Why $15 a Bag Makes No Sense at All

You have all seen the news: American Airlines will begin charging $15 a bag for the first bag you check beginning June 15th.  I am an executive platinum flyer with the airline (the top level) and this makes no sense at all. (BTW- they sent me an email yesterday saying that I would be exempt from this fee because of my “elite” status.) American is of course blaming higher fuel prices on this latest action- I am not denying that fuel prices are high but it seems that everyone is blaming everything on the price of oil these days.

American’s $15 a bag will eventually backfire. People will try to bring more bags on the airplanes and try to stuff them into the overheads. This will delay the loading and departure of flights and will further hurt customer satisfaction for airlines which is already at a record low. We need to do actually the reverse- limit what people bring on. This is what European airlines do and the planes their load and unload much more quickly. I would much rather have American raise its fares and get me their on time….don’t nickel and dime me on the way especially when it effects customer service.

I like American Airlines. They are my preferred carrier. They have been good to me. But $15 a bag will backfire on them and they will need to find another way.