Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan - No Free Bags on AA

I'm sure most of you already know. But AA anounced a charge for the 1st bag on Wednesday. I found this out from a coworker today. Usually you all keep me so up to date on these types of things, I was surprised to not already be in the know! Just thought I'd let anyone know who didn't already.

I wonder if this will be a hassle for AS codeshare flights; i.e. you fly to Kansas City, and on the return when you're checking in for the MCI - ORD portion they want to charge you their fees...

http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzair23,0,1603588.story

I'm sure most of you already know. But AA anounced a charge for the 1st bag on Wednesday. I found this out from a coworker today. Usually you all keep me so up to date on these types of things, I was surprised to not already be in the know! Just thought I'd let anyone know who didn't already.

I wonder if this will be a hassle for AS codeshare flights; i.e. you fly to Kansas City, and on the return when you're checking in for the MCI - ORD portion they want to charge you their fees...

http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzair23,0,1603588.story

It will be interesting to see how AA handles all the people trying to bring their roller bags on board. I'm sure the other airlines are paying attention to see how this works...or not.

...rather than wonder, do a little research. When this came out I read the text of their new policy and it says something about how they're going to handle that, code shares, etc. I don't remember exactly what it says, but it lays it out.

again thats AAs stupidity for having the fuel guzzling MD80 as half its fleet :td:

again thats AAs stupidity for having the fuel guzzling MD80 as half its fleet :td:

At $40-$60 a barrel I'm guessing it made financial sense for AA to keep its fleet of MD-80s rather than buy all new aircraft. When you keep in mind that oil didn't top $60 a barrel until 2005 (and it quickly fell back down below 50 for a short time afterwards), it's pretty easy to understand why AA still has its fleet. I think the general consensus was that they would hold on to their MD-80s until the next generation 737s came online (utilizing the technology that the 787s are using), thus giving them a big leg up over their competition.

It's pretty unfair to torch AA for a policy that was pretty reasonable only a couple of years ago. You can argue that they should have had the foresight to see $130/barrel oil coming, but I think a lot of us are surprised that the price of oil has gone up so rapidly in such a short period of time.

At $40-$60 a barrel I'm guessing it made financial sense for AA to keep its fleet of MD-80s rather than buy all new aircraft. When you keep in mind that oil didn't top $60 a barrel until 2005 (and it quickly fell back down below 50 for a short time afterwards), it's pretty easy to understand why AA still has its fleet. I think the general consensus was that they would hold on to their MD-80s until the next generation 737s came online (utilizing the technology that the 787s are using), thus giving them a big leg up over their competition.

It's pretty unfair to torch AA for a policy that was pretty reasonable only a couple of years ago. You can argue that they should have had the foresight to see $130/barrel oil coming, but I think a lot of us are surprised that the price of oil has gone up so rapidly in such a short period of time.well Im guessing that when they said they would park some planes and cut routes I can only guess they meant parking some of those things...hmmm maybe they should sell some to the Congo! ^ Just think over there they wont even bother doing the wiring inspections and would fly as is hoping for the best :eek:

I went to the AA website, and looked at the fine print. It suggests that if you're flying on an AA codeshare that isn't operated by AA, then the fee doesn't apply.

It doesn't address the issue of an AS codeshare operated by AA, which suggests to me that there's not an exception from the fees.

...rather than wonder, do a little research. When this came out I read the text of their new policy and it says something about how they're going to handle that, code shares, etc. I don't remember exactly what it says, but it lays it out.

When I looked, I only found the policy for the previous set of charges (i.e. 1st bag free). Actually, in the end, I don't think the policy was that clear, but deduced that if connecting to AS on AS codeshare, AS fees would apply. The point actually was though, regardless of the policy, I've often noted that the check in agents are not always that up to date on their own policies (especially the confusing ones with lots of exceptions and variables), and sometimes you have a hassle to convince them of their own policy.

2 examples:
When I moved up to Alaska, I bought a 1 way ticket on Frontier. I was moving...I was taking a lot of luggage! When I bought the ticket, they had a 3 bag, 70lb limit...but between purchase and flying they decreased to 2 bags, 50 lb. Spent a LONG time at LAX convincing the gate agent that my ticket, being purchased prior to the change, was subject to the old rules. Finally she conferred with her supervisor who confirmed that I was correct.

When I went on vacation to Namibia, and flew through South Africa, the agent at ATL wanted to deny me boarding because she thought I would need 2 entire blank pages in my passport (South Africa requires an entire blank page in the endorsements section). She thought 2 - one for South Africa, one for Namibia. I argued with her for several minutes that since I was transiting in South Africa, I didn't need a blank page at all. She actually rebooked me flights back home before conferring with her manager who confirmed that I was correct, and I got to Namibia with NO further problems at all.

I guess the point is, no matter what the policies are, sometimes they don't know them, and if you want to make sure they abide by them, you do endure some hassle...

It's pretty unfair to torch AA for a policy that was pretty reasonable only a couple of years ago. You can argue that they should have had the foresight to see $130/barrel oil coming, but I think a lot of us are surprised that the price of oil has gone up so rapidly in such a short period of time.I guess thats the difference between good Executives and bad ones! Good ones can forsee these kinds of situations and bad ones say oh well lets keep the MDs. Its those huge desicions that either earns or loses CEOs and COOs the big bucks

I guess thats the difference between good Executives and bad ones!

Please give us a list of all U.S. airlines that in 2005 hedged the majority of their fuel requirements for 2008. By implication of your logic, all those who failed to do so are led by bad executives.

Please give us a list of all U.S. airlines that in 2005 hedged the majority of their fuel requirements for 2008. By implication of your logic, all those who failed to do so are led by bad executives.
It is unfortunate, but the era of the modern mega-company CEO often involves very little long-range planning. Short term stock price increases=enormous compensation; long-range success=little return for the CEO.

I know that if I pay to check a bag and my bag is delayed (or lost), I am going to insist upon a refund of the checked baggage fee in addition to normal compensation. I would go so far as to dispute the charge with my CC company as a service paid for but not provided.

This really puts those who check liquids that can't be carried on between an airline rock and a TSA hard place: Either don't bring it at all, or pay what is essentially an extra shipping charge to check it.

I expect TSA will be confiscating a lot more oversized (more than 100ml) containers of liquids, like bottles of wine that are souvenirs, as people try to sneak them into their carry ons on AA and any other airline that follows suit.

I've said this before, but this is the EasyJet model and it has finally arrived here. There is nothing novel about this, just takes some mental adjustment to grab on to the a la carte offering. Take a look at their web site to learn more about what might be coming.

From EasyJet:
What is included in your fare:
1. The price of your flight
2. Europe’s most generous hand baggage allowance
3. All government taxes and airport charges

What costs extra:
1: Get ahead of the crowd with Speedy Boarding/Speedy Boarding Plus! Be among the first through the boarding gate, get the widest choice of seats, and at certain airports get access to a dedicated check-in desk. $15
2: Checked bag - $10 up to 44lbs
3: Travel insurance - they really push this and you have to remove it from your ticket before buying


Re AA:
The loophole is going to be all the folks with their rollerboards that do not fit or overflow the carry-on capacity - will they have to pay at the gate? I can imagine the boarding process will come to a grinding halt as AA has to argue with each passenger requested to give up their bag and pay $15.