American to charge for FIRST checked bag.

[Ghoulish Delight]

No one's done the blankets and pillow thing yet, I was just taking it to the extreme end.

And yes, once everyone else does the same, it'll be moot. But that's the game that's always played. Once one airline does it, they all have to do it to keep up and stay on a level playing field. Sure, it'd be nice if they could all just kinda agree not to undercut each other like that, but if there's an advantage to be had, there's going to be an airlines that will take it, so they've got no choice.