June 15th, American Airlines will be charging $15 for the first checked bag. Here is what is on their Web site:
June 15, 2008
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.
Exceptions to this policy include customers who purchase First or Business Class tickets, AAdvantage Executive Platinum®, AAdvantage Platinum® and AAdvantage Gold® members as well as customers who purchase full-fare tickets in Economy Class.
OK, anyone else think it’s shady that the people who can afford the baggage allowance (First, Business Class, etc.) are the ones who DON’T have to pay the extra? Seems like it should be the other way around to me.
And another thing. Everyone is going to start bringing those roller bags on board. I have been on many flights where they started wailing that there wasn’t room in the overhead compartments and forcing people to check their roller bags. So, not only are the economical people going to have to pay extra to check a bag, they might be FORCED into it by the flight crew at the last minute because EVERYONE will be switching to carry on. I, for one, don’t want to have to carry around an extra $15 just in case my roller bag doesn’t fit on the plane.
Please note that one carry-on personal item does not count toward the checked bag guidelines. You may bring up to one bag onboard the aircraft with you, provided it meets Federal Aviation Administration regulations. The FAA mandates that all carry-on items must fit under a seat or in an enclosed storage compartment. Our gate or flight personnel may need to further limit the amount of carry-on baggage for a particular flight depending on the cabin storage capacity of the aircraft type and the expected number of passengers.
They have every right to change their policies, but I have every right not to follow them. Anyway, I’m jaded by American, United, and all those other airlines that give all that special treatment to certain passengers and not to others. I mean, come on. Do they REALLY need a red carpet at the boarding gate? Give me Southwest any day, where everyone is treated the same and the flight attendants make jokes.
I don’t plan to ever fly American again.
(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)