$15 Bag Fee on American

American, Cutting Back, Plans $15 Bag Fee
by Micheline Maynard
New York Times, May 22, 2008

It was just weeks ago that essentially all the airlines added a bag fee for checking a second bag. Now American Airlines has announced a fee for checking even one bag.

I don't like it. Sure, I've seen the budget airlines charge to check baggage previously, but that was part of the cost of flying budget. You pay less for the ticket and you only pay to check baggage if you want to fly with baggage. Probably my dislike is just a knee-jerk reaction to change.

I wonder how cost-effective it's really going to be?
Instead of two smaller bags, people may pack in one larger bag? Will larger heavier baggage cause problems in loading/unloading? More injuries among baggage handlers that the airlines will have to pay for?
Maybe there will be more people trying to carry larger bags as carry-on? That would mean more going through passenger security. Will that slow down security lines? Will that mean lower security as with more items being taken through it's easier for a contraband item to be missed? And during boarding, more bags that have to be checked at the gate either because they are too big or there just isn't room for them may slow down the boarding process?
But maybe longer boarding won't be an issue with all the flights that are being cut and all the planes that are being retired? Or it could just mean that delayed flights will cause bigger hassles for travelers as it is more likely to be the last/only flight of the day?
And if you've missed your flight due to a delayed flight, doesn't that mean more cost to the airlines to get you on another flight? Or to comp you for meals/hotel if they can't get you on another flight?

And there is the statement in the article, "American does not plan to offer refunds if suitcases do not arrive with the plane." How convenient for them! They don't have to pay for the fuel to carry the suitcase and still get to keep the money! OK, so they have to pay the fuel on the next flight and the courier service to deliver it to you....assuming they don't make you come to the airport to pick it up. And it goes back to the bigger hassle problem above. If your luggage misses the flight, will there even be a next flight for the luggage to catch to get to you in any semblance of a resseanable amount of time?

As I watch even regular gas prices go up, I do feel for the airlines. They are in an economy where people may be less likely to fly while at the same time it's becoming much more expensive for them to fly the people who do want to fly. I don't know that I have a better answer for them, but I wonder if they've really counted the cost of this change when the articel admits that they haven't even established a way to charge passengers at the gate for baggage that should've been checked at the counter.

I wonder if they'll go to tagging all luggage at the counter? Make passengers present carry-on luggage at the counter where it can be confirmed as carry-on size or forced to check at that point, rather than at the gate. It might also give them a guage before boarding of how much luggage may need to be gate-checked simply for lack of cabin space. Of course, it would also present an opportunity to charge for carry-on luggage, which would be even more limiting for passengers.

Hmm....wonder if they've ever considered charging for luggage by the weight (checked and/or carry-on)? They already have scales at ever check-in counter and that's already the way packages (USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc) are handled for shipping. Passengers might be granted a weight allowance and then anything over that would be a charge. It could be done a few different ways. My first thought would be a rather low free pound allowance (10-20lbs? 1 carry-on bag?) and then a rather low charge rate for the next 50-100 lbs or so (would 50 cents/lb come out similar to their current baggage charges? Or maybe figuring as $5/10 lbs would be easier to estimate and less room for "that's not what my scale at home said") and then stiffer charges for heavier or oversize, as they already do.

A second formula might be closer to shipping packages--a minimum charge per/bag and then additional charges based on weight. Passengers might find that harder to remember or figure to know what to expect. I know I don't carry around the postal charge chart in my head (up to 2 oz is minimium, up to 14 oz is something, up to 5 lb is something else, etc And then it depends on the dimensions of the package which chart is applied). So I would be for a very minimal number of break points in the pricing which ever formula is used. (That's probably why the airlines went with a straight bag count!)

I imagine their costs are more closely associated to weight than number of bags anyway. If they are really trying to minimize weight, then I'd expect charging by weight to be more effective than counting checked luggage. Counting checked luggage will just change the way people pack--larger bags and more carry-on. Counting weight will really change what/how much people pack. If the question changes from "does this fit?" to "do I need it enough to pay for the extra weight?", then will passengers really change the way they pack to travel.