Originally Posted by
rufflesinc
am i the only one missing something here? what is the $1-2 fee going towards? why would you tip if you are already paying for that specific service? sounds like protection money for the mafia if you ask me.
The only time I've ever used one is if the airline's check in line is very long and the skycap's is much shorter.
If the idea is for the airlines to collectively add baggage check capacity at peak times, why not just have some fully paid airport employees do this work, and build the cost into the ticket? The answer is obviously that the airlines would rather pass this cost on to the flying public.
Imagine if Costco let its checkout lines become unacceptably long, and then opened up a few new "skycap" checkouts. The latter perform the same service as the former, but with shorter lines. You are expected to tip, though.