Word today that soon to be Hawaii entrant Allegiant Air is likely to implement carry-on bag fees in the near future. If so the industry leader in ancillary up-charges will be only the second U.S. airline to do so. The other airlines are watching closely and are likely to follow suit.
What could this cost?
The first airline to implement carry-on fees was Spirit Airlines. Sit down before you see what their carry-on fees are. Prices are for each carry-on bin stowed in an overhead bin. There is no current charge for under-seat stowage.
- $20 for Spirit Club members who pay $60/year.
- $30 paid in advance.
- $45 paid at the gate.
Airline Rationale
Allegiant CEO Andrew Levy claims that customers have been requesting this because checked bag fees have led to cabin clutter and flight delays.
Could the Feds step in?
The only hope for us economy flyers is that federal (DOT) regulators are watching fees after seeking input from the airline industry regarding bag fees, tarmac delays and better disclosure of prices in fees in advertisements. This might just be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
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When Spirit and the other airlines started charging excessively for checked baggage, travelers wised up and simply carried on whatever they could get away with.
I have to say it frustrates me when I am flying and am delayed getting off the plane because of the mass of “carry-on” baggage crammed into the plane.
The airlines brought this on by nickel and diming their customers to raise revenues. They advertise a cheap flight and then by the time you pay the extra fee’s it’s not so cheap anymore.
Now they are all just closing the hole in their scheme to squeeze out from their customers by charging for carry-on too.
I’m a surfer and you should see what some airlines charge for board bags. United is one of the worst. $250 each way on some flights. $500 return to travel with your surfboard.
That’s crazy!
It reminds me of what I saw at the Durango Airport just the other day…a guy was checking in two bags, one was underweight by 5 pounds and one was overweight by 5 pounds (try moving exactly 5 pounds between suitcases!) He was told that if he left his overweight bag as is, it would be $99 on top of the $25 baggage fee, this was a new policy that the airlines had implemented just the day before! $99 for an overweight bag…that’s robbery!
I’ve been wondering when this would happen because, of course, many more people are carrying on their bag rather than paying to check. On my last trip, which was coincidentally to Hawaii, I really noticed how the gate agents scolded and droned on about being sure your bag fit in their little metal frame at the gate and the flight attendants repeated over and over again how to stow your carry-on on the plane. Surely, this is being done in order to prepare justification for the airlines to say they must charge for carry-ons because they are becoming such a problem and safety concern. I feel it is similar to the fact that we are being punished for rising up against the multiple hours trapped on flights on the tarmac by the way the airlines now handle predicted bad weather by “preventive” canceling of flights that result in what is sometimes days of delay for travelers to reach their destination. After many attempts on the phone and absolutely no luck on-line, I finally talked to a person when I was in such a situation and she wouldn’t look in any creative way for an alternative flight for me and lectured me on how lucky I was that my delay was only a day rather than the several days some people had to wait. It was a stupid and pointless conversation. If she had just taken a few minutes to try and see if there was any other possibility for rescheduling, chances are she was right and there was nothing else, but it would have seemed as if she at least listened to me and made the effort. Perception can be everything in some situations. Respect too. It’s not as if the tickets are free. All travelers have to start looking at what they are getting for their money and ask for service reflecting price just as we would in any other market.
As the airlines continue with their fee increases, it makes shipping a bad ahead via USPS, UPS, Fedex, etc. looking more feasible. I doubt Allegiant’s fares to Hawaii will consistently be $ 100 less than those who do not charge carry on fee’s.
Of course you could always just take a few things to stick under your seat, buy anything else you need in Hawaii then donate to goodwill, etc. before you leave Hawaii.
This is obscene. I guess it’s time to start FedExing my lugage to
Hawaii, it sure is cheaper than the airlines.
Maybe they should have reversed how they charge – $45 for carry-ons, and zero for the first checked bag. Or just lower the weight to free 30# for 1st checked bag. Get all that clutter outta the cabin.
Who did not think this was going to happen when they started charging for bags? DUH!
Southwest has been much better on extra fees and their share of domestic traffic is up, so hopefully other airlines will see that low fare + high fee doesn’t equal a winning strategy.
It makes a ScotteVest purchase worthwhile, that’s for sure. I’ll pack mine to the max. If I sweat and stink, well, that’s what happens when airlines care more about profit than passengers.
http://www.scottevest.com/
Shame on them all……….. Looks like the end of Budget Travel. We can travel pretty light – but we are not sure that we want to fly anywhere from 5 to 7 hours non stop with a bag under stuck under our feet in a space barely large enough to accommodate a persons feet. Maybe we can just remove our feet? When is enough going to be enough.
Who, just a few years ago, would ever have thought…….
I will carry the biggest, baddest “handbag”, along with my underseat carryon. Bite me!