- As someone on Facebook already observed, the City of Phoenix's seal bears a creepy resemblance to the symbol of the Rebel Alliance.
- My flight out was fairly full and deplaning took forever, largely because folks had an excessive amount of carryon luggage with them, which had to be laboriously hauled out of overhead bins. I'm wondering how much of any recent increase in flight delays is indirectly due to the airlines' imposition of baggage fees. If the airlines weren't charging baggage fees, I suspect many of those bags would have been checked, and they'd be able to deplane and turn the plane more quickly, minimizing delays.
- I tend to allow plenty of time to get to the airport, which often results in me checking my bag pretty early. However, because of how airlines sort and load luggage, this backfires--the first luggage to get checked is the first luggage loaded, and winds up at the back of the cargo hold. Thus, it is the last to come off the plane and get unloaded, leaving the passengers who checked in first as the last to be able to leave the airport at the destination. Any good way to solve this?
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
NO, I HAVE NOT SEEN FAWKES: Having had a lovely trip out to Phoenix today, a few thoughts:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Wouldn't baggage fees otherwise be priced into the ticket? It's a neat form of price discrimination -- charging more to people with more stuff. I suppose the airlines are assuming people with more luggage are those who would, on balance, be travelling no matter what. People flying light may otherwise be business travellers who'd opt for teleconferences instead? (I might have thought, ex ante, that people with lots of luggage might otherwise drive, except on X-C or international flights. So, assuming airlines are not stupid (in this way), it's an interesting economic insight.)
ReplyDeleteTake Amtrak.
ReplyDeleteWell, on a more constructive response, I don't understand incentivizing people to carry on their luggage. What about a halfway point- people carry their luggage to the gate and then it's put on the plane? And then they put all that luggage on the belt for people to pick up and it is likely to come off in a more orderly way. When I've had a carry-on and they've run out of space, they offer to "check it." My luggage is happily sitting there when I get off.
Yeah, I try to gate-check as much as possible, especially now that I'm traveling with a kid. I know kid stuff goes free but being able to use stuff until we board but not have to stash it on the plane is a win for everyone.
ReplyDeleteI still say that you should be able to reserve overhead space for a nominal fee. Airlines would make much more on that. I'd totally pay $5-$10 to know that my stuff had a spot directly above me. If you don't want to reserve, that's fine, but you run the risk of not being able to stash on board. Adds an element of drama to the travel process too!
One of the main problems I see with extra carry-on since they're charging to check is that people can't keep their stuff with them when the bins get full. So you get someone in row 13 putting their suitcase in the bin in row 19, meaning they have to go against the flow to get it upon arrival. I know they usually try to steal the space in the rows ahead of them, but it doesn't always work, especially for late boarders.
Well, to offer some purely anecdotal evidence, I just made flight reservations for a conference on the West Coast (traveling from Philly), to which I'm also adding a few days on the front end to visit family. Southwest was not only the cheapest fare (by about $5 bucks, but still), but was the only choice that was NOT going to charge me an additional $23-$25 each way to check a bag. Since I'm working under a lean travel budget, it was a no-brainer. So I'll probably check my bag (which, because of the extra days with the family visit, will be bigger/heavier than it would be for just the conference) and enjoy my marginally cheaper flights.
ReplyDeleteNow, all that said, SWA offers a perk that I may still decide to take advantage of - if you choose Early Bird check-in (a $10 fee each way), you're guaranteed to board ahead of everyone who opts for the free 24-hr-in-advance check-in, and with that comes the strong likelihood that you'll get all the overhead space you need.
I flew on Spirit Airlines recently, and was surprised to discover that their checked bag fee ($25) is LESS than their carry-on bag fee ($35, but $50 if you wait until you're at the gate and they tell you it's too large to be a "personal item"). Made it an easy decision to check my second suitcase.
ReplyDeleteI just travelled this weekend from Oregon to DC. I have been stewing on this for a while, but what about offering those that check their baggage seating in the front of the plane? I am not sure how this would work but being back in row 27 and waiting and waiting and waiting for the rest of the plane to pull their stuff out of overhead, hit their fellow passengers on the head with their overly heavy luggage (and not apologize!) and shamble their way off the plane bugs me. If you let the checkers sit in the front, that allows the people that aren't checking to get on and start filling bins from the front. I also wish the airlines would enforce the size and number limitations of carry on.
ReplyDeleteYes I know. I am a curmudgeon.
I too wonder about your 2nd point. Although, if you think of it this way, the less luggage there is to load under the plane the fewer (probably) unionized workers are needed to load and unload it. So they're getting you to do the cargo handling work for them. Although I'd always heard that turnaround time on planes is what kills profit in the airline industry, so like you, I have no idea why they want to make it a slower process to board and deboard a plane.
ReplyDeleteI grumpily pay checked bag fees even when I probably could have squoze (what, I'm Southern) everything into carry-on. Here are the reasons why: 1. If it's not a direct flight, I'm not fleet of foot, especially when carrying/rolling a bag - I want to be carrying as little as possible in case I have to MOVE to make a connection. 2. I'm short, like, really short. And more than once I've been told by flight attendants that they can't help me put bags in or remove them from overhead compartments. As far as stashing a bag, I can usually push/hurl a bag up there unassisted. But I can't reach the bag (without standing on the seat, and even then it can be a stretch) to remove it on arrival. Despite being Southern, I do not enjoy having to rely on the kindness of strangers to retreive my belongings.
As to your third point, if I were a cunning airline person, I would charge a minimal ($5) priority handling charge for bags - they get put in a separate baggage cart and stored in cargo in such a way that at arrival they are removed first - maybe even taken to the baggage claim before the rest are unloaded.
If you REALLY want to talk aggravating, let's discuss being an international arrival in Atlanta where you have to go through baggage claim twice.
I like the idea of charging for overhead space. You can't deny that it's valuable, and it would make a great incentive for people to 1) pack lighter, and B) use the under-seat space for smaller items.
ReplyDeletePlus, if the airlines offer overhead space in increments of 20"x12", everyone will have to replace their 22"x14" bags. I'm surprised the FAA hasn't already mandated it as a stimulus measure.
My understanding is that the baggage charges went into effect when fuel prices went up sharply a few years back, to compensate; when fuel prices came down, airlines did not (surprisingly) remove the fee. So I think there's no reason to believe the incentive structure is properly designed.
ReplyDeleteHey Adam I fly Southwest and don't use the Early Bird Check In perk. I do check in 24 hours prior and I still get an A pass. If you are in the A or high B group I say forgo early check in and you'll still get overhead space without issue. I usually hit the back of the plane myself since everyone scrambles and holds up everyone else who runs to the back :)
ReplyDelete