and dont take luggage? I see you normally cruise once a year so an extra 60 for a first bag is no big deal maybe, but we also travel several times a year to other vacations on top of the cruises and these fees really add up. And we also have a travel trailer so we do the camping thing too, but with the gas prices we may cut back on that also. They get you anyway they can.

[cruiserbryce]

Wouldnt want to be a gate agent enforcing the strict "in the box" rules...

[Toto2Kansas]

Just booked our tickets to San Juan on American. It will be carryons for us. If we buy items on our cruise, perhaps we will ship a bag on the way back home. It will force us to travel lighter and that is a good thing. I suspect, if the other airlines don't follow suit, American will be losing a lot of business.

 

But if you have already booked your flights, then you won't have a problem checking one bag per person. This doesn't go into effect for those buying their tickets before June 15th.

[Aplmac]

AA announced they were cutting the routes that are not profitable

and they don't feel they can make profitable with $125 oil (it's $132 now)

It's $132.44 right now - according to http://www.oil-price.net/

 

I feel so much better now..:)so much more in control of my life savings

- now my wallet's been completely ripped off from under me.:)

[ruskatab]

Wouldnt want to be a gate agent enforcing the strict "in the box" rules...

 

I worked at DFW at duty free for 2 years and saw many fights years ago. I cant imagine how bad it is now!:eek:

[bonniemari]

2 weeks ago we flew Delta and if you were in zones 4 or later to board you were dang lucky to find a spot for your carryons in the bins. I saw people with 2 carryons and then a back pack, it was ridiculous. There were also people bringing on way too big carryons. These are the people who should be paying extra for more luggage. I never saw a delta rep enforce the rules either. American is encouraging people to bring on too many carryons, the extra weight could cost them in fuel since people will be bringing on more and more. One thing tho, we did the express luggage after our cruise and were not charged the 25.00 for the extra suitcase we checked.

 

Becky I agree with you. On our flight coming back from SJU on our cruise there was a family of four that had about 6 bags between them. The dad just started moving other peoples carryons that were already stowed. We were in the bulkhead/exit row seats where the flight attendants sit during takeoff and landing. The flight attendant was NOT HAPPY when he came up and realized one of the bags the guy moved was his. He let the guy know about it by telling him he would have to check 2 of his bags. And he put the bags off the plane. People like that just carryon everything they have make it difficult for those of us who follow the rules. The guy with all the carryon luggage was such a jerk I kind of hope his luggage the FA put off the plane didn't make to its final destination.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Just back from the store and heard on the radio.....

In June, United will start charging $15 for womens purse as second carry on. :eek: :eek:

 

How ridiculous!!! :mad:

 

***

[amybear912]

Wouldnt want to be a gate agent enforcing the strict "in the box" rules...

 

Me neither... but in this day and age... I also wouldn't want to be someone who puts up too much of a fuss about it either... it would be a shame to be kicked off your flight with AA because you refused to check your bag or pay the fee...

 

 

Personally, I wel***e the scrutiny of carry-ons... I've seen many bags carried on that certainly wouldn't have fit "the box"...

[Travel Angel]

Unfortunately I think this is just the sneaky way the airlines are raising prices. Sooner or later we're just going to see a flat air fare hike in addition to all the niggling little add-ons.

 

Call it what you want, but with rising fuel costs, AA has made it clear that the rationale behind the new 1st luggage piece charge of $15.00 is to offset rising fuel costs and to stay in business. Whether it is $15.00 luggage or $15.00 added to the airfare costs, it all is going into the same pot to STAY IN BUSINESS !!!

 

addenum to above message: I am not pleased with the recent change in baggage policies, but think it will be occuring by more airlines in the future.