Airlines Plan To Extra-Charge Oversized Carry-ons

Airlines Plan To Extra-Charge Oversized Carry-ons

Some domestic airlines are considering the idea of discouraging passengers from lugging oversize carry-on bags onto planes by imposing a $25 charge on bags that exceed the posted size limits. Alaska Airlines, the No. 7 carrier in domestic market share, is in fact actually doing just that.

Spirit Airlines initiated a new approach to carry-on bags two years ago when it began charging passengers $45 to stash carry-ons in overhead bins. Spirit plans to increase that fee at the gate this fall to $100 per bag.  However, Spirit’s success in discouraging carry-ons has evidently resonated with the bigger airlines.

Everyone agrees that the current system is awful. Along with the unpleasant airport security checkpoint drill, the ritual of boarding a crowded plane and hoping to find space in a crammed overhead bin is one of the major problems in air travel.

Airline revenue from checked bag fees has jumped, to $3.36 billion last year from a mere $464.3 million in 2007.

Marianne Lindsey, a spokeswoman for Alaska Airlines, said that “items exceeding the free carry-on allowance will be charged $25 per piece and tagged for delivery to baggage claim at your destination.” At the boarding area, passengers can either pay with cash or credit cards for carry-on bags that exceed the regulation size, which is 10 by 17 by 24 inches.

Some airlines are already addressing the overhead bin squeeze by adding some space. American had bigger overhead bins installed as part of improved interior designs on the more than 130 new Boeing 737-800 airplanes that it began receiving last month to replace its old MD-80 planes.  United is carving out some extra space by redesigning the doors on bins on the 152 Airbus planes in its fleet.

Posted by Sophia Andrews on Thursday June 07 2012, 5:11 AM EST. Ref: Yahoo. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Travel. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0