First airline to begin charging for carryon luggage

[katiemack Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close katiemack]

Spirit now charging for some carryon bags.

Spirit Airlines launches $45 carry-on fee - latimes.com

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

. . . and it is easy to guess which of the legacy US airlines will probably be the first to follow. That would be one of the bottom feeders, so that narrows it down to between Delta and US Airways.

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

$45 seem high to me for a carry-on.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

Might as well check in all your luggage at this rate.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

I've never understood why they charged to CHECK a bag. To me, it makes more sense to charge for carrying your bag on.

If they check the bag, they can weigh it, X-ray it, and stack it up just the way they want it.

I hate the chaos of people lugging huge carry-ons onto the plane--all the bins are filled, people argue, the flight attendants are constantly trying to rearrange things....just a mess.

[vintner Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close vintner]

If I carry it on, I do all the work. No one else but me touches the bag, and yet they want to charge me for me to do all the work?

[MargeS Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close MargeS]

An attempt to get people to stop carrying on way more than they should?
Most of the people on any of my flights ignore the rules for amount of carry on paraphernalia. If they had just enforced that sooner... maybe...

[bnoble Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bnoble]

Usually I would *rather* carry on than check, beause it saves time on both ends---and, if it came to that, I'd pay a little more for the privilege. This is actually quite shrewd of Spirit. We'll see if their customer base balks, though---I suspect they will. You'd need more of a business-travel market to make this stick I think.

[1950bing Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 1950bing]

I try to carry on everything. When they say to me that an item is too large to carry on and I will need to check it at plane side I say I'm sorry, I didn't know. That way I know it is on the plane that I'm getting on, and I'll get my bags a lot sooner than if I had checked them !

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

Checking bags is a pain. It is more time consuming waiting for your bag to arrive. Also, who in their right mind wants to subject their luggage to the baggage mishandlers / luggage throwers employed by airlines? I travel light and carry on. I avoid checking luggage like the plague. Too many times that I have checked luggage it has either been damaged or delayed.

I like the carryon policy of EasyJet. Checked luggage costs but carryon is free, and there is no real weight limit on the carryon. The lack of a real weight limit allows more freedom in packing.

[kapish Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close kapish]

Carry-ons that fit in the overhead bin will cost fliers $45 -- $30 if paid online. Fare club members pay $20 for each carry-on bag.

There is no charge for carry-on items that fit under the seat.

The carry-on bag fee is in effect for reservations made after Monday for travel on or after Aug. 1.

More details available at their website:
Spirit Airlines - cheap tickets, cheap flights, discount airfare, cheap hotels, cheap car rentals, cheap travel

[Pat H Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pat H]

Wow, $45 for a checked bag if you do it at the airport! Guess they only want business travelers who are making day trips.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

I've never understood why they charged to CHECK a bag. To me, it makes more sense to charge for carrying your bag on.

If they check the bag, they can weigh it, X-ray it, and stack it up just the way they want it.

I hate the chaos of people lugging huge carry-ons onto the plane--all the bins are filled, people argue, the flight attendants are constantly trying to rearrange things....just a mess.

I agree with you 100%. We always check our bags.

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

Usually I would *rather* carry on than check, beause it saves time on both ends---and, if it came to that, I'd pay a little more for the privilege. This is actually quite shrewd of Spirit. We'll see if their customer base balks, though---I suspect they will. You'd need more of a business-travel market to make this stick I think.

well, yeah. I'm not paying that. but I'd be ok with my company paying it.

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

I try to carry on everything. When they say to me that an item is too large to carry on and I will need to check it at plane side I say I'm sorry, I didn't know. That way I know it is on the plane that I'm getting on, and I'll get my bags a lot sooner than if I had checked them !

yep. all you rule-breakers are what make it a pain for those of doing what we should.

I would be in favor of gate check being double regular bag check $ to prevent these people with giant bags attempting carry-on. not sure why the size-checkers are never used - some bags are too big visually. DOH!