Latest airline fee: $35 per carry-on?
Look out your window — it’s summer! Have you made your holiday plans yet? I hope so, ’cause it’s getting pretty pricey to fly anywhere these days. Fuel costs are driving up ticket prices and, of course, fees. The latest courtesy of Spirit and Allegiant Airlines, both charging $35-per-bag for overhead bin space. Thirty-five bucks for a carry-on! David Parker Brown wrote a defense of those fees for Airline-Reporter.com.
Spirit and Allegiant Airlines defend these fees by saying this a la carte system increases consumer options. Brown says while it may be easy dismiss their defense, the changes do allow a consumers to fly cheaply. He also points out that these budget airlines are thriving, so clearly, there is a demand for ultra-cheap flights out there.
Brown imagines that eventually all airlines will convert to a “weight-equals-money” model.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if an airline is going to try to charge a passenger by overall weight — weight of the passenger, weight of their belongings, everything they’re bringing on them and charge them per pound to fly them from point A to point B,” he said.
Take a listen to Brown’s defense and tell us what you think.
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