United to Begin Charging Extra for Second Bag!

[Gombessa]

Guess it's the girly girls that are screwed then. I like to cruise and dive so you have all the outfits, plus formal night, plus shoes, hair products, make up, etc etc

I guess that's true. I imagine families with small kids might have more than 1 check-in per person too.

But in the end, I hate the extra time needed to check baggage and wait for baggage claim. Being able to print out my boarding pass at home, get to the airport 40 minutes prior, go straight to security, and leave the arrivals terminal bypassing the carousel is a lot of incentive for me to pack light.

 

[Belmont]

I guess shipping one bag ahead of time by UPS or Fedex becomes a reasonable alternative.

 

[Ice9]

I guess shipping one bag ahead of time by UPS or Fedex becomes a reasonable alternative.

Ya I dunno if I'd trust the shipping companies that much... The though kinda scares me...

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I guess shipping one bag ahead of time by UPS or Fedex becomes a reasonable alternative.

Reasonable? Have you shipped via FedX lately, I suspect that would be more than $25 for a 30-50lb box of anything.

 

[Doc]

I guess shipping one bag ahead of time by UPS or Fedex becomes a reasonable alternative.

Most divers I know aren't going where UPS has an office.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

I guess I look at this a different way.

United is letting you check one bag included in the price of your ticket. The second bag they are charging $25 to check. I personally would rather them add this Ala Carte service than add $25 to every ticket.

I bought tickets to Bonaire for $425 a person from Chicago O'hare which is 2372 miles According to Flight mapper Great Circle Mapper since this is round trip that is 4744 miles or about $.0896 a mile. Not sure how Continental is making money doing that but, I sure am not going to complain too much about them not giving me a full meal.

The free market will make the airlines as efficient as possible.

I don't work for the airlines, I do fly somewhat often however.

 

[Belmont]

Previous charges ranged from $85 to $125 per bag. The cost to check items that require special handling because they are large, overweight or fragile will now be either $100 or $200, depending on the item.

I was referring to this type of charge, plus take into consideration the fact that you ship ahead of time at the lowest rate, also you have less to worry about security screenings.

On my last trip I had to wait 48 hours for one piece of luggage containing my canister light and other equipment.

I plan to go down to Florida next fall. I have a choice to drive (5-6 day return) fly with all my gear (BP/wing, canister light etc) and if some of it gets delayed what do I tell my cave instructor??? or ship UPS and fly light (meaning: less schlepping of heavy stuff).

At least it's something to consider

 

[drbill]

Just wait until they start charging extra, lots extra, just for the physical seat!

 

[BurBunny]

Expect to see the other lines following suit pretty quickly. It was only a matter of time until a major US carrier started charging, following the lead of much more limited baggage allowances in Europe and much of the rest of the world, and the lowering of the free luggage permitted by Southwest a couple weeks ago and the charging for luggage by Spirit begun last year.

 

[alcina]

I guess I look at this a different way.

United is letting you check one bag included in the price of your ticket. The second bag they are charging $25 to check. I personally would rather them add this Ala Carte service than add $25 to every ticket.
.

Somehow I don't think that the tickets for those with zero or one piece of luggage are going to come down by $25...they're simply keeping the ticket prices the same and making some extra dosh.