Glucose Intolerant
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More Bag Fee - Or what management calls "ancillary revenue stream"
- Thread starter Glucose Intolerant
- Start date
I think it's a good idea. Not sure the last time YOU worked the ramp. Have You seen the size of the Bags Lately? Worst thing that ever happened was when the Luggage Manufacturers started putting Wheels bags. They always have the option of sending a bag as Air Freight at a much cheaper cost.
Passengers (and cargo shippers posing as passengers) must begin to pay more than the costs of the services they receive, and if boosting the charges for overweight and supersized suitcases helps airlines do that, then more power to them. People should learn to pack lighter and cart around less stuff when traveling or they should pay. Good for US for attempting to charge them.
xUT
Veteran
IMHO, Carry on should have a weight limit even if it fits within physical requirements. This will avoid putting the heavier items in the roll-away and light items in the bag.
Sorry, but airlines have to squeeze every penny, just like any other company.
B) xUT
Sorry, but airlines have to squeeze every penny, just like any other company.
B) xUT
FutureUScapt
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DL already has this policy. I noticed this change on US' site a few days ago, so I decided to check out DL just to see how they compared. I'm not sure who started this most recent change, but it doesn't look like it was US.
Glucose Intolerant
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Let me clarify what my issue is:
I am not saying that it is a bad thing we are charging for over sized bags. Now a days it seems people are MOVING to a destination instead of flying there. You guys are right, the bags ARE and will continue to be OUT OF CONTROL as long as we nickle and dime people.
The was my point.
It is a lot like it was when smoking was still allowed on the aircraft - the captain would turn on the NO SMOKING sign to clear the cabin air, and the minute he turned it back out, EVERYONE would start chain smoking making it worse than before. It's like that now with bags.
Bags aren't the only things that are getting bigger and heavier - just take a look in the cabin. You can barely get down the aisle. If you over 5'6" God help you if your stuck in a middle seat or the last row.
I don't know about bags down on the ramp - but they are now completely out of control in the cabin. Passengers and bags are now actually causing a great deal of damage to the aircraft. Why again?
If these bags are going to be monitored to the same scrutiny they are now - (and they want to remove more agents from the process) - It will only get worse.
My point - it time to come up with something better. People don't like being nickle and dimed to death, herding onto an aircraft, subjected to lengthy credit card pitches, then getting a cup o beverage on a trans con flight - It pisses everyone off. Everyone keeps forgetting that without passengers and their satisfaction and loyalty - we are out of business.
Maybe that is the direction this management team is heading the airline - but it seems there has got to be a better way to price our product (or lack thereof).
Harry Callahan
Veteran
+1000 on this. Except I would add why not charge even more. These idiots try to carry everything they own. Our oji's are through the roof.
Long Story Short, it is Tempes fault about the Carry On Luggage. Before you think I am Bashing Tempe (most of the time they do deserve it), hear me out. The Corprate Culture is to Save money where ever possible and they do NOT look at How much revenue an expense can generate. I will use my Large station as an example, we share a Gate satelite with AA. AA PAYS a Vendor to ensure that 1-The Pax has a ticket to enter the Sterile area and 2- to ensure any bags they are bringing to the gate fits into a sizer box. Now I know that Tempe REFUSES to use sizer boxes for passengers bags and would rather leave it up to the Agents disgretion, I will get back to this in a minute. Back durring the Holidays, USAirways Split the cost with AA for this Service and the Gate check bags went down from an average of 25-30 bags per 737-400, to rought 10 bags per flight. WHY, because the bags were stopped at security thus INCREASING REVENUE for Checked Bags in our Station. WHY the Bean Counters in Tempe, do not allow for the Expense of the Ticket Checker to be charged against the Revenue of Checked Bags (an INCREASED Revenue) for the Station. So they Complain the Stations Expenses are too high. So if You own a Company, wouldn't you rater spend say $500 a day to Generate an Addition Five to Ten THOUSAND Dollars per day ? Now back to the Sizer Boxes, If you have a bag and it Does Not Fit, it should need to be checked. But Because Tempe Refuses to use this tool and leave it up to each individual agent at each station, it causes problems with our passengers. Another issue is a Gate Agent checks a bag, the Pax complains to a Flight Attendant and they allow it into the cabin. Problem is that the bag is now in the System and a Claim can be files for an undelivered/lost bag costing the company Thousands of dollars per day. And if you dont think that this happens, you have been drinking too much Kool-Aid.
I thought this airline is a Low cost airline. LLC what has happened to the low cost, they are charging the same for overweight bags as the non Low cost carriers. what a bunch of BS this airline like to gives out. you are not a low cost airline.
low cost for the employee's but not for the customers or the high paid dum dum's that run this company
low cost for the employee's but not for the customers or the high paid dum dum's that run this company
BoeingBoy
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They stopped pushing the "first nationwide low cost carrier" idea 9 months or so after the merger - I guess it took that long for it to sink in that merging low cost HP with high cost US resulted in a high cost carrier.
Jim
CLT-Douglas
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Tips of the day:
1. When flying US Airways for a long vacation, make sure your bag is under 50lbs. before you arrive at the airport. Pack a collapsable duffle bag in with your checked luggage. That way if you buy souvenirs you got a carry on and you save $90.00 on the way home.
2. When traveling with a companion roundtrip on US Airways, share one 50 pound bag vs. two 25 pound bags and save $50.00. You're saving money, US Airways is saving money needing fewer baggage handlers if there is less luggage to check, and if 50LBS total is going into the plane anyway, why not make those still working work harder lifting a 50 pounds instead of 25.
Airlines obviously put a lot of thought into their fees, so it's only fair to put a little thought on how to avoid them.
1. When flying US Airways for a long vacation, make sure your bag is under 50lbs. before you arrive at the airport. Pack a collapsable duffle bag in with your checked luggage. That way if you buy souvenirs you got a carry on and you save $90.00 on the way home.
2. When traveling with a companion roundtrip on US Airways, share one 50 pound bag vs. two 25 pound bags and save $50.00. You're saving money, US Airways is saving money needing fewer baggage handlers if there is less luggage to check, and if 50LBS total is going into the plane anyway, why not make those still working work harder lifting a 50 pounds instead of 25.
Airlines obviously put a lot of thought into their fees, so it's only fair to put a little thought on how to avoid them.
Harry Callahan
Veteran
Fleet Service oji's are all ready through the roof thanks to people who take everything they own. You sir (if I can say that) are an idiot.
AGREED !
And should the FSA get hurt on the Job (OJI) the fine company that USAirways is, doesnt even pay you !
So You need to SUE Them to get your money.
I think you were a little rough on CLT Douglas. I may be mistaken, but I didn't view the "tip" as saying that injuring fleet service workers by overloading suitcases is a good thing. Rather, I saw it as pointing out the relative absurdity of charging more for two lightweight bags than for one bag that's within the weight limit. Loading two lightweight bags should take no more time (maybe even less time) than struggling with one heavyweight bag. If all suitcases were a lightweight 20-25 pounds, you might even be able to load and unload a plane with fewer people.
I have long argued that airlines should figure out how to charge for the weight of passengers and their bags (checked and carryons).
There should be a base charge for the seat space and then a charge per pound. That way, 105 pound heroin-addicted-stick-thin models would pay a lot less than 305 pound fatasses. As it ought to be, given that the fatso causes the plane to burn a lot more fuel than the waif. People who bring one reasonably-sized and weight carryon would pay a lot less than someone who brings several 50 pound bags. And someone bringing two 25 pound checked bags shouldn't pay much more than someone bringing one 50 pounder.
Now that airlines are generally charging per checked bag, we're partway there. Still, there's no incentive to pack light (other than the extra fees for over-50 pounds). Perhaps a flat $5 per checked bag (recognizing that each bag does take some time and energy to handle) plus $1 per pound would get the message thru to people to pack lighter. And if it doesn't, then increase the per pound fees.
