Extra Baggage Charges come to the U.S.

Kind of gives a new meaning to the term "checked" baggage, doesn't it! ;)
But it is another incentive to pack light and carry on.

Anyone with access to today's Wall Street Journal can read an excellent article with a forecast of what is to come.

Ok, so maybe this will reduce the number of bags checked and improve service times for baggage claim while reducing the number of lost bags?

I try to have the glass is half full approach, but I fear this is the beginning of one fee after another.

Ever flown Allegiant Air??

My folks have flown Allegiant Air from Peoria to Florida a couple of times and loved it.

I really think that all of the airlines are headed to more of an a'la carte system of fares. The "legacy" carriers cannot compete with the "discount" carriers without attempting to replicate their products. Some of you may have missed that last week Southwest Airlines reduced the number of free checked bags to two from the previous three. Moreover, effective January 29, 2008, you may check a third bag for a charge of $25. Your 4th through 9th bag or item will incur a charge of $50 per piece, and any bag or item thereafter will be $110 per piece. This is starting to look more like the policies of Ryan Air or easyJet.

Two checked bags seems reasonable to me. One, almost everyone has with the limitations on what you can take in your carry-on, but if you have any special needs or purpose to your trip, a second bag should be expected and accepted, free.

Just wait until the airlines put in pay toilets, no cash accepted, and it declines your credit card because the server is down.

The problem is that the legacy airlines are trying to compete with the discounters on short routes. They have moved some of their flights to regional jets but it hasn't helped.

What they should do is stick to what they do best and make the most money--long haul flights. International and transcon. Let the discounters and regionals feed into them at major hubs.

Look, don't complain. I'm old enough to remember when the government used to control fares on airlines and the only US airline to fly overseas was Pan Am.

As a pack-light traveler, I'm pretty happy my ticket price won't subsidize someone else's need to bring everything in their closet.

Baggage adds weight, increasing fuel costs. Baggage also requires handling, extra check in, customer service and potential liability for the airline when lost or damaged.

Brad...so how come they haven't been giving all of us "lite" travellers a discount all these years?;)

Norm:

They haven't given lite-travelers a discount for the same reason they didn't give a discount if we slept through their "food service," they were happy to take our money and not have to give us anything in return.

Eventually, the airlines will look like the American hotel industry, something at every price level, except maybe for the Motel 6, we call that Greyhound. Discounters are sort of like a Comfort Inn or Hampton Inn; Full Service a'la Marriott or Hyatt; and Boutique or Luxury service that will cater to very few, have limited routes, and likely will be tied to longer seasonal destinations.

What I am waiting for is an alliance between a European discounter and an American discounter. Can you imagine 737 service from the West Coast to Europe? A combination of say Southwest and Ryan Air, with 137 people, two pay toilets, a vending machine, and a kareoke machine for in-flight entertainment.

I your last name begins with A-F bring a main dish...G-M bring a salad...