American Airlines - $15 for FIRST bag now

[nmdiveboy]

American to cut back on domestic flights - Aviation - MSNBC.com

American Airlines now going to charge $15 for the first checked bag. Looks like at least American is doing their best to go out of business.

Unreal.

The service on airlines in general is typically horrid, and now if you want to actually take anything with you on your trip it's going to cost you more.

nmdb

 

[Eileentk]

So does this mean that they are also still charging $25 for the second checked bag or is the second bag fee even higher?
Next time that I fly to dive domestic, I'll ship my gear ahead of time or drive. Best way to make a complaint that matters is to refuse to buy another ticket from the offending airline.

 

[hlsooner]

Compliments of Mel Brooks

Bart: Well, can't you see that's the last act of a desperate man?

Howard Johnson: We don't care if it's the first act of "Henry V," we're leaving!

American Airlines is the worst and can't go out of business soon enough for me.

 

[nmdiveboy]

I'm to the point where if it's domestic, I'd rather drive. The cost in the end is about the same, and the only additional cost is my time.

And to me, that's time spent on a road-trip with my amazing wife, getting to seeing parts of America that I never have before.

That's worth it.

Sure the drives are long. And Texas is ungodly in it's size. But for the first time in my life, I'm getting the opportunity to slow down and enjoy life.

We always rush rush rush everywhere. We need the plane to be on time or early, and to fly 50 knots faster. We need our eMail, internet, cell phone, game player and mp3 player all in the palm of our hand. We can't live without our starbucks, our drive-thrus or a quick trip to the mall.

Whatever happened to enjoying life?

I hate what the TSA and airlines have turned flying into. I resent it everytime I walk through security and see the TSA frisking the heck out of some 86-year-old grandmother.

So from now on, if I can drive, I will drive.

nmdb

 

[diversteve]

So does this mean that they are also still charging $25 for the second checked bag or is the second bag fee even higher?

It's still $25 for the 2nd bag. $100 for the 3rd bag...each way.

Updated Checked Bag Policy

 

[Otter]

Do you realize that there are 25,000 new drivers in India and China EVERY DAY. Don't expect oil prices to drop (current price is $132/barrel; estimate is $4.61/gal with oil at $150/bbl).

According to the WSJ, "..The change in oil prices from a year ago to today translates into $24.6 billion in added fuel costs for passengers and cargo airlines on an annualized basis, according to the Air Transport Association. That's more than the industry has ever earned; the best year for profits at U.S. passenger and cargo airlines was 1999, with net earnings of $5.3 billion."

While flying has become more painful since 9/11 for a lot of reasons in a lot of ways, its not accurate to put it all on the Airlines.

While I am not a tree hugger, I am concerned about our environment, however I agree that we need to increase OIL supply to solve our mid-term problems. Near-term (during the time it takes to get more supply online), expect pain. Long-term, we need to move away from oil for energy. There will still be plenty of demand for oil domestically. I'd love to see an analysis of what type of supply would have to come online to offset the projected increases in demand. There are potentially 5 billion people who are getting off of bikes and getting into cars...thats a lot to support.

From a societal view, expect to see shifts in how we live and work. Cheap energy created the suburbs, expect to see psuedo-urban areas where travel distances to work are much shorter. Expect more telecommuting and less frequent 'going in to work'. Globalization and technology are already enabling this and high transportation costs are just going to accelerate it.

 

[Ann Marie]

This sucks! When United started charging for a second bag, I wrote to American and said that as a frequent loyal customer of theirs, I would seriously think about finding a new carrier if they implemented something similar.

They wrote back saying that they weren't planning to do this anytime soon. Jerks.

 

[Otter]

It's still $25 for the 2nd bag. $100 for the 3rd bag...each way.

Updated Checked Bag Policy

If we look at it as a price increase vs. a bag charge, it wouldn't even make much news. They could do that, but NOT everyone is paying the extra charge. Full fare, international, and elite level frequent flyers are generally not getting hit with these fees. So the airlines are doing what they can to minimize their loyal/profitable customers and yet stay in business -- which, some have already failed at and others will.

 

[deco_martini]

Unfortunately, with the Hub system as it is and most airlines having pseudo monopolies in different cities, there is no competitor who will say "screw it, bring all the luggage you want, hidden fees stink and hold up checkin lines because now more people have to stop and pay". Instead we have a game of "what can we get away with?" where airlines try crafty maneuvers and the rest follow.

Just raise fares. Stop nickel and dime-ing us to death. Just raise fares and get it over with.

 

[mgmonk]

Just raise fares. Stop nickel and dime-ing us to death. Just raise fares and get it over with.

Unfortunately, this is a fair thing to say. Fuel prices in America have long ignored the real price of acquiring and protecting oil. And, to the dismay of some, economics 101 is not the answer to the solution. A simple increase in supply will not bring the price towards equilibrium. Not when the resource is limited and not when the resource has huge external costs attached to it (military and political protection, waste and pollution).

It's been a long road of smoke and mirrors and gimmicks like temporary moratoriums on gas taxes aren't going to hide the fact that that road is coming to an end very soon.