Spirit Airlines charging for carry on bags

briggl

Wow.

I just read the post in the Travel News Forum about Spirit Airlines charging for carry on bags

That is totally ridiculous! Pay $30.00 to carry my own bag on the plane?
I hope other airlines don't copy this!
_________________
Lee's Travel Guide
Lee's New York City Guide
Travelogues and Galleries

jhunter · Chief Steward Joined: 04 Aug 2005 Posts: 158 177 ants

Charging for carry-on makes more sense than charging for checked bags.

The people who dislike checking bags the most - business travelers - can best afford extra fees.

Excessive carry-ons are more likely to result in officially delayed flights and very dissatisfied customers.

briggl · Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 12:33 pm Post subject:

First, I have since realized that it is only for bags that have to go in the overhead. Bags that fit under the seat are still free (for now.)

I still do not agree with it because everyone carries a bag on the plane not just business travelers, and they are causing more people to use carry-on bags because of the charges for checked bags.

I DO think they should charge if you bring your suitcase on board even if it does fit in the overhead but that would be hard to manage and there would be lots of arguments about whether it is a suitcase or not.

And I never said that "excessive carry-ons" should be allowed.
_________________
Lee's Travel Guide
Lee's New York City Guide
Travelogues and Galleries

jhunter · Chief Steward Joined: 04 Aug 2005 Posts: 158 177 ants

I meant that they should charge for carry-on, instead of for checked. One bag for your books and laptop and wallet allowed.

The excessive did not refer to individuals, but to the whole cabin. Everyone tries to carryon the allowed two bags, there isn't enough space, people can't fit their luggage above their own seat and have to struggle to get to it when the plane lands, and the overflow just gets checked for free.

The whole system is perfectly designed to inconvenience everyone. Except the people who deliberately board last so their bags get checked for free.

Red Tape · Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 1:12 pm Post subject:

with more and more onboard sales (particularly at an airline like Spirit), it is only a matter of time before those little credit card machines used by the flight attendants for sales of meals and booze will be utilized in the waiting area for those who have to gate check their bags.
_________________
My flight map. A million miles and counting....Where I’ve been around the globe.

briggl · Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 11:48 am Post subject:

Five airlines oppose carry-on fee

We'll see how long it stays that way...
_________________
Lee's Travel Guide
Lee's New York City Guide
Travelogues and Galleries

BlackEyes · Flight Steward Joined: 13 Nov 2009 Posts: 97 102 ants

I can't really get it why they charge so high for carry ons. As far as I know, charges in other airlines is no more than twn dollars.
_________________
Australian Visa Assistance - PrincipalVisas.Com

BadlyBurnt · Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 10:44 am Post subject:

All the extra costs are just getting crazy .

Its just a way of making the ticket price LOOK cheaper in the advert and started with passengers paying for food, then checked baggage, checking in etc....

Personaly I think that in the end people will just get fed up with all the extra costs and there will be a backlash where people value the honesty of a company that says up front what you will realy have to pay for your flight.
_________________
Medieval Spanish History, Legends and Travel Information

briggl · Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 11:28 am Post subject:

IRS Says Airline Baggage Fees not Taxable Income

Red Tape · Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 8:58 pm Post subject:

Actually, to split hairs here....

It must be reported as corporate income for tax purposes. However, what the private letter ruling addresses (and so many bloggers and media outlets don't catch) is that the tax being spoken of here is the 7.5% excise tax that you pay on all airline tickets in the United States. What the headline should scream is "IRS DETERMINES BAG FEES ARE NOT SUBJECT TO EXCISE TAX" This excise tax is paid by the consumer paying for the ticket.

The airlines are happy with this as then they don't have to pass on that cost, or eat it.

It does count as revenue collected by the airline, which is subject to corporate INCOME tax.
_________________
My flight map. A million miles and counting....Where I’ve been around the globe.

briggl · Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 12:28 pm Post subject:

OK.

But my main point was about the $1.76 billion the airlines are getting from the baggage fees. Smile

_________________
Lee's Travel Guide
Lee's New York City Guide
Travelogues and Galleries

Red Tape · Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 1:37 pm Post subject:

yep, and without those baggage fees, they'd all be posting operating losses. Everyone wants low fares, but nobody seems to want to pay what covers the cost of operating the flight.

Two sides of this coin: If I check bags, i want the fare to include everything, including baggage service. If I don't check bags, I don't want to subsidize those who do, and want a fare that does not include optional services like baggage fees.
_________________
My flight map. A million miles and counting....Where I’ve been around the globe.