American Says Few Passengers Will Pay New Bag Fee
DALLAS (AP) – American Airlines says its new $15 for checking even a single piece of luggage will affect fewer than one in four customers and won’t lead to longer lines at boarding gates.
The carrier said Thursday that it’s taking steps to avoid delays and disruptions caused by the new policy.
American announced last month it would be the first airline to charge for a first checked bag. The fee takes effect on tickets bought on or after June 15. American said three-quarters of summer travelers had already bought their tickets and wouldn’t pay the fee.
The airline defended the fee, saying it’s still a bargain compared to the cost of shipping a 45-pound bag overnight on a package-delivery company. A spokesman for the airline said such a tab for sending a bag from Dallas to New York would be $150 to $230 or more.
Members of the elite levels of American’s frequent flyer program won’t have to pay the fee, and neither will those who bought full-fare tickets or are traveling overseas.
American and other carriers charge $25 for checking a second bag. The airlines are raising fares and fees to cover the soaring cost of jet fuel, which has nearly doubled in the past year. American said it has raised fares 15 times since April, but it pointed to an Air Transport Association study that said airlines are recovering only 40 percent of their higher fuel bills.
American is a unit of Fort Worth-based AMR Corp.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
