American to charge for FIRST checked bag.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

I just don't get it. They're losing money. They need to charge more.

I get that - I do. That's quite why I didn't have a problem with it initially. Except that they HAVE raised prices. A lot. Typically it costs us about $400/person to fly right around Christmas (the most expensive time of the year, in my six years of experience with this particular round-trip.) This summer it's costing twice that. So they're already charging more - a lot more, 100% more. The luggage charges on top of it is frustrating. The whole affair is frustrating.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by LSPoorEeyorick

I get that - I do. That's quite why I didn't have a problem with it initially. Except that they HAVE raised prices. A lot. Typically it costs us about $400/person to fly right around Christmas (the most expensive time of the year, in my six years of experience with this particular round-trip.) This summer it's costing twice that. So they're already charging more - a lot more, 100% more.

This is just simply the classic supply and demand playing itself out. There is a higher demand for flights around Christmas time, so they can charge more for it. The exact same flight in say September is probably cheaper.

As a big fan of free markets, I support this. I may not always like it, and it certainly isn't a perfect system, but it is (IMO) the best one available.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

This is just simply the classic supply and demand playing itself out. There is a higher demand for flights around Christmas time, so they can charge more for it. The exact same flight in say September is probably cheaper.

What Katie said.

But either way, the fact still remains that people are choosing their flights based on one thing and one thing alone - which flight pops up at the top of a "sort by lowest price" search. Every dollar they can remove from that ticket price will increase their sales. They have no choice, any other option means losing money.

[Gemini Cricket]

"The major airlines are truly a la carte now — you don't get anything free any more," said Parsons, chief executive of the travel Web site Bestfares.com. "You get a tin can in the air, and anything else you pay as you go."

He expects the legacy carriers to follow the lead of discount carrier Spirit Airlines, which now charges extra for seat reservations — $5 for middle seats, $10 for window and aisle seats and $15 for exit-row seats. Other airlines also have begun charging for window or aisle seats.

Source
There's a possibility the big airlines could be charging for reserving seats, too? I missed that bit of news.