Should airlines bag carry-on charges?
Most U.S. airlines restrict passengers to one 40-pound carry-on and one personal item. The problem is people who carry on too much stuff. Seventy-two percent of those answering a survey by the U.S. Travel Association said that one of their top frustrations with flying had to do with "people who bring too many carry-on bags through the security checkpoint." Credit: Handout
Imagine paying $25 to check your bag, then arriving at the gate to hear the agent offer a free drink coupon to anyone willing to let the airline check their carry-on -- at no charge.
This happened on a Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis to Seattle recently. The flight was full. Flight attendants sensed there would be a battle for overhead space. Rather than risk delaying the flight, they took pre-emptive action and got lots of takers.
Are you fuming yet? Maybe you're gloating, if you're one of those who figured out that the way to avoid paying a checked-bag fee is to take the bag to the gate and count on the airline running out of space.
"There's something very broken here," says Jay Sorensen, president of IdeaWorks, a consulting firm that advises airlines on ways to boost money earned from things other than ticket sales. "Something has to give."
Airlines will either get serious about enforcing their one-carry-on-per-passenger rules or find other solutions, he predicts. Does that mean more will follow Spirit Airlines' model of charging for all baggage, checked and carry-on? Not likely.
Most U.S. airlines restrict passengers to one 40-pound carry-on and one personal item. The problem is people who carry on too much stuff. Seventy-two percent of those answering a survey by the U.S. Travel Association said that one of their top frustrations with flying had to do with "people who bring too many carry-on bags through the security checkpoint."
A more sensible solution is for airlines to study the policies of U.K. discount airlines easyJet and Ryanair. They begin by enforcing the rules -- one carry-on per passenger. If you bring more than one carry-on, easyJet will charge you $38 to check that piece at its airport service desk, and $60 if it has to be checked at the gate. Ryanair has a similar policy.
