So bag check fees go from $15 to $23 for the first bag, and from $25 to $32 for the second. Another brilliant way for Delta to piss off customers and drive more folks to Southwest. http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/01/12/delta.baggage.fees/index.html I travel pretty frequently so I rarely check my bag, but this is just another instance of the airlines destroying goodwill from its customers. Why is it that Southwest is the only airline that "gets it"? No bag check fees, better on-time service, cheaper beer/cocktails, and friendlier flight attendants. If I had to rank the major domestic carriers, here's how it would look: Southwest Continental - decent service, free food still offered Jet Blue - poor on-time record, but love the snacks and direct TV Frontier - see Jet Blue American - used to be platinum and they were pretty good about standby/missed flights etc. United - decent mileage program, nothing special Delta - connecting through Hartsfield means constant delays U.S. Airways - terrible service, awful on-time record, aging fleet, always repairing something at the gate
If I ran the airlines, I'd charge for carry-ons (anything bigger than a normal briefcase) and let the checked baggage fly free.
No sheet. Imagine how much quicker you could board and deplane if that mouth breather walking down the aisle wasn't trying to cram a 60" rolling duffel full of pork rinds into the overhead compartment of a 737.
Speaking of bags and sort of Southwest... What is the deal with that "Bags are our life!" commercials. I realize it's too absurd to be serious...but there's no punchline or any indication it's a joke. I don't get it.
Needless to say, in this sinking economy Southwest is a remarkable story. They won't fly into major airports (which is a major issue that works against the other airlines that do), but their business model is crazy effective, they limit their spending with the fuel hedges and they're clearly very appealing with their simple, cost-free approach to flying. As an East Coast person, I have always been a US Airways fan and I disagree with the OP's sentiments regarding their service. All the same, Southwest's experience is much more pleasant -- that is, of course, if you don't mind the whole 'sit wherever you want' approach.
Let me also say that Southwest absolutely nailed it when deciding not to charge for bags. On other airlines, to avoid having to pay the extra fees customers are obviously trying to carry-on as much as they can thus resulting in BARELY enough storage space being available. So basically you board the plane then you have to hear 15 announcements stating that overhead space is limited and that you still have the option to check your bag....blah blah blah. Very annoying.
That's because those are original U.S. Airways routes on the East Coast, whereas all of mine out of SFO and OAK and through PHX and LAS are the old America West routes. Those routes all suck. I recently flew out of OAK to IAH, and first leg was to PHX on an old Mesa Airways jet that looked like it belonged to the Air Uzbek fleet.
yeah i'm good with US Airways, aside from their cushions that are dead and now feel like sitting on wood planks. (I also had issue with them charging $2 for a soda/water, but they have since adjusted their policy back to that stuff being free)
while the flying standards are swirling down the toilet in the states, they keep getting better and better in the far east....
Southwest has recently started service at New York LaGuardia airport as well as Los Angeles International. This opens up many many options for travel. I was a Continental guy for almost my whole life, I would use the Houston and Newark hubs mainly. I only discovered Southwest in the last year or two, but choose SWA for flights to Vegas, Phoenix, Chicago, etc... the no fee option saves from $40 to $100 if you have one to two bags to check... and the seating situation rewards those who check in online 24 hours prior to the flight. I got no problems with that. Those in the "A" group can load the plane first and be the first ones off when it lands. for other airlines, I trained myself to pack light, I rarely check bags even on a vacation that lasts a week if not longer.
Did you guys notice this?..... The airlines used to not charge for checked bags. A few years ago, when gas prices soared up to $4 a gallon, the airlines implemented the checked-bag fees in order to compensate for their increased fuel costs (supposedly).... .... but gas prices dropped, and yet they kept the checked-bag fees.
I think it might be because even though gas prices have dropped, overall demand for airline travel has not picked up as of yet.
All of you who are complaining, don't fly much, because those of us who fly regularly for work have status on the airlines and we don't have to pay a dime for checked bags, nor does anyone traveling with us. The airlines aren't losing business from those of you who travel once or twice a year, they don't care. Those of us who travel weekly are still loyal customers and we don't care whether they charge for bags or not because it doesn't affect us. We are the people the airlines care about.
You couldn't be more wrong. The larger carriers got slaughtered in 2008 and 2009 for that very reason -> too much of their TAM was directly tied to business travel. Leisure travel was much faster to recover in 2H'09, while corporate still has another 3 quarters or so before seeing demand return to pre-recession levels.
How much do I hate Delta and their monopoly at my airport... let me count the ways!! ARGH! Your gas prices dropped?? They are close to 3 bucks a gallon still... that doesn't say dropped to me.
