American Airlines’ New Baggage Fee No Big Deal
What's a passenger to do now that the airline is charging $15 for the first checked bag? For starters, travel light.
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Jet fuel is up 90.1% from last year. A Boeing 767 flying from New York to Los Angeles consumes 9,000 gallons of fuel. American Airlines announced this week it will be charging passengers a $15 fee for the first checked bag. The sky is blue.
These are all very simple facts. Why, then, is the nation freaking out on American Airlines? Dare I be so bold as to say that oil hitting $135 a barrel is not their fault?
Nevertheless, newspaper editors from Bangor to Burbank have felt compelled to lash out at the air carrier. Fifty different columnists asked if pay toilets were next. Others put the focus on what they predict will be “consumer backlash.”
On Friday, Time magazine published a piece of journalism thin on jet fuel-related facts and heavy on its predictions of passenger mutiny. “I think you’ll see passengers turning on other passengers,” Time quoted a marketing professor named Vicki Morwitz as saying. Morwitz, Time wrote, believes that passengers will start brawling for space in overhead bins. Time also quoted a consumer airline ticket researcher named Rick Seaney as saying, “Desperate times beget desperate measures.”
What about desperate times beget a little education?
Last year, in May 2007, when oil prices were about to hit $70 a barrel, cutting fuel costs became a top concern for American Airlines. The company began a fuel saving program called Fuel Smart. The goal was to cut fuel consumption by 3% — or 60 and 70 million gallons of fuel-each year.
One way to save jet fuel is to reduce drag, so American Airlines installed “winglets” on all of its 737 aircraft and some of its 757s to reduce wind resistance. Because extra weight burns fuel faster the airline also got to work reducing load. Aircraft retrofits included ripping out unnecessary equipment from the galleys, including antiquated heating equipment and extra service carts. Some American Airline MD-80 flights saw a reduction in the amount of water carried on board.
Shorter flights mean less fuel consumption, so the airline negotiated with air traffic controllers to fly the shorter routes. Business Week reported that this measure alone saved the airline $4 million in fuel costs last year. At last year’s prices, the airline envisioned the Fuel Smart program would save the company upwards of $200 million dollars each year, keeping both customers and investors happy.
But that was then and this is now. Few predicted oil to almost double in price from $70 a barrel to a record-breaking $135 a barrel. As a result, American Airlines has a new checked-bag fee.
So what’s a passenger to do? For starters, travel light. You can bring a 40 lb. carry-on with you for free when you fly American Airlines. More importantly, reduce your oil consumption wherever you can. Complaining about a $15 fee to have a second bag (after your carry-on) accompany you while you fly across the nation is like whistling past the graveyard. Face the facts and do something practical — or its only going to get worse.
Easy for me to say? Yes, it is. Last month, while President Bush was pleading with Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah to reduce oil prices (to no avail), my husband and I took the matter of soaring oil prices into our own hands. We sold our cherry red, gas-guzzling Land Rover and leased a Toyota Prius Hybrid instead.
Starting now, we’re enjoying our own energy-saving Fuel Smart plan.
Annie Jacobsen writes about aviation security and homeland security for a variety of newspapers, magazines and blogs. She is the author of the book, Terror in The Skies, Why 9/11 Could Happen Again.
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23 Comments
Michael E Brant:UPS is always available and is relatively cheaper.
May 24, 2008 - 6:28 am Ed:Plan ahead and send all non essential luggage ahead to your destination.
As someone who flies weekly on business I can tell you that anything that prompts more carry on luggage is going to cause problems.
The days of empty seats are over. Flights are full as are the overhead bins. Often those who are last to board are forced to check their bags at the gate.
American’s checked bag charge will force those casual travelers who now check a bag for ease during the flight, will be prompted to carry on. That means delays. And unhappy customers.
American should have just tried to push through another rate increase. The other airlines would have been happy to follow their lead.
May 24, 2008 - 6:47 am mishu:Just put the price on the ticket. This nickel and diming crap is ridiculous. With all the regulations regarding carry-ons, it’s not always practical to not check in luggage. With business travelers requiring laptops on their trip, it’s next to impossible. The airline travel industry is bad enough with the caste system they have in place already with all their preferred access plans.
May 24, 2008 - 7:12 am jvon:Airlines regularly complain about my suitcase (I only check one) being too heavy. Now instead of apologizing to them, I will just smile and pay my $15.
The reason for all the hostility towards airlines, I think, is not that people don’t think they should be allowed to make money. It’s the absolutely atrocious customer service that most of them have. Everyone has a horror story about flying.
May 24, 2008 - 10:22 am Allyson Rowen Taylor:I understand why we have to pay more, and am willing to pay the price. However, I would also pay more for better TSA Security and the peace of mind that more flying Imans will not be on my flight.
May 24, 2008 - 10:49 am Tom Freeman:Annie, Great work!
The real problem I see is the perverse incentive to stuff everything into the largest possible carry-on bag, and then jam that into the overhead bin. As another commenter noted, planes are full these days, and this just makes the misery of stowing your bag worse. Just charge everyone $10-$15 more, don’t create an incentive to not check bags!
May 24, 2008 - 12:23 pm Henry Gomez:The market is miraculous in that it solves all these problems without any congressional hearings or bureaucratic studies. Your purchasing a hybrid is a perfect example of the market working as it should… on its own.
May 24, 2008 - 12:27 pm Xanthippe:I’d pay an extra $40 per flight if I could enjoy pleasant customer service, checked bags that I don’t have to wait an hour for, and maybe a tiny bit more room, although the last isn’t even necessary.
As it is now, flying is so miserable that I just won’t do it unless I absolutely have to.
It doesn’t seem all that long ago that I actually enjoyed flying. Maybe 20 years? How things have changed. Funny, the airlines all cried poverty then too.
May 24, 2008 - 8:27 pm Gozer the Carpathian:I have two words for you: Jet Blimps.
If only they’d get started on those. Cruise ships in the skies.
As for now, I think the dumbest thing American did here was announce the $15 bag charge. If they’d just raised their rates like that no one would have complained.
May 24, 2008 - 10:32 pm TrueSoldier:The big problem i see people having is dealing with change. Most people have grown up with not having to pay for checked baggage and now they do. People tend to get used to one thing and then along comes a change like this that upsets the norm. I too feel that a fare increase would have caused less frustration on the part of travelers. I travel internationally on business 3 to 4 times a year and I must say that the US Flag carriers have a thing or two to learn about customer serivce. I fly back and forth from Dubai to the US (no I don’t work for KBR or Halliburton LOL)and tend to use Emirates whenever possible. Their prices are on average 11% higher than the us prices, but their coach seating and service makes you feel like you are in business class. The times I have had to fly Delta have been horrendous. Rude flight attendants, people trying to bring aboard three bags (a laptop plus two carry ons) and then complaining when there is no room (causing departure delays). It is just sad that customer service means nothing anymore to US Flag Carriers.
May 25, 2008 - 3:39 am horatio:Just put everyone and their luggage on a cattle scale (after all we’re treated like cattle), and everyone pays a percentage more or less than some base fare. Big and heavy folks will pay more, as will skinny ones with heavy bags
May 25, 2008 - 6:05 am Whitehall:I have to agree with Ed. The result will be overhead compartments too full for everyone’s carry-ons. They will tell you to put your bag under the seat in front of you in the volume your feet would normally occupy.
What got me was the response of AA’s retired CEO. He essentially said that prior efforts at unspoken price fixing failed when some airline failed to go along with the price increase. Like they are all supposed to take the price signal and act as a cohesive (or colluding) group. He sounded surprised that the free market worked in the airline business!
May 25, 2008 - 1:01 pm Michael J.:Horatio has hit the nail on the head. All passengers are weighed, with ALL of their luggage, and then pay more or LESS, depending on what the airline designates as a “target weight per passenger”. This would incentivise all travelers to pack light. After all, fuel usage, (and cost), is all about the weight one is flying.
May 25, 2008 - 9:51 pm Grace Farmer:If all of those traveling businessmen would not try to stuff a 75 lb kluge bag into the overhead maybe there would be more space in the overhead bins.
The airlines have been running on empty for over 30 years now and finally the public is seeing the results. Grow up, its still cheaper than driving 100 miles or more.
More weight = more fuel consumption.
May 26, 2008 - 8:00 am Nikki Pratt:I think it’s ridiculous to charge for something so expected as luggage. Even worse, Northwest charges you for food on a 12 hour flight!
The article praises AA for their wing-tips but my understanding is that it is Continental that did it first. Continental also purchased new planes to be more fuel efficient before it became cool to do so. In terms of business decisions, I think that Continental airlines is doing better than any of the others. Aren’t they like the only airline making a profit right now?
May 26, 2008 - 10:46 pm Tom:I have an idea for the airlines. Everyone has to step on the scales and we pay by the pound!
May 27, 2008 - 9:21 am Venomous Kate:I rather like Horatio’s solution. Then again, my husband’s thin.
We booked a flight for 4 from Kansas City to Austin the day after AA announced the baggage charge. It wasn’t a big deal to us. We’d done the math and calculated the cost of driving down there (plus 2 nights’ hotel stay en route each way) and we’d only have saved $250… and 17 hours in the mini-van with two children who can’t stand sitting still.
As far as I’m concerned, we got a bargain.
May 27, 2008 - 3:44 pm KDAVIS:You can drop off your luggage at any The UPS Store in the nation and they will box and ship it for you at a reasonable price. It beats carrying it through the airport and paying extra if you have too many or they weigh too much.
You can track your shipment and it is guaranteed delivery and you can insure the contents.
Their Pack and Ship Promise contractually binds them to reimburse the cost of the items, the packaging cost and the shipping cost if lost, stolen or damaged.
May 27, 2008 - 8:52 pm DBinSD:I’m all for pay to play on just about everything - meals, drinks, whatever. But suggesting that carry on will work for the masses is just…wrong. Carry on isn’t really an option for many travelers. The list of items you cannot carry on a plane is quite long, changes frequently, and there are overall size restrictions to boot. Sure, 40 pounds is a lot of weight, if you want to puree your clothes in a blender. Plus there are the hassles of making sure all of your (and/or your girlfriend’s) various liquids, gels, sprays, whathaveyous fit in a small Ziploc bag. Not to mention the PITA of tracking down all the small travel size versions of all the stuff you need to take.
Besides, I’m a hunter; I travel with a firearm, which has to be checked separately from all other luggage. Other hunting equipment (pocketknives, for example) must be checked as well. That’s two bags I have to check on those trips, whether I want to do so or not.
Not saying the airline doesn’t have the right to charge me; but I also have the right to stay home.
May 27, 2008 - 8:57 pm egent0032:As TrueSoldier stated I wouldn’t mind paying more per ticket is I could get the service to go along with it. I have flown both domestically and internationally and I have to say flying on international carriers is almost always more pleasent. I think the a ticket increase would have caused a lot less uproar and some people stated people would probably have accepted it better. what gets me is the nickel and dime show. Between laptops that many business travelers have and the growing list of restrictions as to what is allowed in carryon it makes it very difficult for people to travel with any semblance of comfort anymore. Also a question that begs to be raised, if you are traveling with a carryon and the airline switches plane and your carryon is forced to be checked (this happened to me recently, apparently the plane they switched to had smaller bins and all wheeled carryones had to be checked.) Do you have to pay the fee?
Jun 3, 2008 - 9:10 am RIDHIMA:HOW MUCH DO THEY CHARGE ON HOW MUCH?
Jun 18, 2008 - 4:41 am