[Infowarrior] - Spirit airlines charging for carry-on bags

[Richard Forno]

Unbundled airline fees reach the overhead bin
Spirit Airlines the first U.S. carrier to introduce charge for carry- 
on bags
By Harriet Baskas
updated 11:30 a.m. ET April 7, 2010
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36199332/ns/travel-news/

That lumpy person seated next to you on your next Spirit Airlines  
flight may not be so large in real life.

The budget carrier announced Tuesday it will begin charging a fee of  
up to $45 for each piece of carry-on luggage placed in overhead bins.  
The fees will be assessed on travel August 1 and beyond.

That means that come summer, you may notice some Spirit Airlines  
customers wearing multiple layers of clothing on flights in an effort  
to avoid the carry-on fee.

In the modern era of unbundled airline service fees, customers now pay  
for everything from sodas and snacks to extra leg room and seats on  
the aisle. On most airlines, passengers also pay hefty fees to check  
their bags.

George Hobica, president of travel Web site Airfarewatchdog.com, said  
Spirit is the first airline he's aware of that plans to charge for  
bags passengers bring on board.

“Even Ryanair doesn’t charge,” Hobica said, referring to the low-cost  
Irish airline rumored to be mulling pay-to-pee lavatories on its  
planes. “The real question is: Will other airlines follow and will  
this actually be good for air travel?”

In the company’s press release announcing the policy change, Spirit  
Airlines Chief Operating Officer Ken McKenzie suggested the fee will  
be good for air travel, as it will “reduce the number of carry-on  
bags, which will improve in-flight safety and efficiency by speeding  
up the boarding and deplaning process, all of which ultimately improve  
the overall customer experience.”

Further, by unbundling the fees even more, McKenzie said passengers  
might save money. “Bring less; pay less. It’s simple.”


But will travelers go along? Jami Counter, senior director of  
TripAdvisor Flights, doesn’t think so. “This move by Spirit  may cross  
the line for U.S. travelers who are already near the breaking point  
due to rising checked baggage fees,” Counter said. “While there may be  
a big enough customer base out there willing to suffer a wide array of  
add-on fees in exchange for rock-bottom fares, it's likely that this  
move will alienate many fliers.”

Steven Frischling, an airline blogger and emerging media consultant,  
called Spirit’s carry-on fee part of “a deceptive pricing scheme ...  
that should come before the Federal Trade Commission for review.”

Boston-based writer and travel expert Melanie Nayer doesn’t think fees  
for carry-on bags will fly. “We’ll see a slight increase in the price  
of airline tickets before we see airlines come out with carry-on bag  
fees,” she said. “Some things will just not go over well. This is one  
of them.”


Competitors keep watch
As they did when a few airlines first floated fees for checked bags,  
competing airlines are sitting back and watching how Spirit Airlines’  
carry-on bag fees play out.

At Alaska Airlines, charging for carry-on luggage “has never come up  
in any conversation,” spokesperson Bobbie Egan said. United Airlines  
is not considering adding the fee, according to spokesperson Robin  
Urbanski. And AirTran Airways spokesperson Christopher White said the  
carrier has “no immediate plans to change carry-on baggage policies.”


“We weren't anticipating an airline to come out with a policy for  
carry-on bags,” said Brandy King, spokesperson for Southwest Airlines,  
one of few U.S. carriers that does not charge for checked bags. “But  
it still doesn’t change the way we’re doing business. We don’t have  
plans to charge for carry-ons.”

No other domestic airlines currently charge for carry-on bags,  
although carriers will reclassify your carry-on as checked baggage if  
it is too large for the overhead bin.

Spirit won’t charge for carry-ons until August, and there will be  
exceptions for items that fit under a seat. Furthermore, charges will  
not apply to several objects, such as umbrellas, assitive devices,  
outer garments (coats, hats, wraps), cameras, car seats/strollers,  
infant diaper bags, medicine, pet containers, reading material or food  
for immediate consumption.


And we will undoubtedly see travelers getting creative with some of  
those exempt items, and could see others adopting pocket-rich clothing.

SCOTTEVEST founder and CEO Scott Jordan called Spirit’s decision  
“ridiculous and insane,” but acknowledged business will be great “if  
other airlines are stupid enough to adopt the same program.” The  
company sells jackets, shirts, vests and other clothing with built-in  
pockets originally designed to help travelers maximize the one carry- 
on bag rule.

JetBlue, which doesn’t charge for a first checked bag, reacted to  
Spirit’s decision with pointed humor.

On its Web site, the airline offered this advice: “For those times  
when customers can’t travel on JetBlue, we recommend purchasing our  
expertly-crafted Extrago Sherpa Shirt — special outerwear we designed  
to hold an entire trip’s worth of necessities, including the money  
you’ll save by not checking or carrying on your bag.”


The shirt — a suitcase that wraps around a traveler’s torso — doesn’t  
really exist. But if other airlines follow Spirit’s lead, it may be  
the next hot item to hit retail shelves.

Harriet Baskas is a frequent contributor to msnbc.com, authors the  
“Stuck at the Airport” blog and is a columnist for USATODAY.com. You  
can follow her on Twitter.



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