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 three bags, heaven help you.
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 with 4-5 days in transit. UPS 2nd Day Air will get your bag there in 2 days but costs skyrocket to $330.17. (Source: https://wwwapps.ups.com/ctc/request assuming TransContinental shipping one 70 pound package)
Fact remains that the baggage fees are in line with shipping a package. In fact, if you keep to two bags each under 50 pounds, you’re still saving significant amounts compared to any other way of getting your bag to the destination.
Why separate the fees? Shouldn’t it be part of the ticket price? Why? Everyone always complains about how cable companies charge an “insane amount” for 250 channels of which people typically only watch 20 of them. “Why can’t we pick the channels we want and pay for just those?” they always complain.
Here you have an a la carte free-market, you get charged for what you use. Don’t bring a bag, then don’t pay. Checked baggage requires a significant amount of ground crew and logistical support at every departure, destination, and connection. Why should people who don’t check bags have to shoulder any of that cost?
For all the talk about the great benefits of free-market economies and freedoms we certainly show no interest in playing by the rules. There is a value to any good or service, and if someone is charging more than the perceived value, then you go with someone else. With checked bags, here we have a service. You get something specific for the money you pay. The simple fact that people continue to check bags at “outrageous” prices demonstrate that the prices themselves aren’t outrageous at all.
If you think the prices are out of line then do your part. Refuse to pay. Get your stuff to the destination by other means. Make the economy speak for itself and the airlines will adjust their fee schedule. Also, continue complaining and vocalizing, but keep in mind that actions speak so much louder than words.
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.