A great question, to be sure. I’ve not been one who complains about “baggage fees” and other forms of unbundling, and I remain a person who is passionately indifferent. But with US Airways recent announcement that it is raising fees for bags that weigh between 50 and 70 pounds from $50 to $90 dollars and for a 3rd checked bag from $100 to $125 dollars! My personal favorite, the fee for checking in a bag that weighs 71 pounds (the weight that used to be the first to be considered overweight) is now a whopping $175 dollars! That’s more than many roundtrip airfares US Airways charges, I’m certain. I’m not positive, but I think if that 71 pound bag happens to be your 3rd bag, you pay $175 + $125!! Can a reader confirm that?
Let’s be honest. I don’t have the first clue what it costs an airline to ship a bag from point A to point B. The one airline I worked for certainly knows that number to the penny. Whether I know it or not, I’d bet money that number isn’t anywhere north of $100 dollars. If US Airways’ new fees spread to the other airlines, you can rest assured that I will be convinced that baggage fees have begun to separate from reality.
If you are checking three bags and the third bag weighs over 70lbs, you have bigger problems than paying excessive bag fees. I don’t care where you’re flying or how long you’re going for, I don’t see why you should ever have to check more than two bags per person. My wife and I lived in China for a year, and when we moved back to the states, we fit all of our possessions into two checked bags each (at 49 lbs each!) plus two carryons each. So if you’re just going on vacation and have a need to check… Read more »
Amen Andrew!
Yes, I can confirm you will pay the 3rd bag fee plus the overweight fee for any bag over 70 pounds. I’m not a fan of US Airways in the least, but they didn’t start the trend here. Delta (with whom I fly) has the same fees as US Air, so really US Air went and matched Delta’s fee structure. (Source: http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/baggage/excess_baggage) Are baggage fees significant? Certainly. Are they separate from reality? Not yet. To ship a 70 pound suitcase via UPS Ground you would pay $77.17. Granted, now you get point-to-point shipping, but you have schedule drop-off and pick-up… Read more »
Jason, thanks for your thoughtful reply. I have always supported airlines’ pursuit of ancillary revenues, and continue to. My post was merely pondering about where the tipping point in what people are willing to pay is, and are airlines beginning to exceed it?
As for me, I don’t pay the fees because I don’t check bags, and when I do, I’m usually elite with the airline and don’t pay anyway.
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