Delta increasing fees for checked bags

[scottie]

Delta Air Lines Inc. is raising its fees to check your first bag on a domestic flight by $8 and the second bag by $7. That will mean $23 for the first bag and $32 for the second:

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=9313733

I guess if people would pay $15 per bag, they'll pay $23 per bag. Awesome for shareholders (they've gone from charging $0 to charging $23 for the first bag in less than what, 2 years?), not awesome for the passengers who will be paying it or the flight attendants who will be helping customers stuff even more overstuffed carry-ons in the overhead compartments.

[Coach McGuirk]

still no fee for medallions, but still sucks. The trend will only continue.

[Solon]

still no fee for medallions, but still sucks. The trend will only continue.

Delta's fee for oversized (50+lbs) bags is $90.

[Indy Coug]

Delta's fee for oversized (50+lbs) bags is $90.

What do they charge for oversized middle fingers?

[Surfah]

Wow. $55 for two bags? It's been interesting to see the increase of carry-on luggage the last year or two I have been flying. It seemed after 9/11 nobody wanted the hassle of security so fewer people carried their luggage on. Now with the baggage fees everyone carries on. So much so that it seems on most of the flights I have been on a number of people end up having to have their luggage placed under the plane because every overhead compartment is full.

[scottie]

Wow. $55 for two bags? It's been interesting to see the increase of carry-on luggage the last year or two I have been flying. It seemed after 9/11 nobody wanted the hassle of security so fewer people carried their luggage on. Now with the baggage fees everyone carries on. So much so that it seems on most of the flights I have been on a number of people end up having to have their luggage placed under the plane because every overhead compartment is full.

I doubt we're very far away from being charged for carry-ons too.

[Katy Lied]

My neighbor is a baggage something-or-other for Delta. He says the airlines are making a ton of dough on these luggage fees.

[I.J. Reilly]

It won't be too long before the legacy airlines go back to the government for some sort of handout. In 2007 Delta posted a slight profit; that was the year they emerged from bankruptcy. They haven't posted a profit since, and were posting massive losses before.
In 2006 United emerged from bankruptcy and posted positive earnings in 2007 but haven't had a profitable quarter since. The story is the same all over. There is something fundamentally wrong with the business plan of major airlines and they can't seem to get it right. This is more evidence of that.

[Fiyero]

The average domestic fare in the second quarter of 2009 was $301.26. Back in 2000 it was $339.21, which is $420.12 when adjusted for inflation. When adding $55 in baggage fees to today's ticket prices, the overall cost is down 12% from 2000. So why hide fees like this?

Fare tables
Inflation calculator

[Solon]

It won't be too long before the legacy airlines go back to the government for some sort of handout. In 2007 Delta posted a slight profit; that was the year they emerged from bankruptcy. They haven't posted a profit since, and were posting massive losses before.
In 2006 United emerged from bankruptcy and posted positive earnings in 2007 but haven't had a profitable quarter since. The story is the same all over. There is something fundamentally wrong with the business plan of major airlines and they can't seem to get it right. This is more evidence of that.

Agreed. I would love to see European discount carriers be allowed to operate in the US, but protectionist policies won't let them. It hurts consumers and, in the end, props up an unsustainable business model. I flew from London to Paris once for about 50 bucks.

[Indy Coug]

The only things I can think of why airlines do this is


1. Post misleadingly lower air fares to attract customers

2. Disincent people to check their luggage, reducing the number of union baggage handlers and other associated overhead.


However, I have to believe that this business practice is so wildly unpopular that more and more airlines will follow Southwest's lead and differentiate themselves by touting no baggage fees.

[Katy Lied]

But when people make their purchasing decisions (when they're comparing prices on the internet), they don't factor in the price of luggage. So unless you're a regular traveller who knows to include that cost, most people will book the cheapest ticket and separate the cost of the luggage from the cost of the ticket.

I think eventually Southwest will fold, and start charging for luggage as well.

Either that or smart travel websites like kayak will start including the price for luggage in its route comparisons.

[RobinFinderson]

Don't forget that Delta already charges an additional $5 fee if you don't pay for your checked bags online, the day before departure. So the $15 (now $23) is actually $20/28, each way. It cost us about $90 extra for the three of us to each pack a suitcase for our trip to Montana, and under this new system it would have cost us an extra $138/168. I think this is well within the range to elicit consumer protest.

[Coach McGuirk]

at some point the fees will reach a break even with disposable wardrobe. That will be fun.

[I.J. Reilly]

But when people make their purchasing decisions (when they're comparing prices on the internet), they don't factor in the price of luggage. So unless you're a regular traveller who knows to include that cost, most people will book the cheapest ticket and separate the cost of the luggage from the cost of the ticket.

I think eventually Southwest will fold, and start charging for luggage as well.

Either that or smart travel websites like kayak will start including the price for luggage in its route comparisons.

This is the rock and the hard place that airlines find themselves in. Their service has been reduced to a mere commodity, and commodities compete essentially on price. An airline that could successfully differentiate itself in a unique and distinct way would have a chance, imo. Southwest has been able to do this somewhat, although I think that they could go even further. Their belief that the employees come before the customers, and their actual practice of this, has made for happier employees and, in turn, happier customers. Their customer service is far and away the best in the industry and I think that affects a lot of consumer's choices. They are, however, still stuck trying to compete on price.