The Spirit of baggage fees

Spirit Airlines has  made some news this week by announcing some tweaks to their fee structure. Most notably they are increasing the fee for carrying on a bag (they are the only US airline that charges for carry ons unless you consider charging for earlier boarding a form of charging for a carry on). If [...]

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Should baggage fees be banned?

So the New York Times had an article on the lengths people will go to avoid baggage fees (Avoiding Baggage Fees, Feb 7). Tricks of the trade run from vacuum sealing bags to driving hours to get on a Southwest flight. Here’s what caught my eye, however: In Congress, lawmakers in both houses have introduced [...]

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American Airlines will pay you to check a bag

OK, so my headline is a little misleading. By “pay” I mean give you 500 bonus frequent flier miles and by “you” I mean elite members of their AAdvantage frequent flier program who happens to be traveling from Boston. Here is how they explain the offer: Through November 22, 2011, American Airlines will offer AAdvantage® elite status [...]

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Are baggage fees good for society?

A different sort of post today. This one is about a research paper that Gady and I recently finished with our colleague Achal Bassamboo. The paper is called “Would the Social Planner Let Bags Fly Free?” It deals with ancillary services — things like checking bags or printing boarding passes that service firms provide in [...]

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Beating baggage fees

As long-time readers of this blog know, baggage fees are one of my favorite topics. Now from England we have an innovative way of beating the system.

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Paying for a boarding pass

Airlines fees remain an endless source of fascination. The word now is that Spirit Airlines will be charging five bucks if they have to print a boarding pass for you. This is offset by an across the board $5.00 reduction in fares. That is, if you win if you can remember to print your boarding [...]

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Airlines are doing better with bags

Here are some interesting numbers from the Wall Street Journal (Better Odds of Getting Your Bags, Dec 2). So airlines are doing a much better job of getting checked bags where they are suppose to go. Of course, there a certain he’s-fast-for-a-catcher ring to that. The problem of lost luggage, of course, is far from [...]

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Baggage fee eye candy

Given how much we have posted on baggage fees, it is impossible to pass up this bit of Wall Street Journal eye candy (With Low Fares, Furor Over Carry-On Fees Wanes, Oct 14). Click to enlarge.

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Airlines and lines

So I have been traveling this week (as has Gad) which has limited time for writing. It has, however, allowed for a fair amount of time to think — and experience — airports and lines. Coincidently, the Wall Street Journal’s Middle Seat column discusses how airlines are charging for the privilege of not waiting (A New Low [...]

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