"Skyway Robbery"

[MNeagle]

Carry-On Bag Fees Draw Senators’ Cries of ‘Let My Briefcase Go’

By John Hughes

April 14 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. airline fees for carry-on bags were deemed “a slap,” “outrageous” and “skyway robbery” as six Democratic senators moved to ban the practice after Spirit Airlines Inc. said it will charge passengers as much as $45 to stow luggage in overhead airplane compartments.

“Let my briefcase go,” Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey said at a news conference in Washington today. “We’re going from the sublime to the ridiculous with airlines.”

Carriers are seeking revenue beyond ticket sales with fees for checked baggage, seat assignments, snacks and pillows as fares last year stagnated at 1998 levels amid the recession. Lawmakers introduced legislation to ban carry-on fees after closely held Spirit said April 6 it will charge $30 in advance and $45 at the gate starting in August.

“When you charge for a carry-on bag it’s a slap for anyone who flies,” Senator Charles Schumer of New York said. “It’s time to draw the line.”

Schumer said he also will press for legislation to tax carry-on fees unless Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner uses his power to do so.

Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota deemed the fees “outrageous,” and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire called them “skyway robbery.” Robert Menendez of New Jersey said passengers are “getting nickled and dimed for essentials” and quipped that coin-operated seat recliners could be next.

“This is just wrong,” Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland said of the carry-on fees.

Spirit’s Defense

The carry-on charge is part of a broader fare and fee restructuring by Spirit, which the Miramar, Florida-based company says will lower some passengers’ costs, speed up security lines and boarding and reduce delays.

“Spirit is reaching out to their offices to clarify information that has been misrepresented in the media,” Misty Pinson, a company spokeswoman, said of the senators in an e- mailed statement. “We are confident that once they see the complete story that they will agree that this is for the benefit of all customers.”

UAL Corp.’s United Airlines was the first major U.S. carrier to impose a luggage fee in 2008 when it began charging for a second checked bag. Most major airlines charge at least $20 to check one bag and $30 for a second, and permit carry-on bags and personal items for free.

Spirit said earlier this week that passengers signing up for its discount fare club, at a cost of $39.95 a year, will pay $20 for carry-on bags when they prepay using the Internet. The carrier is lowering fees for prepaid checked bags for club members, to $15 for the first and second bags from $19 for one and $25 for the second.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=adZ0AxT_Bl2o&pos=9

[cigarlover]

“When you charge for a carry-on bag it’s a slap for anyone who flies,” Senator Charles Schumer of New York said. “It’s time to draw the line.”

Schumer said he also will press for legislation to tax carry-on fees

Yes its a slap for anyone who flies so lets get some tax revenue out of it as well then whatever the tax is will increase the fees even more. What a great idea.

I think I'll write my congresscritter and just ask him to take all the money in existence as a tax. Might as well just speed this process up.

[Ponce]

Pretty soon they will charge for tp......I'll take my own.........hummmmm I wonder if at this time I could get a discourt for doing that?

[zusn]

Airlines raced each other to the bottom. You don't need a degree in finanace or accounting to realize that an airline can't turn much of a profit selling $99 flights. Now it's time to pay up. I wish they'd just raise ticket prices and call it good. I don't care what they do, I'm not flying anymore anyway.

[EE_]

http://www.nypost.com/rw/nypost/2009/12/04/news/photos_stories/cropped/obese_man--300x300.jpg

[techguy]

The .gov should get the hell out of the middle of doing business.

They should be able to charge fees for whatever they want.

The ONLY role the .gov should have it to make sure there is no collusion between the carriers to make this widespread.

We can't complain about .gov being involved in our business and taking our freedom, then expect them to fix all these stupid little things like baggage fees.

Then let the market figure it out.... wouldn't take long.

[Fudup]

Ehh, color me shocked.

Politicians - Pandering

Moth - Flame

same same

[MNeagle]

5 airlines won't charge for carryons, senator says

ATLANTA – In a remarkable gesture to fee-weary air travelers, five major U.S. airlines are committing to actually not charge a fee for something — the sacred carryon bag.

The announcement Sunday comes despite the fact that some of those same airlines are expected to report first-quarter losses next week amid significantly higher fuel prices and the beating they took from the heavy February snowstorms. Add-on fees for things like checked bags, pillows and food are a key revenue stream for them.

For 26 large U.S. airlines, so-called ancillary fee revenue accounted for 6.9 percent of their total operating revenue in the third quarter of 2009, up from 4.1 percent a year earlier, the most recently available government data shows.

But major carriers risk alienating customers if they follow Spirit Airlines' lead and impose a fee on carryon bags. The small Florida airline in August will begin charging customers up to $45 to place a bag in an overhead bin.

Other fees haven't stopped people from flying, but many of those fees can be avoided. It would be hard for many travelers to avoid a carryon bag fee.

"We believe it is something that's important to our customers and they value, and we will continue making that available to them at no charge," American Airlines spokesman Roger Frizzell said.

New York Sen. Charles Schumer said Sunday that American, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, US Airways and JetBlue Airways each have committed to him that they would not institute fees for carryon bags. He said he was hopeful other carriers would follow suit.

Notably absent from the list was Continental Airlines, which is said to be in merger talks with United.

It wasn't immediately clear how long the airlines had pledged not to charge for carryons.

Frizzell couldn't say, and a spokesman for Delta declined to comment.

Schumer said he planned to meet with Spirit Airlines leadership in the coming week.

He will have an uphill battle changing Spirit's mind, however.

Ben Baldanza, Spirit's president and CEO, told The Associated Press on Sunday that his airline still plans to go forward with its carryon bag fee.

"Our plan was never predicated on anyone matching us," Baldanza said. "The fact that other people are saying they won't has never changed our view that this is right."

He said the decision by the five major carriers actually puts pressure on those airlines because Spirit has lowered its fares more than the price of the new fee.

"We knew we took a risk with this strategy, but we believe on balance it's one that our customers will buy into," Baldanza said.

Schumer and five other Democratic senators — Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Ben Cardin of Maryland, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey — are supporting legislation that would tax airlines if they charged carryon bag fees.

Schumer said the legislation would move forward until it becomes clear that no airline will institute the charges.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100418/ap_on_bi_ge/us_airlines_bag_fees

[Twisted Titan]

They will just get the money some other way.

Simple.

God have mercy on your soul if you must fly nowadays.

The experince makes a prostate check seem like a warm pastime.


T

[Book]

Pretty soon they will charge for tp......I'll take my own....

[JDRock]

bwaaahahha... classic book... :ROFL: