You're charging me for what?! Airline fees way up since January 1

[BabyPiNK_FL]

They want people to pay to bring a bag? This is ridiculous. What do they expect you to do? Only use one set of clothes for your entire trip? Now they've crossed the line. They better never lose another piece of luggage...EVER.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by BabyPiNK_FL

They want people to pay to bring a bag? This is ridiculous. What do they expect you to do? Only use one set of clothes for your entire trip? Now they've crossed the line. They better never lose another piece of luggage...EVER.

Now that's a good point about lost luggage. I do believe that if an airline lost my luggage, I would demand a refund of that fee.

[texas*princess]

Originally Posted by BabyPiNK_FL

They want people to pay to bring a bag? This is ridiculous. What do they expect you to do? Only use one set of clothes for your entire trip? Now they've crossed the line. They better never lose another piece of luggage...EVER.

I agree that if we're going to pay for checked bags they better make darn sure they don't lose it!

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but American announced it will charge $15 for the first checked bag.

How long before they start charging for carryons?

Maybe instead of giving their execs hordes of cash in bonuses they should invest in their own business so they dont continue to piss people off or go bankrupt.

[Thetagirl218]

Originally Posted by OTW

Wasn't American one of the first carriers to stop complimentary meal service? I can't remember who it was first, but I remember other carriers became buy on board soon thereafter.

I won't be surprised if the other airlines will start charging for the first bag as well.

I don't think I've ever flown on American.

Delta was too I think....

[CatStarESP4]

I recently went with my parents to Buenos Aires and Montevideo to attend a wedding and to visit. The tickets were about $600 per person, but with all the fees and taxes were about $1,200 per person. That wasn't the end of it this nickle and diming. When we left Buenos Aires to return to the States, we had to pay at the airport US$18 per person (about 54 Argentine Pesos per person and don't get me started on how much in Euros) in airport taxes at the airport .

How much more are the going to bleed out of us for baggage, food, etc?

GRRRRRR!

[jon1856]

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

[knight_shadow]

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

[RaggedyAnn]

Back to topic...

I can just imagine what the carry on loads are going to be like now. A lot of people already use their purse, personal bag and often a third bag. Many people don't store anything under their seats. Now what will happen if you are forced to bag check at the gate because the bins are already full? And can you imagine the backup at security check points? People are always forgetting about the 3 oz. rule.

[Kevlar281]

Why don’t the airlines just keep costs fixed and then have ticket prices fluctuate depending on the price of fuel? They could even put the price of fuel right on the ticket price. They need to quit trying to make up for losses in other areas.

[RU OX Alum]

Originally Posted by Kevlar281

Why don’t the airlines just keep costs fixed and then have ticket prices fluctuate depending on the price of fuel? They could even put the price of fuel right on the ticket price. They need to quit trying to make up for losses in other areas.

that would require common sense....and they don't want to be seen as commoners

[jon1856]

Originally Posted by Kevlar281

Why don’t the airlines just keep costs fixed and then have ticket prices fluctuate depending on the price of fuel? They could even put the price of fuel right on the ticket price. They need to quit trying to make up for losses in other areas.

Kevlar-I saw a reason or at least a possible explanation. However, it seems as if some people would rather not see it.

[Kevlar281]

Originally Posted by jon1856

Kevlar-I saw a reason or at least a possible explanation. However, it seems as if some people would rather not see it.

Thanks for PMing me the link Jon.

Here's the info in case anyone else is interested.

Oddly, one fee you won't really see is a fuel surcharge. By DOT regulation, airlines have to include any fuel-based increases in their published fares. For reasons best known to themselves, when some lines break out their fare and tax details, they elect to separate the figure into a base plus a fuel surcharge. But that's totally artificial—the fares presented on their websites and in their ads must absorb whatever fuel-related price hikes might be added.

[RU OX Alum]

Originally Posted by RaggedyAnn

Back to topic...

I can just imagine what the carry on loads are going to be like now. A lot of people already use their purse, personal bag and often a third bag. Many people don't store anything under their seats. Now what will happen if you are forced to bag check at the gate because the bins are already full? And can you imagine the backup at security check points? People are always forgetting about the 3 oz. rule.

most airlines ( i think) limit the amount of carry-ons you can have to one if you are male, two for ladies counting a purse, since that sits in the lap.

I'm going to europe this summer with one bag i do not plan to check, so i can hop off the plain, get my passport stamped, and get out into the open air, after being couped up that whole time.

[texas*princess]

Originally Posted by RaggedyAnn

Back to topic...

I can just imagine what the carry on loads are going to be like now. A lot of people already use their purse, personal bag and often a third bag. Many people don't store anything under their seats. Now what will happen if you are forced to bag check at the gate because the bins are already full? And can you imagine the backup at security check points? People are always forgetting about the 3 oz. rule.

No kidding.

I'm glad I'm Platinum so I can board right after first class since it's hard to get overhead space on regular flights anyway. But this is going to be insane.

ANd security frustrates me sooooo much. I travel ALL THE TIME and it sucks when you are in an airport that doesn't have a first class security line and you end up behind the family of 5 that has 2 baby strollers and 5 backpacks and they have no clue what needs to go through the xray machine or they they can't be wearing metal or have cell phones in their pockets/etc. I can't imagine adding carryon suitcases with liquids all over the place and no ziplock bags...

[jon1856]

Originally Posted by texas*princess

No kidding.

I'm glad I'm Platinum so I can board right after first class since it's hard to get overhead space on regular flights anyway. But this is going to be insane.

And security frustrates me sooooo much. I travel ALL THE TIME and it sucks when you are in an airport that doesn't have a first class security line and you end up behind the family of 5 that has 2 baby strollers and 5 backpacks and they have no clue what needs to go through the xray machine or they they can't be wearing metal or have cell phones in their pockets/etc. I can't imagine adding carryon suitcases with liquids all over the place and no ziplock bags...

I carry on to a plane a bag with my camera gear and CPAP machine-neither one is going into the hold. Ends up being a size that just fits regulations.
Now, with this stuff, people will be being everything on board the plane and I agree it will cause problems.
Think of this situation:
A family of four goes to FL for either a long weekend or short week.
Now you will have four, "small" rolling take-on sized pieces of luggage. Add to that 2-3 other bags.
Now add in a full plane due to flight cut backs.