Senators don’t want fees on carry-on luggage either
Image by tjriley82 via Flickr
It looks like the U.S. Senate is going to try to save the day – at least when it comes to carry-on luggage. Just when you thought the airline industry couldn’t tack a surcharge on to anything else, Spirit Airlines made the unfortunate decision to start imposing fees on carry-on luggage. This along with Ryanair’s decision to finally go ahead on charging for using the bathroom effectively ruins the entire flight experience altogether.
Now everyone is terrified that other airlines will eventually follow suit and impose fees on carry-on baggage from the size of a small suitcase to a handbag. But even Senators (who are probably to flying commercial again to cut back on costs) don’t like the nitpicking fees either.
Proposed by Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA), the “Free of Fees for Carry-On Act” (how catchy) will comprise of three rules, as posted on the Senatus blog. Basically, carriers operating in the U.S. can’t impose fees on any carry-on luggage that fits under the weight/size restrictions, airlines have to make restrictions clear to customers before a scheduled departure (presumably on their websites and on signage at airports), and they have to make all other fees very clear to the public before purchase (i.e. checked baggage, extra leg room, etc.)
Some might say that this bill goes against capitalism and the airlines’ right to impose fees where they see fit to make up for fuel costs and perhaps even make a profit again. But then again, who is really going to fly without a carry-on bag bigger than a purse? Don’t people like that usually get stopped at security checkpoints because they look suspicious?
Personally, I hope this bill passes because paying for carry-on baggage is the last straw. However, obviously it wouldn’t stop me from flying, which is why Spirit knows they can make a profit here. I’m always likely to bring a carry-on bag, but I won’t necessarily check one in either. Where do you stand?
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Last year I flew about 20 times for business, and although the company would have paid for me to check in my bags or for carry-on fees, the fees themselves are stupid. The two times I flew for pleasure, I hated checking-in my baggage, knowing that I had to pay for it.
In the old days, flying was a full service experience. What has happened to that? Have Americans become so cheap that their pursuit of the cheapest ticket possible driven this madness?
Sometimes I ponder what would happen if there was an airline that dared to compete by (a) Being on time, (b) offering full service, (c) giving you full room through-out the cabin, (d) charging no-extra fees, etc. Now, of course this airline will have, out of necessity, to charge more for tickets than everyone else. but, in competition with everyone else, people will get so much more. They will not be hassled in the boarding process, they will have free blankets and pillows, they will have a meal for flights over two hours… I mean, it will be the good old days of the 50s and early 60s, minus the crashes. Will it fly with the public? OR have we become so cheap we’ll put up with any inconvenience to save a few bucks?
Rachel,
I stand on the side that says, “stop trying to bring your home on the plane!”
Really, until I flew with my wife and then later with our kids, I never had a carry-on. While a single person, I was always able to fly without bringing anything on board except some reading material. If I couldn’t pack it, it wasn’t going. Why would I want to be burdened by more stuff that I might forget in the terminal or plane?
Even with the new Spirit rules, I can bring a back pack and stow it under the seat in front of me.
I get mad enough having to wait to disembark, but add the mule who has to stop to retrieve the overstuffed bag from the overhead compartment and I see myself going postal. Better yet are the jerks who step on the plane and use the first bin they see and then walk twenty rows back to their seat.
I have flown Spirit in the past, they are relatively cheap compared to the other carriers, so the money you save flying with them may cost a little more if you have to have a carry-on.