FYI Airine Fee for checked luggages - ways to avoid unexpected extras

By Christopher Elliott
Travel columnist
MSNBC contributor
updated 2:40 p.m. CT, Wed., May. 21, 2008


Christopher Elliott
Travel columnist

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American Airlines’ decision to slap a $15 fee on the first checked bag — that’s right, the first checked bag — isn’t the airline industry’s first attempt to squeeze more money from passengers through a sneaky surcharge. And it won’t be its last.

The airline blamed “increasing costs of transporting checked baggage,” for its move. “While we understand that these fees affect customers, we also believe that our pricing for the services we provide remains extremely competitive in the industry and continues to offer our customers ample choice and value,” American’s chief executive, Gerard Arpey, said in a prepared statement.

Reaction across the blogosphere was swift and unusually critical. Gadling’s Grant Martin predicted chaos this summer as a result of the new fee. Jaunted compared American to Ryanair, the Irish discount carrier that charges for anything not bolted down on its planes. And the ubiquitous Rick Seaney asked, “What are they thinking?”


“American Airlines is upping the ante,” added fellow msnbc.com columnist Charlie Leocha, who predicted this two years ago.

Me? I’ll resist the I-told-you-so.

It remains unclear if other airlines will follow American’s lead. Most pundits feel it’s not a question of if, but when, the other major airlines will start charging for all checked luggage. But at least one carrier — Delta Air Lines — says it won’t, for now.

Here’s something none of the airlines with luggage fees are likely to tell you: You don’t have to pay. Here are four ways you can avoid these unexpected extras.

1. Carry on your luggage
Obviously, if you have nothing to check, you won’t be charged. But by taking all of your belongings on the plane, you’re also sending a clear message to the airline: enough is enough. The nickeling and diming won’t work. “It’s going to slow the boarding process,” predicts Jonathan Yarmis, a frequent flier and technology industry analyst Weston, Conn. “Flights will take longer to board. Things will run late. That’s going to cost airlines way more than the revenue they generate.” Joel Widzer, author of “The Penny Pincher’s Passport to Luxury Travel,” agrees. “This could backfire,” he told me.

But don’t let that stop you. In fact, you should carry on the maximum luggage you’re allowed. Take your time boarding, too. If enough passengers do, then it could put this ill-advised fee out of its misery.

2. Cite the contract
Although American Airlines has been clear that it will only charge its new $15 fee for tickets bought on or after June 15, other airlines have tried to impose similar fees retroactively. For example, Nick Anderson made reservations to fly from Knoxville, Tenn., to Bangor, Maine, last November on Delta Air Lines. “I was careful to check the baggage rules and Delta policy allowed for two bags to be checked free of charge per passenger,” he told me. “Now, many months after making the reservation, I see that the policy has changed to allow only one checked bag per passenger and that they will charge $25 for each additional bag.”

My reading of Delta’s Contract of Carriage — the legal agreement between Anderson and the airline — leads me to conclude that the rules under which he booked his ticket should be the ones that apply to his flight. So I put Anderson in touch with a Delta customer service manager. “The executive told me the fee was retroactive,” Anderson said after speaking with him. “Why would anyone book on Delta when you have no way of knowing what their fees will be when you arrive at the check in?” I think Anderson can, and should, make his case when he gets to the ticket counter — and I hope he does.