Baggage Claim

While traveling during the past two weeks,  I saw a news story on CNN International that American Airlines would charge $15 to check your first bag and each additional bag would be an added cost.  Oh, please!  May the American management team who thought up that cockamamy idea perpetually lose their luggage.  Do these people ever fly coach class?  Have they even been on a plane recently?  Well, I have.  People carry on more bags than are allowed and bags are larger than allowed.  Charging a fee to check bags would only exacerbate the carry on luggage problems.

I understand that fuel costs are rising and the airlines are looking for ways to stay profitable, but charging a fee that will only make the experience of the passengers more unpleasant doesn't seem to be the answer. However, this seems to be the modus operandi of the industry.  

Last winter airlines left passengers stranded due to cancelled flights, and forced others to wait in crowded planes for 12 hours or more with broken toilets.  Congress considered passing a Passenger Bill of Rights in response to this service debacle.  The airline industry dodged that bullet, but it needs a whole new way of thinking about the service it provides and the way to make it both safe and reasonably pleasant.  Frequent flyer programs that never have available seats, long lines for check-in and security checks, overbooked or cancelled flights, equipment that is broken, crowded conditions, and surly service staff are complaints one hears frequently while traveling by plane.  It's time to look at a few more things besides fuel costs and charges.