Tag Archives for checked bag fees.
Southwest Airlines has announced the end of Bags Fly Free, the primary benefit separating it from competitors – and idea they have consistently rejected.
Together with cutting points-earning by two-thirds on the fares most customers buy, Southwest now says they will offer basic economy fares – something they said they would never do.
No checked bag fees has been a sine qua non of Southwest Airlines. Customers choose Southwest because of this. It makes them appear friendlier and more flexible. And there are strong economic reasons why this is a great choice for the airline. It also differentiates them from other airlines, in an otherwise mostly homogenous industry. And free checked bags may be on the way out. Departure Of Chief Transformation Officer Signals Change Ryan Green has been in charge of the Southwest Airlines transformation. Under pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, they’ve been making changes – and becoming more like the rest of the industry – but not fast enough for the fund that’s taken control of nearly half the Board of Directors. Green is leaving, and the news followed the announcement of the upcoming departures…
Southwest Airlines is beginning redeye flights. They’re working on premium seating and assigned seats. They’ve been slow in most of their new efforts, and are being dragged into change faster by an activist investor. But some of what’s under consideration could do real damage to the Southwest brand and the multiples that their stock has been able to achieve – and alienate customers who are fanatically loyal.
It is time to end differential tax treatment for airfares versus fees, since that creates a perverse incentive to shift customer spending from fares into fees. Any politician who rails against airline fees without addressing the role they have in legislating the tax code is unserious.
What happens if you’ve purchased a ticket, you’re about to board your flight, and the airline demands $400 that you don’t have? Two women traveling United Airlines had to find out. And they were only able to fly, along with all of their belongings, thanks to the kindness of a stranger traveling on the same flight that day who pulled out her own credit card.
The Oregon-based musician, singer, and Rhodes scholar JT Flowers shared what he witnessed at the boarding gate. Two passengers, that he noted were “black women speaking broken English,” were told that they could not board because “they can’t afford to pay $400 to check two tiny purses at the gate.”
Luggage shipping services haven’t ever really seemed quite ready to go mainstream even though they’ve been around for many years. However a Shark Tank contestant company pitches that you save both time and money shipping with them. Here’s the math, how it works, and the risks involved.
The Biden administration plans to crack down to require refund of fees when bags are delayed for over 12 hours.
The Department of Transportation proposed rulemaking is expected to cover refund of other fees for services that an airline charges for but doesn’t deliver, such as payment for inflight internet when the service is unusable.
Leisure travel isn’t just vacation, it’s also “visiting friends and relatives” or ‘VFR’ for short. And those passengers tend to check a lot of luggage. What’s more, the mix of passengers traveling has changed. Business travelers don’t tend to check nearly as much luggage. So the same number of passengers as before on a plane comes with more luggage now than it used to.
American Airlines has adjusted some baggage fees in the Mexico, Caribbean, and Latin America market, perhaps most notably increasing third checked bag fees to $200.
American Airlines today has increased first check bag fees on flights between North American (or Central or South America) and Europe on basic economy fares from $60 to $75.
Last month JetBlue increased its first checked bag fee to $35 but kept it at $30 if prepaid online. Now United has announced they’re matching the move on domestic and short haul Latin America and Caribbean routes.
With United getting rid of bag sizers at the gate and higher bag fees may exacerbate the ‘bring everything on board’ mentality.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
