United is charging $25.00 for a second checked bag

[SherpaR]

It looks like a lot of the airlines are now following suit. The Wall Street Journal has a big article in its "Personal" section today and lists the following airlines as ones with bag charges Airline Free Bags ======= ========= United 1 US Airways 1 Continental 2 Delta 2 American 2 Northwest 2 Skybus 0 Virgin America 1 Southwest 2 The article notes that it could cost up to $250 to check 3 bags (round trip) on United and US Airways as of May 5th.

[jashermd]

Hello,

Maths is not my strong point, but I'm not clear on how three bags round trip (at $25 per bag) adds up to $250, even if all three are on top of the one allowed checked bag. Or is there some sort of escalating charge as you add more bags?

Cheers,
Julian

[SherpaR]

Hi, According to the WSJ United and US Airways will start charging $50 round trip for a second piece of luggage on May 5th (so $25 per leg).

They came to their $250 by assuming that you check 3 bags and one of them is over 55 pounds, and the cost for an overweight or oversized bag is $200.

The article has a table (sorry the formats didn't come out above) with number of free checked bags, cost to check 3 bags and cost for a 55-pound bag.

Cheers

[jashermd]

Thanks for clarifying that. In that case, it seems to make more sense to have a larger number of lighter bags rather than one huge one.

Cheers,
Julian

[curtiejoe]

Hi julian/jashermd



Math's not my strong point either, so I'm a bit confused by all the various numbers thrown out by folks posting on this thread. I tend to agree with the point made by one of the contributors that its about time all air travellers got smarter and started to pack less of their belongings to take with them on flights. With the ever-upward-spiralling cost of jet fuel, I'm not surprised the airlines have decided to charge extra for a second piece of luggage. I expect that soon they'll also be adding a surcharge for people over a certain weight (as every extra pound of weight a plane has to carry the more fuel it uses). BTW, I've flown Ryan Air, as well as other "mainline" carriers,a number of times in Europe and have never experienced any trouble at all with Ryan's service, punctuality or efficiency. And, their extremely low prices are absolutely fantastic as they allow anyone to hop-skip and jump from one fabulous place in Europe to another. Seems silly to pay through the nose to fly from one place to another when the same can be done at a fraction of the cost on Ryan. With their amazing savings in airfare, I always have lots of cash to spend on great places to stay, wonderful food to eat and plenty of visits to museums and other intriguing attractions across Europe.



Curt

[travel2fun]

curtiejoe,were you thinking of myprior posting possibly:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


cmdavilacli, I log a lot of air miles each year both domestic (US) and international. I have learned to pack for a one week trip in a carry on bag that will easily store in the overhead (no checked baggage required). I have learned to pack for 10 days to two weeks aboard in one checked bag, plus whatever I take along in my carry-on bag which will fit in the overhead bid. Yes, I do have to do some in-room laundry and I don't have a new outfit every night----mix and match is the idea. I'm sure more and more domestic carriers will start charging for extra bags. I see this all of the time on the low cost European carriers. It's time we leave the kitchen sink home and just take what we really need or pay the extra costs!




t-2-f

[jsattapr2]

I certainly feel it is more than fair to start charging for extra baggage and for bags that exceed a predetermined weight. I also have been tired for years of having some passengers drag aboard so many extra pieces of carry on bags. If some one is not capable to plan their needs in advance of their trip to comply with the regulations defined by the air carrier or they are not willing to wash their clothing during their trip or pay to have it cleaned, then they should not complain about the extra charges. That is my opinion on this subject.

[curtiejoe]

Hi travel2fun



Yes, that was the post I remebered reading a while back and it made a lot of sense then and even more sense now. Thanks for posting it again, as the message needs to repeated for there are stiill a lot of air travellers who I see bringing four to six huge suitcases to the check-in counter (makes it look like they're bringiing along practically all their belongings.



Curt

[lhbrown]

Hi Curt,

I am not sure if you noticed my earlier post on Ryan Air and its baggage charges on this threat. I am re-posting it here for you. Ryan Air has started charging 26 Euros for bags weighing up to 15kg and 10 Euros per kg over the limit. Carry-on bags (one per person) up to 10 kg are still free. So expect to shell out an extra 26 Euros (about $45) per bag this June when you use Ryan Air and be careful not to go over the 15 kg limit per bag, they are serious about it and won't hesitate to charge, or you might find yourself re-packing your bag at the check-in counter, stuffing things into your carry-on.... Yes Ryan Air's prices are low given in Euros. However, unless you have a source of euro income, by the time you convert euros into dollars, prices are not so low any more. It is the dollar that is killing us over here. Today's exchange rate as of this post is 1 Euro = $ 1.5793 add to this another 3.5% credit card charges if you use your US credit cards.

"I am not exactly a fan of Ryan Air either since they left us stranded in Venice, but it is convenient for us to reach Bergamo/Milan from Paris for hiking in the Italian Alps. We could certainly travel just with the 10 kg carry-on luggage, (we have learned to pack less), but our problem arises from the fact that we carry a couple of hiking sticks when we travel to the Dolomites this June. Since hiking sticks are not allowed on any airline in the carry-on baggage , we are obligated to pay the 26 Euro checked baggage fee, at least for one checked bag."

[curtiejoe]

Hi travelfan



Your recent re-posting of an earlier one sheds a lot of light on some of Ryan Air's less wonderful practices. despite this, I remain a steadfast fan of this amazing discount air carrier. Their rock-bottom ticket prices more than make up for any extra luggage charges, especially when you compare the total cost of flying from one point in Europe to another on Ryan Air vis a vis any other regularly chartered airline that flies the same routes. For example, in October 2006 I flew from London to Stockholm (where I visited friends for a week), then from Stockholm to Paris (where I met a cousin for a tour of Paris before driving to his home near Brussels), then I flew back to London from Eindhoven, Holland. All of these flights, including taxes cost me just under $100!!! I'd priced the same itinerary using British Airways, Air France and KLM: the total cost would have been between $750 and $1,000! So, you can see that hif you'd have to pay even $100 for an extra piece of luggage, it'd still be a lot less expensive.



I also can't get very symphatetic to the plight of the US Dollar compared to the Euro. Having to pay an exchange rate of 1.5793 can hardly be considered onerous for most Americans. Canadians have for almost the past 20 years had to pay just about the same 1.5 rate of exchange just to get one American dollar!



Curt


Message Edited by curtiejoe on 03-28-2008 03:47 PM