It wouldn't have helped. I mean, who is going to choose to fly CO because of one free checked bag? The casual flyer may not really be aware or differentiate, and the FF or business traveler will either be elite or charging to a company or doesn't check bags or all three. I fail to see a major market for holding the line on checked bag fees.

And it is more than just attracting customers. Loads remain high and capacity cuts will likely keep things that way for a while. Increasing traffic is of minimal value, particularly given the high marginal costs today.

What CO needs to do is drive revenue. To do that, you would have to get people to pay more for their tickets because you don't charge for the bags. But what rational person would do that? If CO increases their fares to match a competitor's fare + surcharge, then the consumer should be indifferent between the two options. If CO increases by something less than that, then they are leaving money on the table. I know that some people here proudly claim that they would prefer to see it all bundled in, but who is really going to pay more (or even the same) to save themselves 30 seconds of arithmetic?

And bundling actually increases the expected cost of your ticket. With the surcharge system, your cost of travel is, say, $300 + {[(probability of checking a bag) * $30] * time value of money} Bundling the cost means your cost is $330. Therefore, the expected bundled cost is higher any time your probability of checking a bag is = 1, and where there is no time value of money.