There is something about the travel industry I do not like, and this is the big one. I do understand that when a checked baggage is overweight the airline must charge for it, but what I do not get is why people have to pay extra to check in a bag that is not overweight. For the life of me, I don’t know why they implemented that in the first place. People are of course going to check in a bag for a flight. Passengers are already paying enough for flights, this should be included without extra costs that passengers don’t need. Traveling alone costs money, everywhere you turn costs money and they nab you each time. I do not think it is fair for people to pay for something, that should of course be an obvious thing. Airlines makes a lot of money, but they should not charge for baggage. Especially United States travel. It is ridiculous to pay for something that is unnecessary. Airlines and airports need to scrap that. I know its making extra money to offer more services, to improve things, to pay the employees of the airline company but there are other ways to make money, but not to milk travelers from their pockets. This and being charged for food on a plane. So if people go hungry and thirsty on flights, they have no choice but to spend money again. People should be offered non-alcoholic drinks on board the aircraft and offered food complimentary from the airline. any flight your on for more than 2-3 hours. These are the two aspects of travel I do not like and they need to improve that. Greediness is not a good trait. Traveling should be fun and traveling means not having to worry about extra costs at the airport, paying for checked baggage. It shouldn’t be like that and It makes me upset about this. It could be 20 or 25 dollars for the baggage, but it doesn’t matter, that 20 or 25 dollars or more can be used for something else, it can be used for duty free gifts, it can be used for something important, but not for just a bag. This has been on my mind for a while now and this has got to be one of the most bizarre things ever. People then will only resort to carry on bags and what can you fill in a carry on bag? I mean we should be allowed to bring a little bit more with us and not having to pay for it. This is not fair to passengers who spend a lot of money on flights, vacations, trips. Well, that is my two cents of the story. Who agrees with me?
Anyway, I had to get this off my chest today. It is pretty frustrating…. Thanks.
Talin Orfali Ghazarian 
I was in shock when they charged me 25$ there and another 25$ back for a small bag I was checking in. Meanwhile, because of the charge, too many people are overloading on their overhead allowances. Someone is going to get hurt soon!! Top cabinets are supposedly made for lighter weight bags…. not really!! You have to be able to have leg room… no can do with what is being brought up!!! (and don’t get me started on drinks and food….!!!) There has to be a different way of handling this.
count me in Talin….
Talin…I agree! This is why I only fly Southwest (two free checked bags per person). A few years ago (in addition to costly airfare), we paid $15. per person per bag for each leg of the trip…which meant changing planes/layover was $30. per person one way.
I would bring my own coffee or water to sip if I could. But we can’t…
When I grow up, I want to work for Southwest Airlines. I love those folks.
I agree travelling costs so much, but I think you are talking about the budget airlines/tickets here, generally if you pay more, your food/luggage is included, sure, but the budget ones cost much less – and things like meals and luggage are cut to ensure the ticket price is as low as possible. People buy those tickets aware of that, and they have chosen to make those sacrifices to save a bit of money. Yes it’s still expensive! But if you want luggage and food, maybe you need to shop around a bit more and purchase a ticket on a flight that’s geared towards the experience, rather than budget ‘cattle class’ which is about moving people from a to b and nothing more.. Also don’t forget, it’s crucial that a plane doesn’t go over it’s weight limit as that affects how the plane flies. Budget flights are often smaller planes that cost much less to fly, hence the limits on luggage being far stricter. Bottom line, shop around for what is best for your needs, and don’t expect all the frills in a no-frills package. I also think that it’s rather a case of ‘first world problems’ – enjoy the privilege of being able to travel, there are many people who never get that chance.
its sad how the prices have kept going up. first they charged $15 for the first bag and like $20 for the second, and before that the second bag was free. now they charge up to $60 for 2 bags. thats how it was for me. its crazy really. they say its to make up for rising fuel costs but i’m sure they’re already rich so why would that matter?
Airplane travel used to be a luxury. Now it’s like taking the bus. But that’s what people want – cheap flights. If you don’t like flying this way, don’t fly! It’s not going back to what it was.
Not so sure about there… but here, airlines that charges luggage are the “low cost carriers” where normaly the ticket price is way lower than the standard airlines fees, they still allow one hand-carry luggage (about the size of a 60 L backpack) which is sometimes sufficient when travelling light. For the airlines that, are “premium” standards, the ticket price is quite expensive and thus F.O.C on the baggage, Then again if you are not carrying any luggage, there is NO discount on the fees.. to me it’s an option.. where as when I travel light and no need luggage but just a backpack, the low-cost airlines is a REAL saver.
I can understand the overweight charge and find no fault with it. People trying to avoid extra bag charges overload their luggage and cause injuries to ground staff. Those injuries cost the airlines hundreds of thousands in medical leave, insurance, workers compensation etc. I agree that paying for luggage after you arrive is insane. Just lump it in with all the other insane fees & taxes they tack on at checkout. I’m sure we were “paying” for luggage way back when – it just wasn’t itemized and split up like it is now. I’m so thankful for free luggage on international flights (most of my flying) so I don’t have to pay out in the airport. There are plenty of airlines out there domestically competing for your business…if only the ones charging for luggage would lose enough customers to the free luggage carriers to stop this insanity. I too agree that the people “cheating” the bag fee by taking oversized carry-ons has to stop. Enforce the sizing rule, or stop charging….cheating irritates me to no end.
I think these are the low-cost carriers too. But even if other carriers include that, welcome to the free-market economy. If, say British Airways, impose that but, say Lufthansa keep their fares the same and don’t charge extra for any kind of baggage, then people will use Lufthansa more thus driving British Airways out of business. This is competition. And while airlines make a lot of money, they also spend a lot of money: personnel, airport taxes, other taxes, renting their aircraft and so on. All this costs a lot of money. What you should probably pay more attention to is their practice of price discrimination but this again is some feature of the free-market economy. The idea of the free-market economy is that if I know you can pay up to $575 for seat 16, and this is the only seat left and there is no one else to fill it out – if I have this perfect information, I will charge you $575 without even blinking. Thus I maximize profit.