percysmith

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/bu...irlines&st=cse


“Bringing a big bag and expecting it to travel for free, it’s too much to ask,” said Stephen McNamara, director of communications for Ryanair. “It’s expensive to ship something heavy in an airplane when fuel prices are very high.” Mr. McNamara said the airline had as a goal nothing less than changing passenger behavior. “People are packing way too much; women bringing four pairs of shoes, hair dryers, that sort of thing.”

I already have lady friends who want to plant their heels into this Ryanair executive's forehead for his comment (some say he deserves all four pairs of heels they can't carry on now).

NYCTaximan

Spirit is going to hurt their customer base. I hope other airlines pick up all of their customers. Enough is enough. How do you expect to travel without taking any bags?

sbagdon

Considering I can't remember the last time that a fee was implemented then removed, I figure it's only a matter of who's first, and when.

cdfinney

I know I'm in the minority here, but I like it. Since they started charging for checked bags people are carrying on more bags. Why only charge for checked ones? In Europe you only get 1 carry on. If your a FF you won't be affected by this and yes I HAVE to check 2 bags not by choice. I say charge away as boarding planes is getting silly sometimes. Cheers from a quick trip down under.

karch

When do they start charging for air to breath during the flight?

percysmith

It even made the news in Hong Kong (both TV and newspapers). And this is a jurisdiction where baggage fees don't exist for local airlines (CX just started front aisle fees...)

RatherBeOnATrain

"Ryanair confirms it WILL bring in charges for on-board toilets": http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/ar...phased-in.html

judolphin

I know we like to overreact, but this is SPIRIT AIRLINES, the Ryanair of the US. If large airlines took them seriously, we'd all be flying $9 fares and be paying for ginger ale on board.

Even if it works, Spirit Airlines is much more likely to get away with this than any would-be copycats would since they're often genuinely a ton cheaper than anyone else.

That said, knowing what I know about Spirit, I'll never give them a penny of my money.

WesNSpace

Pilot

PepeBorja

Those statements are false.

Personal Items can be brought on-board. The size must be of something that can be tucked under the seat. You are not REQUIED to stow it under the seat, only that it MUST fit under the seat.

My backpack, 2 laptop overnighter rollerbags, and even my TUMI trifold garment bag fit under the seat just fine. One time I was able to fit my TUMI trifold and backpack together under the seat in an E175.

The policy is aimed to A) Collect a fee for luggage, and B) get people to check in their luggage and not bring it on board.

PepeBorja

My route is MSP - CLT and is flow using E175 and CRJ900s.

The CRJ900 does not allow rollerbags other than overnighter rollerbags, the small kind with enough room for a laptop and a change of clothes. All rollebags are gatechecked by the GAs.

The difference in boarding expedience is obvious between the two airplanes as passengers can only bring personal items and smaller soft bags on board.

In a CRJ900 there is no real need to board early and claim OH bin space. Whatever you bring onboard will fit under the seat in front of you.

The current system with fees for luggage checked is forcing many passengeres to bring their luggage on board to skip the fee. That transaltes into the "stressful and contentious" boarding process we see today because the demand for OH space is higher.

The airline is simply saying that ALL luggage must pay a fee. It is the passenger's choice to check it in or carry it on board.

yamakake

The convenience of traveling on carry on only (and I can do a couple of weeks of work and/or leisure in a 19", handle and wheels included, rolling bag that weighs in loaded at 10 kg/22 lb, and I am a pretty high maintenance female) is worth a fee. It's not the fee that keeps me from checking luggage, but the inconvenience.

Assuming I manage to maintain some sort of status with Delta I'd likely not have to pay a carry-on fee in any case, but it would still be worth it for me if I did.

And if I did have to pay a fee to use the overhead, and if that fee were prohibitively high I'd just find a way to pare my luggage down to the point that it would fit under the seat.

baccarat_king

Sometimes you just don't have a choice.

Not a fan of NK, but sometimes 'ya gotta do, what ya gotta do....'

OlderGeek

Actually, what the airline is saying is that they are raising their price. It is the very rare traveler that has no baggage.

jb831

I don't think DL will follow.

(If they want to increase baggage-fee revenue, then they should just better enforce existing carry-on restrictions).