BigLar

1. The skycaps do not normally work for an airline, but for a private company. No flight privliges for them.

2. I suspect their wages are considerably less than $40K/year. The tips do make up a good portion of their income. Think of waitresses.

3. Most of them are AA (I think it's traditional, sort of like the Pullman porters, if anyone remembers what they were ). However, I have seen caucasian and other ethnicities as skycaps.

4. I've been in and out of places like DCA, BWI, LAX, IAH, etc., and I've never run into any noticable rudeness. Before the airline charge, I was a dollar-a-bag man and nobody ever made a fuss, scowled at me, or lost a bag.

5. In New York City, the parish priests give you the finger when you want to go to confession, so what do you expect from skycaps?

Tenacious

^

rw55

I use curbside checkin when I'm travelling with Mrs. rw55, because I can easily drop her and the bags at the terminal, then go dump the rental car. We've never had demands for tips, and the skycaps (or whatever they are) have generally been pretty helpful. They're usually good about quickly looking at my ID so that I can jump back in the car and run.

In fact the problem I've had most often is with security: about a quarter of the time, if I stand there showing my ID for curbside check-in, the police officer on duty comes charging over and demands that I get the car out of there. I tell them I'm with the car, but it does no good.

alanh

Pretty much all airports say the curb is for loading and unloading only -- no waiting. If the car is waiting for you to complete your checkin, yes, they can tell you to move it.

As for the rest, tipping: how much?/when?/is it a big scam? has been hashed out here many times.

Here's a CNN article from 2003 about skycap wages. The salary is typically subminimum, though some locations do require a "living wage" of $10/hr or so. The bulk of their earnings by far are tips.

empedocles

1. Typically they work for a contractor, not the airline. So no travel privileges.

2. Health care? Good question.

3. Pretty sure it is considerably less than what you think. I have no idea if they qualify for the $2.17 an hour or whatever it is that "tipped" employees make, but if not, I'm sure it is not much above minimum wage. I mean, the average counter agent doesn't even make $40k a year, do they?

4. As for tips, if they make less than minimum wage, they have to report tips on their taxes.

dizzy

secretbunnyboy

Do you honestly believe that there's a nationwide African-American labor cartel at work to keep white people out of these noisy, dirty, low-status, low-security jobs? If it's such a great deal, why aren't you applying?

Are you being serious or are you just having a joke at the expense of gullible people like me?

Tenacious

7) Skycaps at major airports

Many of the uniformed baggage handlers who check in luggage at curbside at the busiest metro airports pull in $70,000 to $100,000 a year -- most of it in cash.
On top of their salaries, peak earners can take in $300 or more a day in tips. Sound implausible? That amounts to a $2 tip from 18 travelers an hour on average. Many tip more than that.
While most skycaps are cordial, a good many treat customers with blank indifference, knowing harried travelers don't want to brave counter check-ins, especially in the post 9/11 age.

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Stor...le&dist=google

amsNYC

$40K/year is about $20/hour - can't imagine they are making close to that in salary.
I have seen plenty of white, latino and asian skycaps - in fact in Chicago last year after a h***ish day a caucasion gentleman skycap took my bag and was able to process my much needed upgrade - I tipped him $25 and it was worth every penny!

doctall41

Traditional, like it is traditional for slaves to be AA?
And hotel maids to be Latin American?

CDTraveler

I know skycaps aren't airline employees, don't get minumum wage (at least in our area), depend on their tips and my Dad taught me to tip for good service. On several recent trips, I've received great help from a couple skycaps (thank you, PHL skycap!) one of whom tracked down a car seat bag for me when the NW counter staff refused to help - yes, I tipped him well.

I've never had a situation where I felt forced to tip. I guess if you don't like to pay for their service, maybe you shouldn't use it. Perhaps you get the hints because they've already picked up on your attitude?


p.s. I disagree that all skycaps are African American - I've encountered quite a few of other races, including caucasian.

SJC1K

Once I arrived at ONT. I got delayed going to baggage claim--I forget why. When I got to baggage claim, baggage from my flight was still being unloaded. I waited, and my suitcase didn't appear. So I filed a report. Then as I was leaving the airport I passed a Skycap with my suitcase on his dolly. I said "Hey! That's mine!" and he stopped and gave it to me. Then he had the nerve to tell me that it was customary to tip for Skycap service. I said "For stealing my suitcase and making me chase you down to get it back? Are you crazy?" The chutzpah of some (note, some) Skycaps knows no bounds. (Btw, he was not African-American.)

flyrights

The point is, Fins, that it appears, repeat APPEARS that the skycap profession is one of these CLOSED professions, where you can only get the job like if your dad was one, or your uncle, or you're recommended by an EXISTING skycap.

That is my HUNCH, admittedly based on nothing but observations. I have no proof, and no inside information.

I have never seen a job announcement to become a Skycap. And I would guess there has never been one anywhere.

And as far as what they make, just observe one for ten minutes, see how much they get in CASH tips... then multiply by SIX to get the hourly rate... then add about $40,000 MINIMUM per year, plus health care, travel privledges, etc. And yes, they ARE airline employees. Then go watch a teacher for ten minutes... and multiply their salary by about 3 to get the skycap's take home pay. My hunch is the next time you have to deal with a skycap, you'll be less generous in the extortion/tip.

I repeat that people need to RISE UP against extortion.

On the flip side, sometimes I travel with my mother that needs a wheelchair... the airport wheelchair attendant may be with us for 15 or 20 minutes... they are NOT airline employees... they probably get paid $6 an hour, with no travel privledges, and maybe not even medical care. They are normally very polite and friendly. I ALWAYS tip them $3 to $5, and I know I don't have to... but I feel like they did something extra for me. I don't feel like Skycaps do anything "extra" for me... nothing more extra than the INSIDE terminal airline employees do.

Now if the airline is going to charge $2 per bag for some curb "service", I am NOT being forced to use or pay that... I have the CHOICE of going inside, maybe waiting longer, (but probably not)... but it is MY CHOICE. I just don't see where a skycap has done anything EXTRA to deserve a tip above and beyond the airline's fee.

WonderDude

I'm a big boy who can carry his own luggage and check in in the first class (short) line, so I do, and I almost never use skycaps/curbside checkin. If the lines are packed inside, I've found that they are long outside, as well. Why pay a buck or two to have the guy print out my pass, put a sticker on my bag, and load the bag on a conveyor belt? That's pretty much what they do inside, but I don't have to tip.

Now, if my bag is overweight, I'd rather tip 5-10 bucks than pay $25 at the inside counter. Or, if I'm running so late that I'm in danger of missing the luggage checkin cutoff, I can see the value-added service that curbside can provide.

I remember chatting with a seatmate on a flight a couple years ago who mentioned that he was a sales rep for a water heater company, and that he checked in 6 or 7 of his products for his sales trip. I asked him how he was able to get that much stuff on the plane, and he smiled and said that he tipped the skycap well. Now THAT's shady!

pgary

I have never understood curb side check in. I much prefer to actually see my luggage on the belt moving towards the luggage sorting area. That's one less person who can damage or lose my luggage. Moving my luggage from outside to inside is never any problem - it's on wheels and the floor is level.