You're allowed to bring as many bags as you want. They just charge you after the first bag.

But of course that can all change when the carriers decide to follow American and start charging for ALL checked bags.

I flew United about 10 days ago, (the first time since Xmas) and was surprised that they changed their checked luggage policy. Now you're only permitted one checked bag, each one after that is $25. I ended up caring my hanging bag on the plane with me as carryon.

Now that American is charging $15 per checked bag, I'm reasonably certain that I'm going to become a Northwest/Frontier flyer only. This stuff is CRAZY

Kitso
KS 361

I found, in my mailbox, this rather good article from Frommers about Airlines and all of the new fees they are charging. A few I had not heard of and are a bit surprising:
Airline Fees Take Off into the Stratosphere

By Sascha Segan
May 27, 2008
Call it the Summer of Fees. We've all gotten used to a bunch of extra fees from airlines, some reasonable, some irritating. But this summer travel season is taking the fee frenzy to new heights -- levels that might even delay planes and increase air rage. Here are the ones you really have to look out for.....
http://www.frommers.com/articles/5211.html

I read today that US Airways will not be serving pretzels anymore. Apparently they can't afford the $0.03 that each bag costs.

I fly AirTran a lot since they have a cheapity cheap direct from BWI to the smallish airport that's close to my parents' house. I think they charge for the 2nd checked bag, but I would typically rather eat my own feet than check a bag anyway. They've also started charging you if you want to pick a seat when purchasing the ticket - I think it's like $15 for an emergency exit row ticket and maybe $10 for the first couple of rows. I usually just wait until I check in online and pick the seat closest to the front...no point in paying.

Netjet it son!

Someone wrote into the AZ Republic and the letter was posted today. They said that the airlines should think of "other" ways to charge people. She even listed examples of paying extra to 1) not be nearing a screaming child 2) not be sitting next to someone who smells (of perfume, cigerettes, etc...) 3) not sitting next to a person who (there is no PC way to say this) is large and is spilling over into your seat.

On long flights, I'd definately pay extra not to sit near a screaming child or next to someone who takes up not only their seat but mine as well.

Southwest actually has a policy where they require a person who takes up more than the one seat to buy a second ticket. However its been a bit controversial in the way the decide who fits in the seat and who needs to buy the extra, and what happens if the flight is full and there is no extra seat etc. etc. etc.

Couldn't fly USAirways, then. They don't take off without the mandatory crying baby.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOO I like their pretzels.

We didn;t even get pretzels when I flew from Hartford-->Philly-->Dayton-->Philly-->Hartford.

Just water.

the major US airlines definitely charge way too much for nothing. I stick with Jet Blue and Virgin America when possible.

From the WSJ, interesting story on fuel costs:
Flying Stinks -- Especially for the Airlines

Travelers' Mounting Woes
Reflect Carriers' Attempts
To Deal With High Fuel Costs
June 10, 2008; Page D1
You can fly between New York and Los Angeles for as little as $370 round-trip, not including taxes and government fees, on JetBlue, and $20 more on American. And out of that, how much will the airline spend on fuel?
Almost $300 per passenger for JetBlue at current prices, and nearly $500 for American. Just Friday's $10.75 leap in oil prices would raise the cost to JetBlue Airways Corp. to fly someone from New York to Los Angeles and back by almost $24.
While most consumers know all too well how much it costs to gas up their cars, few know how much they are paying for gas when they fly on an airline. It turns out to be shockingly high at today's prices -- well more than half the cost of the average ticket on many routes.
That doesn't leave a lot of money to pay for all the other costs of running an airline -- labor, airplanes, maintenance, insurance, landing fees, facilities and managers. And it goes a long way toward explaining why air travel has gotten so miserable for consumers, as airlines slash service, raise prices, pile on fees and nickel-and-dime in multiple ways. One tiny measure of the travel morass: JetBlue stopped giving away free headsets to watch its free television on June 1. Headsets now cost $1 (you can bring your own earphones)........................
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1213...rsonal_journal

Maybe this will offset some of the new baggage increases:

Most major airlines lowered round-trip ticket prices by $20 Monday despite high fuel prices, a move that could signal softer demand for travel.

American, United, Continental, Delta and US Airways all reduced fares on thousands of flights, according to Graeme Wallace of FareCompare.com, a Dallas firm that tracks airline-ticket prices. The airlines had raised prices by $20 over the weekend, hoping to offset mounting fuel costs.

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/690856.html