American to charge for FIRST checked bag.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

I think you missed my point, Kevy. If Southwest charges for drinks and brings their fare down to $69, and American charges for drinks and brings their fare down to $69 and every airline does the same ... where's the "published ticket price" advantage in charging for drinks? And moreover, why bother for the few weeks that charging for drinks is going to give you that purely temporary advantage in published ticket prices?

Like I said, because if you don't someone else will. It sucks, but it's the reality of any competitive, low-margin market. Once someone smells an advantage, you've got 3 options: Let them take the advantage and get left in the dust, figure out a different way to compete with that advantage, or jump on board to nullify the advantage. But once the barn door's open, there's no going back.