MKEbound

I'm NWA Plat. I'll be exempt for a while ...but... I'm the "travel guy" I help friends and family book flights. Years ago, I pushed people to book NW, or other carriers; now I push Southwest & Jetblue.

scotty00

Wrath

Pride

Wrath (again)

Envy

Greed


4 for 7....not too bad.

BearX220

Passengers really ought to shop for the best deal on the services they want to use. Not every competitor will emulate DL on this one. If consumers operated with more knowledge, or at least rationally, this wouldn't stick.

GUWonder

Passengers pay for the services they use -- including checked bags -- as it's ordinarily considered to be included in the price of the ticket.

Let's see what DL does for tickets to/from Brazil.

fgirard

They should really do away with the fees as more and more people will now try to stash their excessively large suitcases in the overhead bin (If you fly to/from DCA, you know about the lack of bin space because of the suitcases). Because of that, the F/As would then check the bags of the last people to board, regardless of bag size, and make them pay the fee.

In fact, on one trip to PTY, we were on a 757-200 from ATL and because of the amount of suitcases in the overhead bins, the F/As were making people check their bags, as there was no room on board.

US Airways was bad with their fees, but not this bad

idayvuelta

+10

kalstravels

As denCSA mentions the experience with his mother and the non-arrival of baggage and the subsequent claim back from the CC company - CONGRATULATIONS!

I urge everyone whose luggage has been delayed to claw back those domestic bag fees from the Credit Card company - I am just waiting for a lawsuit to happen - someone will sue Delta because they paid for luggage fees on bags that never arrived - and you will see how the executives with their cocky IVY League business degrees will quickly yield.

If you recall last year Delta quickly conceded and waived the fee when people threatened lawsuits on the 2nd checked bag domestic fee they instituted for those that purchased tickets prior to the announcement date ( and were not grandfathered in on the old rules)

And for all you elites that think doesn't affect you - just wait. Recall that last year when United started with their 2nd bag fee people (domestic) hardly blinked. In fact people just teased them. Then, it went to the 1st bag as well and many airlines followed suit. I respected Delta and Continental back then for holding out. What happened? Delta now charges for both bags and voila, they start this 2nd bag international fee. Continental also reneged because their can't wait to get in bed with the pioneer of the bag fees, United in their bid and subsequent acceptance into the star alliance.

We need Elites to speak up -and those free drinks at the Delta "Sky" Clubs are numbered too.

And trust me, those Ivy League Delta bean counters have done their job - the most frequent fliers (elites) rarely check bags. They hall two large carry-ons because they have a business meeting on the morning of their arrival in Europe and wouldn't dare go to a meeting in soiled underwear because Delta lost their checked luggage. Think they were so nice to you treating to you to a nice meal in Business Elite? - think again - your company paid $5000 for that fare whereas that guy in coach who spent $50 buying Delta's booze on board and a gourmet take-on-meal from Wolfgang Puck paid a mere $600 for his ticket. He's got $4400 to burn on a suite at a Ritz whereas you've got a measely squalid room at the Hilton booked at the "corporate rate".

Please start bombarding your customer service reps/managers with letters of kind protest.

fgirard

And all this time, I thought it was US that was the pioneer of fees...

However, does anyone know if the new checked bag fee applies to Delta codeshare flights with AF or KL. On 1 June, a colleague and I are scheduled to fly from IAD-BCN via CDG on AF, but the tickets are issued on Delta stock (006xxxxx...), but, if he wants to check-in online, would he still have to pay the fee?

pjpoker

Its been said before, but your going to pay it regardless. Higher fares, fees, whats the difference. At least most people here are educated enough to factor fees into their ticket price.

I'd prefer airlines charge a few fees so that they may be in business in 5 years, rather than only 2 major airlines remaining, able to charge what they want since theres no more competition.

sxf24

I agree. Although we all dislike the "un-bundling" of the travel experience, there is no proof to show that it drives customers away. In fact, most analysts are critical of WN for leaving hundreds of millions of dollars on the table by not implementing some type of baggage fee. This is the wave of the future, though I would expect to see some "re-bundling" of full fare economy tickets, ala Business Select.

Of course, if airlines are going to charge baggage fees, they need to ensure bags are handled expeditiously and with great accuracy.

jtrue28

Yeah, because as we've seen this really works. :rolls eyes while shaking head:

fgirard

However, with WN, any change in flights "may" result in a fare increase. Therefore, if you need to change you flight, WN can charge the difference between the booked class, and the fully refundable class which is a very large differential. For example, from PVD-BWI, the ticket (14 day purchase), can be as low as $39. However, if you need to change that flight, WN can charge the difference between the old fare and the new (fully refundable) fare, which sometimes is $200. Therefore $200 - $39 = $161, and if enough people do this, then they don't need to charge baggage fees as if the standard fee is $20/bag, then 8 fees would be waived just by that change.

jbatl

Is there a legacy carrier that refunds bag fees if your checked luggage is delayed? This is a real question, not rhetoric. I thought I read somewhere that refunding the fee was a policy, but I can't recall which airline.

OHDL1

When is the change effective?

Customers flying in international Economy Class beginning July 1, 2009, for tickets purchased on or after April 21, 2009, would be charged for a second checked bag assuming they are not excluded for their Elite status, fare class (Full Y) or because they are active military members traveling on orders.



Who would be excluded from the additional fee (Platinum/First, etc.)?

First and Business Class passengers; SkyMiles and Worldperk Elite members (Executive/Platinum/Gold/Silver, including Flying Colonels); Active duty military members traveling on orders; passengers who purchased tickets prior to April 21, 2009; passengers who are confirmed on a Full Y class Economy ticket.

fgirard

I thought that it was American because last year, I flew from LAX to OKC via DFW, which I had to pay a fee to check my bags. However, because the flight was delayed departing LAX, the connection time was too short for my bags to make the connection, and when I went to the baggage services counter, they gave me a voucher to use when I was checking baggage in again with AA.