sarpotd

Yes. I think everyone should get a quota of weight + luggage. If you are heavy you have to pack light or pay more.

Silver Fox

I'll have a pint of what the OP has been drinking please bartender.

Doppy

There are already fares that don't include bags if you don't want to pay for them, and low cost airlines that charge for everything, even water on the plane. Rather than complaining that United is "socialist" for giving elites, credit card holders, or premium cabin passengers some freebies in exchange for their loyalty or paying more money, perhaps there's a different airline you might prefer to fly that disaggregates fees for everything?

Either that, or next flight ask United for a prorated refund if you drink less water than they have catered per pax and let us know the results - could be a major new revenue stream for frequent flyers who prefer to be dehydrated in the air.

fbrdky

If you're travelling internationally, "Pack for a Purpose" https://www.packforapurpose.org/ will gladly accept your offer to take medical supplies to less developed countries.

chavala

Sometimes I wish we had the laughing emoji rather than just a LIKE button

mduell

United offers bundles that include luggage, or not, but I don't see why they should be required to offer every bundled item a la carte in both directions.

sarpotd

Yes. But the fares also do not include seat assignment or boarding privileges, so it is not an apples to apples to comparison. A fare that ONLY did not include baggage is probably a good proxy for what I am asking.

My initial post was about reputable couriers that pay you to carry their baggage airport to airport. I know there were outfits like that pre-pandemic. I see only one post that has come close to offering something concrete.

I have gotten multiple $50 vouchers from Alaska because the bags missed the connecting flights. It was fine by me since they delivered the luggage to the residence (though slightly beaten up.)

docbert

It did get around to that, but it started with you saying "they should refund me the same amount if I do not use up the quota allocated to me" and then literally suggesting that the government should force them to do that.

Whilst I have nothing to back it up with, my suspicion has always been that higher levels of frequent flyers likely carry (and in particular, check) less baggage that the average flyer. They also likely pay more per mile for their tickets (again, on average) than the average flyer - even if you were to group by cabin class. At least part of the reason the airlines offer these higher baggage limits to their freq flyers is because they know they won't use them most of the time (in probably thousands of flights as a 1K, I think I've checked 3 bags exactly once, and my average is probably around 0.03 checked bags per flight!)

The additional cost to United for offering a high-level frequently flyer "3 bags, 70lb each" over "1 bag, 50lb" is likely almost zero - because the percentage of such flyers that ever check more than 1 bag is going to be low.

Airlines are not a "cost plus" business. There is no direct relationship between what you pay and what it costs them to transport you, and if they were then you could expect to be weighted on boarding and have your bags charged on an actual weight basis (not "up to 50lb").

Lux Flyer

I’m confused, I thought this is what you’re against - isn’t a bag being included a „quota“ up to whoch you may or may not use the full amount? How is this proposal of a weight + luggage different? Are you also suggesting you should get a refund in this system where you don‘t use your full weight + luggage quota?

fastair

One could then buy a basic economy fare, use their MP status for boarding group (or chase card) and pay for a seat assignment. Still likely less than a fully bundled fare and it gets you to your desired combination.

mahasamatman

You're asking for a complete �-la-carte selection? That's what ULCCs do, not full-service airlines. If that's what you really want, I recommend you start looking into those airlines.

They still exist, but they don't get much business these days. The ones that do don't even make it worth your time any more - you get something like a 5-10% fare discount and that's about it. You also don't get to pick destination or schedule, so not useful if you actually want to go somewhere.

narvik

I like it! With 3 x 70 lbs luggage allowance, but only seldom traveling with any checked luggage at all, I can put on 210 lbs, and still be within the quota!

trm2

This reminds me of another thread from long ago, selling headphones.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/13808298-post1.html

PTahCha

Check a banana on your next trip to fully utilize all of your benefits.

Lux Flyer

Keeping in mind, packaged as such it would appear to fall under UA's fragile item policy and they'd have no liability for failing to deliver or completely smashing it (within the US) or giving you the cost of a banana (international)..

https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/bag...ble-items.html