Flew the Coop

Spirit Airlines is going to become the first to charge for carry-on luggage.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=86761.blog&loc=interstitialskip

According to the article the intent is to continue to 'unbundle' the expenses of flying so passengers can only pay for what they use.  For the luxury of carrying your bag on board they will charge upwards of $45 each way. 

So, here's The Gift's take:

- Will they reduce airfares by $45 each way?  Somehow I doubt we see that translate fully.

- They say in the article it should help expedite the boarding process.  Really??  People having to pull out their credit cards at the gate and disgruntled customers arguing over the size of their bags, etc. is going to speed up boarding??  Last time I boarded a plane they called my 'zone' I walked on, put my bag in the overhead and sat down.  How much quicker can it get?  Sure some people bring bags that are way too big for the overhead, but that one bag has to be more convenient than checking 100 bags to make sure they are the correct size.

- Often people put extra clothing in their carry-ons in case of lost luggage (which we know happens) or delayed flights and missed connections and that worst-case scenario of having to sleep in the airport - because the airlines don't cover hotel costs even if the missed connection is their fault.  Now if you want that 'protection' it's going to cost $45.

The airline industry is afforded a lot of lee-way that other businesses don't get (double-booking, dynamic pricing, not getting you where you're supposed to be when you're supposed to be there, etc.).  They can do this because customer service generally is not as important to consumers as pricing in this industry.  That's fair enough.  But at some point customer service must be taken into account, and boy are they stretching the limits..

I know money is tight and the airline industry is hurting, but there have to be other ways.  Go back to selling advertising space on the food trays or the back of seats.  Get your marketing department and R&D departments to do their jobs..  Complicating the process of air travel is only going to turn people off.  This is a bad idea.

-Thank you Courtney S. for bringing this to my attention.