I have posed this questions to a few contemporaries without much response. My question is, have the airlines really done a full-loaded cost/income analysis on the concept of charging fees for bags? They certainly have spent a good bit of time, pounding their chests at quarters end when they tell investors how much income these fees have earned, but have they look at the non-direct costs? I have status with most of the carriers, and so when I do check a bag in, it's at no cost to me.
As a heavy-frequent traveler, I can attest the following;
1) It now takes a lot longer to board a plane than it used to. Most leisure travelers are busy cramming their "carry-ons" into the overhead bins because this is free, which results in 20-40 mins to now board a plane. How much does it cost to keep an 100MM aircraft on the ground for an extra 20 mins per cycle? Now multiply that by the number of cycle each aircraft does per day, multiplied by the fleet number. Would this extra ground stoppage be there if people didnt' have to pay for bags? Does the actual cost to haul the bags change? Do they think fuel efficiency increases because the bags are stored in the overhead bin rather than the hold below?
2) Customer dissatisfaction. There is something to be said for pissing people off, and each new fee ingrates more annoyance than before. It really isn't pleasant to fly anymore, a lot of this has to do with the needed additional security. But anything to further exacerbate the process seems self defeating. Are the mega-rollup airlines immune to care of customers? Have they become so callous that true customer service is not so important, as a result of so few brand choices now?
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