Several other airlines do it, but until now, US Airways had resisted the urge. PHL's biggest player is testing a $2 per-bag charge for curbside check-in at three Florida airports, Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa. No decision has been made yet on whether to extend it to PHL and other larger stations in the US Airways system. The charge is cash only and does not include a tip to the skycap, who also can issue a boarding pass. We always tip the skycap and will continue to do it, even if we're in an airport, or on an airline that charges. But if the self-service check-in kiosks are working, and the lines aren't long, even $2 per bag could make us consider schlepping them inside.
We're curious what you think of this kind of charge by airlines. We haven't found a good Website that rounds up all the airlines' charges for things that used to be free. Please tell us if you know of one. The best way to make sure you're getting policies directly from the airline is to go to the carrier's Website and use the search function, or drill down until you find them. Also let us know of anything that has cost extra but has been rescinded, such as US Airways dropping the $25 charge for a pasenger with a confirmed ticket to stand by for an earlier flight.
Comments (2)
Two dollars to check a bag? No thanks. I'll continue to carry on. I know that US-PHL baggage isn't as bad as it was, but I refuse to give them my belongings if I have any say in the matter. Charging people to divert from carrying on bags doesn't make sense, especially since baggage issues are a major factor in aircraft not pushing back on time.
Many airlines, especially Continental, used to try to charge you for plugging your own headsets into the armrest. Now they, like most other airlines, only charge for new headsets, and, rather than try to clean them up or grind them for recycling, let you "dispose of" (keep) them. They're gambling that you won't remember them next time, but it's amazing how often they come out of the cabinet and are distributed to friends/family/etc.....
Posted by rich | May 10, 2007 12:09 AM
Posted on May 10, 2007 00:09
I noticed the $2 sign at the Skycap kiosk when I flew American last week. I have settled in on always checking my bag because my trips are generally an entire week to one place.
At least it's a fee that is quite visible. I hate the "hidden" fees that are tacked onto the price of a ticket that they don't tell you about.
Posted by alex | May 10, 2007 9:23 AM
Posted on May 10, 2007 09:23