Lounge of Tomorrow - View Single Post - American to charge for FIRST checked bag.

Alex · 05-21-2008, 08:46 AM

It has been more than a decade since I've checked a bag for a flight. I don't know why, except in certain unusual circumstances one ever would.

So I don't really care beyond the fact that it means the people who do check bags will try to cram that same amount of stuff into the overhead and under the seat in front of them (giving them less leg room so they spread their legs into my space).

There was someone on NPR last week (can't remember if it was local or national) talking about this phenomenon and put it in terms that makes a lot of sense (even if it isn't any less annoying).

It used to be that people were willing to pay extra for brand loyalty. But the internet age has almost completely broken the concept for airline loyalty outside of business travel.

Instead, the average consumer flyer goes to a web site where they are presented with a price list and then they choose almost exclusively on price.

Airline A --> $101
Airline B --> $121

Given that choice they always pick Airline A. Even though it is a no frills econoline that doesn't offer entertainment, food, assigned seating, etc. While Airline B does provide all of those things. But consumers don't care, they just want to see the lowest price on that screen. United/American/etc. can no longer compete with Southwest/etc. on service because the average buyer doesn't take service into account when making their choice.

So Airline B says ok, if all they care about is price, then we need to get that price down. So they cut services and charge for them. The net result is a price about the same as before but when you go to Travelocity it looks much cheaper. And, for some flyers (like me, who never checks a bag, doesn't sleep on planes, and really don't care if I'm fed on flights shorter than 8 hours) being able to opt out of services I didn't use is actually a boon.

The same thing has happened in hotels where people just go to Travelocity and pick the cheapest 2.5 star hotel in the town they're staying in. So hotels respond by adding all kinds of resort fees that aren't included in the Travelocity price just so they can appear competitive.

05-21-2008, 08:46 AM	#8
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	It has been more than a decade since I've checked a bag for a flight. I don't know why, except in certain unusual circumstances one ever would. So I don't really care beyond the fact that it means the people who do check bags will try to cram that same amount of stuff into the overhead and under the seat in front of them (giving them less leg room so they spread their legs into my space). There was someone on NPR last week (can't remember if it was local or national) talking about this phenomenon and put it in terms that makes a lot of sense (even if it isn't any less annoying). It used to be that people were willing to pay extra for brand loyalty. But the internet age has almost completely broken the concept for airline loyalty outside of business travel. Instead, the average consumer flyer goes to a web site where they are presented with a price list and then they choose almost exclusively on price. Airline A --> $101 Airline B --> $121 Given that choice they always pick Airline A. Even though it is a no frills econoline that doesn't offer entertainment, food, assigned seating, etc. While Airline B does provide all of those things. But consumers don't care, they just want to see the lowest price on that screen. United/American/etc. can no longer compete with Southwest/etc. on service because the average buyer doesn't take service into account when making their choice. So Airline B says ok, if all they care about is price, then we need to get that price down. So they cut services and charge for them. The net result is a price about the same as before but when you go to Travelocity it looks much cheaper. And, for some flyers (like me, who never checks a bag, doesn't sleep on planes, and really don't care if I'm fed on flights shorter than 8 hours) being able to opt out of services I didn't use is actually a boon. The same thing has happened in hotels where people just go to Travelocity and pick the cheapest 2.5 star hotel in the town they're staying in. So hotels respond by adding all kinds of resort fees that aren't included in the Travelocity price just so they can appear competitive.
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