US Baggage Charge Policy for Carry-ons

[phlus2]

That is the key, travelpro. People who pay to check bags at the kiosk want their bags checked - either because they know they're too big to carry on, they have too many to carry on, or they don't want the hassle of lugging them around the airports. Anyone with a proper sized carry-on that must check it because of a lack of space on board shouldn't have to pay - US says their bag can be carried on and it's not that passengers fault that space ran out. Talk about unfair - how fair is it to let one person carry a bag on and charge the next person to check the same sized or smaller bag? But those trying to get a bigger than allowed or extra bag on board should have to pay to check it - every one of them even at the gate.

Jim

OK - makes sense at a high level - BUT - who is policing all of the bags that are brought on board before I get on in group 4 to make sure that they are within the size limits?

If you are giving people free checked baggage if they are within the size limits but charging those whose bags are over the size limits at the end of the boarding process - then the policy needs to be enforced for the entire boarding process.

Can you say federal discrimination lawsuit if the person denied boarding with their bag is over 65, african american, or gay? (Note - gay is as of Obama signing the new bill passed by the Sentate YEAH!) If you make me pay for my gate checked bag- there better not be any bags on board that exceed the size of my bag or you can better bet the cost of the lawsuit will ensure you don't get a raise next year!

 

[Travelpro72]

Maybe I need to beat my head off a brick wall to help me understand the fairness. If I as a passenger check my approved sized rollerboard at the kiosk and PAY only to go to the gate and hear "if you'd like to voluntarily check your bag for free" thats ok? I would be asking why I had to pay while others get the luxury at the gate to do it ahead of boarding for free. Sorry just not fair.

 

[BoeingBoy]

I would be asking why I had to pay while others get the luxury at the gate to do it ahead of boarding for free. Sorry just not fair.

If a passenger checks a carry-on at the kiosk that is within the carry-on limits, that passenger has made a choice to check their bag for some reason. They could have taken it to the gate and not paid the fee but they chose not to. Where's the unfairness - the customer apparently thought it was worth $25 dollars to check their bag when they didn't have to pay at all. If you think that's somehow unfair, let everyone bring every bag to the gate and sort it out there.

On the other hand if a passenger carries a proper size carry-on to the gate expecting to be able to carry it on (or do the planeside thing if it's Express) because US said it was allowed, why should he/she have to pay the fee if the OHB's fill before he/she boards? Is it not unfair if Joe Blow takes too big or many bags on board for free then John Smith (who's next to board) has to pay $25 to check a proper sized bag just because Joe took the last of the OHB space?

If you are giving people free checked baggage if they are within the size limits but charging those whose bags are over the size limits at the end of the boarding process - then the policy needs to be enforced for the entire boarding process.

That is the third hand - enforce the carry-on size/number limits at both the ticket counter and gate by charging those who try to carry on too big or too many bags. Doing that would eliminate any unfairness that would come from charging Jane Doe at the counter because her bag is too big to carry on but letting Linda Ladendown get away with checking an oversize bag at the gate for free. There must be uniform enforcement of the carry-on rules.

Jim

 

[Travelpro72]

OK let me clarify. They make this announcement BEFORE boarding even begins. Not even zone 1 or f/c has boarded. Even if you choose to pay at the time of checkin at the kiosk gate agents are making the announcement and giving others the opportunity to check for free PRIOR to boarding beginning. So as more people become aware of this.........who will "pay" the fee?

an afterthought..... I think this just irks me due to the fact that everywhere you read about airlines it's fees, fees, fees. When a passenger is checking in at the airport do they know they don't have to pay and can have it checked for free at the gate? Bad...VERY bad business if ya ask me.

 

[Dog Wonder]

You are beating your head against the wall.

This issue is much too complex for Tempe to solve.

One or two variables they can handle, sometimes.

 

[Furloughd4now]

Not ALL stations do it. LGA does it, CLT does it "occasionally" I have NEVER seen PHL do it, and PHX? (at least with east A/C) fuggetaboutit, doesn't happen. You can always tell when agents do it because they start bringing bags down before boarding starts. Alot of GAs don't or won't do it. The most annoying part is when the flight is oversold and late ... when we need it the most they don't do it. I can't tell you how many irreg ops they won't do it. Ready to bang my head upside the oven :down: "Get it right the first time, thats the main thing, get it right the next time, thats not the same thing". Get the bags done right cause I will NOT allow the boarding door to be closed until BBB!

Some slick willies will say "hey ok, you can check my bag" the agent tags their bag and then, LETS THE CUSTOMER bring the bag down the jetbridge. Kinda defeats the purpose wouldn't you agree?

Travelpro, I understand COMPLETELY where you're coming from and at some point this is going to bite us in the *you-know-where*. However, until people start doing their jobs properly (as mentioned in my earlier post) we are going to get NOWHERE fast.

Kind of like going from Anywhere to PHL in a snowstorm. :down: End Rant

 

[BoeingBoy]

OK let me clarify. They make this announcement BEFORE boarding even begins. Not even zone 1 or f/c has boarded. Even if you choose to pay at the time of checkin at the kiosk gate agents are making the announcement and giving others the opportunity to check for free PRIOR to boarding beginning. So as more people become aware of this.........who will "pay" the fee?

Let my claify my point too.

- Anyone with bags larger or more numerous than the carry-on limit should pay the fee, either at the ticket counter or gate. No exceptions. There should never be an announcement that "Anyone who would like to check their bag can do so for free" because that does allow those who are trying to beat the system a perfect way to do so. The announcement should be along the lines of "The flight is full today - if anyone with a bag that meets the carry on limits would like to check it there will be no charge."

- Anyone who is within the carry-on limits and desires to carry on their bag should not pay the fee. If there's not room on board they should have their bag checked for free.

- Anyone who wishes to check a bag at the ticket counter or kiosk even though it is within the carry-on limits is free to do so but they pay the fee.

- The above should apply for every flight 24/7/365 with no exceptions.

Jim

 

[InternationalDan]

I just love pulling bags off of a plane when it is having a big rain downfall and the manual handwritten tags start to fall apart, and then you have to figure out where it goes....


InternationalDan

 

[ggiby]

I just love pulling bags off of a plane when it is having a big rain downfall and the manual handwritten tags start to fall apart, and then you have to figure out where it goes....


InternationalDan

Last night in BOS... we had at least 6 bags to be checked on the shuttle..
we told which pax seat it was... ..
when the agent gave us the bag tags...
she came back on..
saying it does not matter..
dont have time to write the pax name on the tags... so we could not determine who the correct
tag went to..
this is a product of getting the a/c out on time...
who cares about the rest as far a the station cares...
its is a POS...
when will the sand castle...realize this??

 

[Dog Wonder]

For $25 we will check your bags at the gate on tags assigned at random.

 

[SegmentKing]

haha.

Find your bags!

 

[dexter]

I believe that alot of these bags would not get through security points if we had customer service agents queing the security lines and not the outsourced company doing it who does not care. Our customer service agents know the size limitations and will send them off the security lines and back to the ticket counter for processing. BUT the company would not give this work back to the employee group, its all about outsourcing any work we have left after automation.....big mistake by the sandcastle.
You have to understand that most passengers check in on non baggage kiosks and there is no way to moniter at the counter. Put proffessional employees that work for our company at the check points and I guarantee this problem would be solved, not to mention the money the company would have in the bank that would eat up some of the last loss we incurred.

DEX

 

[Travelpro72]

For every single person I know (that is still willing to fly US) I will tell them to read the carry on measurement requirements on the website. If your bag fits those measurements don't pay to check it online or at the kiosk cause you don't want to carry it as they will let you check it for free at the gate. Spread the word everyone.....if you have a bag thats regulation size for a carry on you can gate check it for free. All the while STILL being able to carry on another rollerboard. RIDICULOUS! I see it everyday I work. Great policy US

GUARANTEED all f/a's have seen this..... "Excuse me Miss but you have two large carry on's. One must be checked". The passenger FULLY KNEW they'd have to check one but now get it done for free as the boarding has begun. This happens on every single flight every single day.

 

[HP2USFA]

Aren't there now Credit Card machines at the gates now?