It had to happen, and it’s no surprise — at all — that it’s Spirit who’s doing it. The airline that started us down the path of fees-for-everything in the US is back, with a vengeance, charging for both checked baggage and now, carry-ons that go into the overhead bin.
Spirit Airlines will charge as much as $45 each way for a carry-on bag, adding a fee that bigger airlines have yet to try.
The charge will apply to bags in the overhead bin. Personal items that fit under the seat will still be free. Spirit said it will add measuring devices at the gates to determine which carry-ons are free and which ones will incur the charge.
The new charge is $45 if paid at the gate, and $30 if paid in advance, and begins Aug. 1. Spirit said today that it reduced its lowest fares by $40 on average, so most customers won’t really pay more to fly.
Spirit also charges to check luggage.
Nice spin re: reducing fares by $40 on average. This coming from an airline that often pitches $9 base fares with cutesy sale names.
Airfare comparison just got harder again. A fare on Spirit may now look cheaper than a fare on, say, JetBlue, despite the JetBlue fare including carry-ons and one checked bag. A “deal” may not be a deal once you add in all the fees.
As I’ve argued time and time again, there will be people upset with Spirit for doing this, but until people wise up and start voting with their feet (and wallets), this will continue.
(Thanks, Irv!)
Related:
- Spirit’s latest indignity: Middle seats for a $5 fee
- Spirit Airlines keeps it classy with their M.I.L.F. sale
- Spirit Airlines’ CEO flips his customers the bird
- Consumer victory: Spirit reverses its “web convenience fee”
- Is Spirit Airlines’ new club worth joining?
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April 6th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Twitter Comment
no bueno! RT @upgradetravel Spirit Airlines to charge fees for carry-on bags AND checked luggage [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
April 6th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
[...] via Upgrade: Travel Better [...]
April 6th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Mark: do you honestly think this will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back or will people just accept this (and consequently see it spread to other airlines)?
April 6th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
Robert,
Color my cynical, but I think that other airlines will watch and see how angry the public gets at this. If the outrage is big, they might hold back. If customers just roll over and take it, you’ll see this on US Airways by September…
JetBlue has already mocked it, so don’t expect them to follow suit.
But I don’t think this is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. That’s a tough camel.
April 6th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
…this just sunk in:
If you check a bag with Spirit, the most the first bag will cost is $25 if you check it at the airport. (It’s $19 if you pay in advance online.) If you carry that same bag onboard and put it in an overhead, you’ll pay $45 at the airport, $30 online, or $20 if you’re a member of their fare club (which costs around $40 a year).
So it’s cheaper to check a bag than to carry on.
What is the world coming to??
Link to the policies:
http://www.spiritair.com/Policiesbags.aspx
April 6th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
Well, if you were waiting for the Ryanair response, here you go:
Way to blame the ladeez, Ryanair. Stay classy.
April 7th, 2010 at 12:09 am
Here we go again… Why do low-cost airlines like to advertise “low” fares but also have “freakish” charges that can add up onto the “low” fare? Maybe it’s just the sign of the times – maybe better fly with Southwest or so…
April 7th, 2010 at 4:49 am
[...] Via Upgrade: Travel Better, Spirit Air is introducing carry-on baggage fees. They say they’ll measure the size of carry-ons, and those deemed too big to fit under the seat will be charged a fee for use of the overhead. [...]
April 7th, 2010 at 10:08 am
[...] Spirit Airlines to charge fees for carry-on bags AND checked luggage (upgradetravelbetter.com) [...]
April 7th, 2010 at 11:28 am
Meh, I’ve been voting with my feet and wallet for a long time (I’ve never flown Spirit, and they’re on of the few airlines I’ll absolutely refuse to fly on), but they still keep piling on the fees regardless. Got any other ideas?
That being said, Spirit implementing a policy that promotes checked luggage over hand luggage may at least have some merits. As for Ryanair, there are regulations in place that prohibit certain items from hand luggage but not checked luggage. Their policy just doesn’t vibe with government regulations and airport security. I’d expect this to cause them to lose a few customers…sometimes, you do need to transport something the requires you to check a bag. I imagine this’ll increase boarding time too, as more folks fight over overhead space to cram in rollaboards that they might have otherwise checked.
May 7th, 2010 at 7:01 am
[...] bars, scanner truthPosted by: Mark Ashley Downgraded: Consumer smarts You will no doubt recall Spirit Airlines’ decision to charge up to $45 for a carry-on bag. What may surprise (and disappoint) you: The airline has seen a surge in bookings, 50% higher than [...]
June 14th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
[...] The airline has a long track record of being gimmicky to lure in customers, but doing everything to squeeze money from the customer post-purchase and being absolutely horrendous when anything goes wrong and [...]