American to charge for FIRST checked bag.

[katiesue]

But what LSPE is saying was that the flights she's taking this summer are double what she paid for flights last Christmas - which was peak time.

[innerSpaceman]

Wow, I'm almost glad I can't afford to fly at all.

[Kevy Baby]

I figured someone else would post it, but apparently not.

US Air announced today that they too would start charging for the first bag. They have also announced that they would start charging for non-alcoholic drinks as well ($2.00 each).

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Oyyy vey. If you don't pay for those reserved seats, it'll make it so hard on couples or families, who like to try to sit together... on plus-sized people (or, I'll speak specifically, me. I like a window seat so I can lean out of the way of my seat mates without getting smacked by the beverage cart.) And like I've been whining, it's just another expense added to the already exorbitant (and for us, outside of emergency or required trip, basically prohibitive) prices.

Kevin, like they've pointed out, our summer trips are each 2x the cost that our Christmas tickets run, so it's not supply/demand. But it IS airlines losing money, I get that.

[Ghoulish Delight]

"The major airlines are truly a la carte now — you don't get anything free any more,"

Where exactly was he getting fee airline tickets before?

Things may not be included in the price of the ticket anymore, but nothing was ever free.

Personally, I'm still all for a-la-cart. I don't use the crappy pillows or the itchy blankets. I don't read the dumb magazines. If I can get away with a carry on, I do. I don't need curbside check-in, etc. etc. So if this means they don't raise the price of the tickets as much to cover all of that stuff that I'm not using for other people, then I'm all for it.

[BarTopDancer]

I can bring my own snacks, and buy my own drinks once I get through security. I don't use their blankets, pillows or read their magazines. I wonder if those air-store magazines actually bring in a profit, or break even.

I have to check my bag though because of the 3-3-3 rule. My make up and hair stuff is to big.

Airlines have to do what they have to do to stay afloat. I'm tempted to buy tickets for my December trip now, before the prices go up. But it's not a 110% sure thing and I'd be losing money if I had to cancel.

[innerSpaceman]

I haven't heard about charges for the itchy blankets or other stuff I never use on a flight. All I've heard about is charges for the stuff I do use, like soft drinks and checked baggage.


Go ahead and fool the rubes. If I can ever afford to fly again, I'll be figuring the cost of my food and drink and baggage into the ticket price quoted. But if the point is to have the lowest quoted "ticket" price ... what's the point of not raising those prices to include the drinks and baggage if every other airline is doing the same a la carte thing???

[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.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by BarTopDancer

I can bring my own snacks, and buy my own drinks once I get through security.

At $2.00 for a bottle of water, the chances are that it will still be cheaper to purchase on the plane than to buy from the post-security store.

About the only item that I have an issue with (on the whole a la carte pricing structure) is the (non-alcoholic) drinks. Since they don't have drinking fountains on planes, water (Coke, etc.) is the one item I would consider a necessity on the plane that I am forced to purchase.

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

But if the point is to have the lowest quoted "ticket" price ... what's the point of not raising those prices to include the drinks and baggage if every other airline is doing the same a la carte thing???

I think GD addressed this question pretty succinctly in his post above, but the point is that by splitting out the "additional" items, it allows the airlines to publish (newspaper ads, et. al.) lower air fares. For example, your average person make look at US Air's ad and see that the fare is $59 to Phoenix from LA and see that Southwest is $69 for the same flight. That average person won't think about the fact they will have to spend another $20 for checking baggage, getting a drink, etc. on US Air, thus making the net cost on US Air higher.

Caveat Emptor

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

About the only item that I have an issue with (on the whole a la carte pricing structure) is the (non-alcoholic) drinks. Since they don't have drinking fountains on planes, water (Coke, etc.) is the one item I would consider a necessity on the plane that I am forced to purchase.

One would assume they'll still offer water for free. Flights usually have plenty of non-bottled water in pitchers to serve.