A Bad Idea

Today American Airlines announced that it will soon be charging $15 to passengers who check a bag. Earlier this year, most of the big airlines in the U.S. announced that they'd be charging a fee for checking two bags, but this is the first major carrier to do it for just one. It remains to be seen if the other airlines will follow the move; they haven't yet (but if they are going to join, the Friday before Memorial Day Weekend would sure be the time to do it, news-burying-wise).

It's a stupid idea, and they ought to know it. More people will carry more stuff on. It will make boarding take longer. American is saying that if your bag fits the carry-on requirements but that there's not space on the plane, that you won't be charged. But it's unclear to me how that works -- might they tell people they have to fit their large-ish bag under their feet, and that if they aren't willing to do that, then they have to pay the $15 to stick it under the plane, because it was their choice, and not a space issue? It's all going to put staff into yet another bad position.

And certainly it will create more overall passenger time needs at security, with more and bigger carry-on bags. The result will either be the need to hire more security staff (unlikely) or longer lines.

There is one good development in all the airline news of late: as airlines cut back on flights, a lot of the cuts will be of flights flown by smaller planes (i.e. regional jets). Fewer flights could lessen delays at some airports, and by cutting the smaller planes it means that a larger proportion of the remaining flights will be by regular sized planes (737s, A320s, etc), which are more fuel efficient per passenger mile -- better for the airlines/passengers and less horrific environmentally.