As we all know over the last few years airlines have been cracking down more and more on checked bagged fees. First it was a fee for your second bag, then it was a fee for your first, then the fees got higher and higher….eventually everyone just started stuffing everything into a carry on; Which makes me think about my flying experience and how it has changed since these checked bag fees have come into play. There are a couple different aspects/travelers of the trip that stand out most:
-The “I had no idea”: These are the people that have their whole family going on vacation and get to the front of the check in line and are told their bag fees are going to total hundreds of dollars. These flyers don’t fly a lot and put on a shocked face while saying…..”I had no idea!” They then start scrambling unpacking all their bags, trying to stuff all of their stuff into two bags, only to discover this just makes those bags overweight and there are fees for that too. These are the people that hold up the line and almost make you miss your flight.
-The “I don’t want to pay for my checked bag, but I need to bring things in my carry on I’m not allowed too.” There are two different types of these people. The first type didn’t realize they had 3,000 liquids, gels, and aerosols in their bag until they were in the security line. They begin searching through their bag, dumping things into trash cans, while talking to TSA asking them if this or that counts as something they can’t bring. These people are annoying, but I’m a little more forgiving of them then the other type. The other type is well aware of what they can’t bring but they feel they have to have it anyway, so they rebel against TSA and hope they can get through with illegal items in their bag. (In their defense they’ve probably gotten through 9 out of 10 times) However, when they don’t get through they’re the ones with their bags getting rescanned, asked to step aside, searched, asked to get back at the end of the line and “try again.” All the while you’re standing there wishing they had just checked their bag all along but then realize they didn’t because of the fee.
-The “You told me I could carry this on when checking in and are now telling me my bag doesn’t fit on the plane!” This whole situation just cracks me up. One minute the airline is telling people they absolutely need to pay fees for their checked bags, the next minute your carry on doesn’t fit on the plane and they’re checking it for free. Or how about the poor people who don’t check their bags to avoid fees, and save time (often business travelers) then happen to be the last ones on the plane and are told they need to check their bag. Where is the airlines compensation for that inconvenience? Do they look at it as a reward because you didn’t have to pay to check it? Uh, maybe if they were allowed to carry liquids, gels, and aerosols in there, didn’t throw half their stuff away, pack light, and you let them skip baggage claim.
-Of course we have “The stuffer.” This one is plain and simple: You’re trying to board an already delayed plane, standing in line in the aisle waiting to sit down and “the stuffer” is trying to shove their bag into an overhead compartment it will never fit in. Often times, “The stuffer” is followed closely behind by the, “Pleasant flight attendant” who looks like she is about to have a heart attack and is “politely” yelling at “the stuffer” saying, “You need to check that, it doesn’t fit. You need to check that. Give that to me. I’ll check it.” She obviously doesn’t realize “the stuffer” doesn’t give up.
-And finally the “This is way too heavy and stuck for me to get out.” Often this is “the stuffer” once the plane is de-boarding or young women. (I know, sorry gals, I’m one of you too!) Somehow we got our stuff up there, but we just can’t seem to get it down and everyone can see we are struggling. Often times the “This is way too heavy and stuck for me to get out,” Is helped out by someone nearby who is pretending to be polite but usually just wants to get the he** off the plane and is so annoyed by them.
-Which brings me to the article I read today: http://businesstravel.about.com/b/2010/06/02/checked-bag-fees-free-skymiles.htm “Finally, a break on checked bag fees…” business travelers flying on Delta and using a Delta SkyMiles credit card can now check their first bag free. WELL….wooo flippity hoo. Someone finally realized that checked bag fees are not worth the hassle of everything above? Believe it or not many people avoid flying all together because of things like the above and what the airline industry has turned into. In the end, they’re probably losing more money because of these fees rather than trying to creating an extra revenue stream and cut costs.
In my opinion, someone could have thought of something a little better to help airlines. There is a reason Southwest is so successful, where bags fly free all the time………they focus on their operational efficiency. They save money, make money, and people are happy.
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