Checked-Bag Charge Could Be Last Straw

By M. Diane McCormick, The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pa.

Jun. 2–Even in an industry whose customers expect frustration, Scott Miller suspects that airline passengers have their limits.

American Airlines’ pending surcharge of $15 for the first checked-in bag — an industry first — could be trouble, said Scott Miller, Harrisburg International Airport’s spokesman.

“I think that’s going to be a bellwether fee,” he said. “If they’re successful with it, then all the airlines will follow suit somewhere down the road. Personally, I don’t think they’ll be successful with it.”

While airline fares are rising, the real sticker shock can come when adding up the related fees and surcharges airlines are passing onto customers.

Bottom line: When shopping for a flight, pay attention to all those extra charges, which can add hundreds of dollars to your total bill.

“Read the fine print,” said Harry Cheadle, travel director for AAA Central Penn.

Most airlines are charging $25 for a second checked bag — that’s $50 for a round trip. Fuel surcharges add $40 to $130 on a round trip.

Changing the itinerary after booking a flight can get pricy. What used to be a nominal fee can now cost an additional $150.

Last month, United raised its fee for changing tickets to $150, up from $100. US Airways also charges $150.

Other airlines have change fees ranging from $20 to $100.

Fuel prices are rising, but cutthroat competition in the fuel-dependent aviation industry keeps fares too low to recoup the losses, Miller said. So, airlines’ fuel surcharges are rising.

American’s checked-bag policy — $15 for the first bag per ticketed passenger per one-way flight, $25 for the second — takes effect June 15. American Eagle, an American Airlines division, is one of seven airlines operating out of HIA.

American’s policy helps the airline anticipate likely rising fuel costs from the time a ticket is purchased to the day of the flight, perhaps weeks later, Miller said.

“American has no other way to get additional revenue out of you,” Miller said. “It’s generating cash for travel. From a business perspective, if you’re sitting in American headquarters in Dallas, this idea makes sense.”

But for consumers, he said, “what they really need to do is charge $15 more at time of sale and keep the convenience that everybody has come to expect.”

Cheadle doesn’t see the other airlines following American’s lead on charging for the first checked bag “because it is so unpopular.”

“American made a big mistake with this one,” Cheadle said. “It’s a public relations fiasco. It’s nothing but a fare increase.”

For now, passengers are paying some of the costs in extra fees and surcharges for once-free services.

And there are additional charges to change reservations not made with that airline (such as consumers booking flights through a Web site such as Expedia or Travelocity).

US Airways is also charging a fee of $5 passengers who want an aisle or window seat in the first several rows of the coach section. And the airline is eliminating free snacks in coach on all domestic flights, although the airline will still provide free soft drinks.

As airline costs rise, airlines are struggling to find revenue.

U.S. passenger airlines used to spend about 15 percent of their budgets on fuel, according to the Air Transport Association. Now, it’s about 40 percent, with industry costs expected to jump from last year’s $41.2 billion to $61.2 billion this year.

The rapid rise in fuel prices is reshaping the industry, Miller said.

“With fuel prices where they are today, if they continue to rise, we could see a dramatically different industry 18 or 24 months from now,” Miller said. “What does it look like? Nobody knows.”

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