Update: May 21, 2008: Last month we wrote about some “fastpitch-unfriendly” airlines who were starting to charge $25 extra for a second piece of luggage. Today, American Airlines moved to the head of the class as the least friendly with this announcement:
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — American Airlines will start charging $15 for the first checked bag.
So take your average team of 15 players, charge $15 for the first bag, $25 for the second — each way, for total of $80 per player. You’ve just added $1200 to the team’s bill for one round-trip flight. No small increase !
The prior story from April 2, 2008:
Airlines to Charge $50 Roundtrip fee to check second bag
One has to have a good memory to recall the old United Airlines advertising campaign, “Fly the Friendly Skies of United”. Nowadays, flying on United or most any airline is an adventure in the unfriendly skies. Post-9/11 security concerns have added hours to the flyers routine. We all grumble, but bear with it out of necessity. But the nickel and diming by airlines for “extras” that used to be included in the price of a ticket has flyers downright annoyed. And the nickels and dimes are now dollars — potentially hundreds of dollars in extra baggage costs to fastpitch teams.
Want to bring that your ballbag with you to that next tournament ? Plan on spending an extra $50 for the privilege, if you’re flying United Airlines, Northwest, Delta, U.S. Airways, or any of the other airlines following suit.
If you’re the manager or team’s equipment manager stuck lugging a bag of helmets, uniforms or other gear and need a third bag for the team? It will cost you $100 extra — that’s $200 round-trip on these unfriendly airlines. The airlines argue that it’s just a way of “being fair to those who don’t take more than one bag”, and a way to keep the costs down to those travelers. I’m not holding my breath for the day that happens. In some situations, you might be better off bringing another member of the family or booster club.
Airlines that are un-friendly to fastpitch teams:
United
Northwest
Delta
U.S. Airways
You don’t have to be Nostrodamus to know what will happen when these charges go into effect: people will begin bringing more and more luggage on board as “carry ons”. (as if there isn’t already enough crammed into those overheads)
Unbeknownst to many travellers , Southwest Airlines, used to have a “three bag per person” limit. They have reduced that to two bags, which seems rather generous now, in view of the new policy at United, Northwest and others.
The bottom line for fastpitch teams? Don’t get surprised at check-in. Be sure to check your airline’s baggage policy before travel. The difference for a team could be hundreds of dollars in “extra” luggage charges.
In most cases, the charges go into effect for travel in or after May 2008, but be sure and check when before you buy your ticket.
Any wonder that websites like this one, or this one have sprung up?
For those interested, more below, from a recent Los Angeles Times story.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-bagfee5feb05,1,3679135.story
From the Los Angeles Times
United to begin charging for a second checked bag
The airline will impose a $50 fee on round-trip domestic flights beginning May 5.
By Peter Pae
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
February 5, 2008
United Airlines will begin charging some passengers $50 to check in a second piece of luggage on domestic round-trip flights, becoming the first big carrier to impose a fee for a service that has long been included in the price of a ticket.
As of late Monday no other major carrier had followed United, but some analysts said that if the move didn’t generate significant resistance from consumers, the traditional two-free-bag rule was likely to go the way of other amenities such as free meals and pillows.
“Everybody is chiseling away at everything that you thought you deserve,” said Tom Parsons, chief executive of the Bestfares.com travel website. “But people shouldn’t be upset because we still want to fly coast to coast for $199.”
United, the nation’s second-largest airline and one of the busiest at Los Angeles International Airport, cited higher fuel costs for the new fee and said that only about 25% of its passengers check a second bag.
The fee — $25 for the second bag each way — is expected to generate more than $100 million in additional revenue. United also expects fewer checked bags as a result of the fee, which could lower its fuel expenses.
United’s chief revenue officer, John Tague, announced the new policy Monday, saying the fee would allow the airline to “offer competitive fares to everyone.”
The move to charge for luggage would bring so-called legacy carriers one step closer to ultra-low-cost airlines, which offer tickets as low as $20 for a round-trip flight but charge for everything, including drinks, pillows and checked luggage.
Columbus, Ohio-based Skybus Airlines and Spirit Airlines, headquartered in Miramar, Fla., charge $5 per checked bag each way up to two pieces. Later this month, Spirit will double the baggage fee to $10 for flights booked on the Internet. If a passenger pays at the airport, the baggage fee will go up to $20.
“There are all kinds of fees these days and rules are changing by the minute, so it’s flier beware,” Parsons said.
United’s fee, which would take effect for flights beginning May 5, is expected to hit families and leisure travelers the hardest.
The policy doesn’t apply to international flights or to passengers who buy higher-priced refundable tickets or those who have “elite” status with the airline’s frequent-flier programs. They will still be able to check two bags for free.
But for families on a budget who have purchased discounted, nonrefundable tickets, the fees are likely to be hefty because many typically check two bags per family member.
Tony Bergman, a Brea resident who was picking up his mother-in-law at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport on Monday, said he would have to pay $150 in fees to check two bags each for himself, his wife and his 4-year-old daughter.
That would be on top of the new fuel surcharges that can add $40 to the cost of a ticket, plus fees for curbside check-in as well as meals that would have to be purchased on board.
“People are getting tired of being nickeled and dimed,” Bergman said as his mother-in-law, Maureen Notz, who was visiting from Bentonville, Ark., became increasingly upset.
“It’s ridiculous,” Notz said as she waited to claim her two pieces of luggage from a United flight that connected through Denver. “It’s like the airline is saying, ‘Let’s get the middle-class people.’ I hope nobody else does what United is doing.”
peter.pae@latimes.com