I've not been a big user of skycaps, but I think the airlines have created a sticky situation here.

Without a service fee per bag, I would certainly have no issues tipping, because there was (in my mind) an implication that the airline was just providing the body, which (again, in my mind) implies that the person was working on the 'tipping scale' of lesser wages.

Once the airline starts providing the body AND charging for the service provided, I see that as a non-tipped position. At that point, to me, the airline should be paying the skycaps as they are now the vehicle through which the airline is collecting a not-so-trivial two bucks a bag.

I appreciate the plight of the skycaps, who are really the ones getting squeezed out, but, on the other hand, my role in life is not to be a charity. (I know that sounds harsh, and I don't mean it to be, but it's true).

Steve