Airlines may add carry-on, infant fees (last year made more than $6 billion charging fees )

[The Straight Story]

Airlines may add carry-on, infant fees

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- With fuel prices on the rise, airlines are once again looking for new ways to increase the bottom line. It started with check-in baggage fees and now airlines are considering expanding those extra fees to carry-on bags.

George Hobica, founder of the airfare deal and money saving travel website AirfareWatchDog.com, says airlines are itching to find new sources of income through extra fees.

"Without the fees, the airline industry would have lost money last year, so they're very important to the bottom line. And it looks like oil prices are going up, so we may see some new fees," he said.

So an airline might charge for a carry-on but only if it doesn't fit under the seat. Spirit Airlines charges $45 now with no plans to change.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/consumer&id=7917026&cmp=fb-kabc-article-7917026

[begin_within]

1. What's next? A "boarding fee?" A "bathroom fee?" A "disembarking fee?" A baggage pickup fee?

[KansDem]

4. Why not some airline employee named "Big Moe" who goes up and down the aisles

...selling "protection." Credit card only, of course.

[Statistical]

2. Why not just raise the ticket price?

I will keep flying Southwest. My bags enjoy flying free.

[SheilaT]

17. Some years back, some TV show did a

hilarious skit in which the flight attendants are selling coffee to the passengers. The cup to hold the coffee is extra.

I just did a you tube search and couldn't locate it, alas.

[LisaL]

3. You will need to pay a fee to carry on an infant? If he doesn't fit under

the seat?

[Nye Bevan]

5. How about waiving the infant fee if the infant stays quiet the entire flight? (nt)

[LisaL]

6. I don't see why that would be a problem.

The number of passengers benefiting from it will be close to zero.

[Gin]

7. I read that the airlines pay taxes on the fees but not the extra

charges...fees won't go up but they will charge for everything else..

[WolverineDG]

8. Thanks, airlines!

Keep making it more profitable for me to fly Southwest, even though I have to take a bus to get to the nearest city served by them. With all the add-ons & high fares, I still saved $ doing that this past Christmas.

dg

[somone]

9. Next: Airline profit augmentation fee

aka airline executives' bonus fund

[lolly]

10. Well, call me Ms. Contrary

But I, for one, would love to see people have to pay for bringing huge carry-ons into the plane.

It takes forever to get on/off a plane because people are trying to find a place to stuff all their belongings into the limited space in the cabin. And it can't be safe to have all that cargo in with the passengers if there is some sort of emergency.

Of course passengers shouldn't be charged for ONE carry-on that fits under the seat, but if you're going to commandeer all the space in the overhead bins and the space under your seat, you should have to pay for it. Maybe they can lower the checked-bag fees and make up for it with excess carry-on fees.

[Missy Vixen]

14. As long as airlines keep "losing" items such as laptops

you're going to see people carrying them on instead of checking them.

I sleep with a CPAP machine. It's $3,000 to replace, and a little wider than a laptop. I will ALWAYS carry it on, and I will fight any attempt to charge a carry-on fee for it. The airline can't guarantee that it will make it safely to my destination if it gets checked.

Airlines have nobody but themselves to blame when passengers carry items on the flight rather than leaving them to the tender mercies of baggage handlers. You might want to check out the YouTube a musician made when United destroyed a costly guitar a couple of years ago, for instance.

[CTyankee]

15. I don't think laptops are the big problem. The problem is carryons that

are way too big because people don't want to check bags and have to retrieve them. It's a convenience thing to them, but some of them are totally ridiculous and should be checked. Some people are just selfish...

[Lance_Boyle]

11. Don't need a 'fee' for infants. Start charging fares for them.

No more "ride on lap" nonsense. No need for everyone else to subsidize travel for flyers' kids.

[Brickbat]

13. Every passenger on every flight is subsidized by people who don't fly.

For all the whining people do about subsidizing Amtrak, airlines often get a free pass.

[LisaL]

16. I agree. An infant in a car needs to be in a car seat.

Why can an infant on the airplane sit on a lap?
I'd think the the safest way for a infant to be on a plane is to have an airplane seat. Last time I flew, I was sitting on the airplane next to a woman who had not one but two toddlers with her, one was in her lap, crying and hitting me with his feet. If she bought the whole three seats nobody would have to suffer sitting next to her and screaming, kicking infants/toddlers.

[Shagbark Hickory]

12. Why does this concept make so many headlines?

When you order a pizza, if you want toppings, you (usually) pay extra for them.
When you go to an ice cream shop and want sprinkles or coconut on your ice-cream, you pay extra for that.

why is this concept so difficult to wrap our brains around? It's fine with me that they charge somebody a fee to bring their infant.
It's fine with me that they charge someone more who has more baggage. If they don't want to pay the fee, they can PACK LESS!

Geepers Creepers! Who gives a fuck. Just drive.

[Initech]

18. The simple solution is to tell the oil speculators to go fuck themselves.

[Skidmore]

19. Is there an option to stow the infant in baggage if you don't want to pay the fee?

????????