I have to agree with Dan here. If you are able to put a link that leads you directly with a form letter to send directly to the appropriate person would help the cause alot. Not just laziness, it’s too time consuming to figure out the where’s and who’s. But it is important that we raise our voices to be heard en mass.

Listen, my issue is this. I don’t agree with baggage fees because baggage is inherant with travel! Its like charging to put your groceries in your shopping cart at the supermarket. Come on! If our airline industry is suffering so much, and they are, then they should figure out better ways to reduce waste and maximize earnings without charging the customer for every breath they take while on the plane!

So this evening at 6:30 I took the suitcase in to a sleepy LGB (the final US Airways departure was already boarding), and presented my case to the lone baggage staffer. She was a bit confused as to why I was bringing the suitcase to LGB rather than LAX and why it has taken me so long, but I explained the email, she conferred with a supervisor, and they agreed to take my suitcase. It will be sent to central baggage, and they will either repair it or replace it. Hurrah!

Now back to my unanswered question of how this will affect my future business with US Airways. I think it won’t affect my business either way. I’m not happy that they ripped my bag, but I don’t realistically think that the chances of this happening again are greater than with another airline. I’m not happy with how long it took them to respond, but I am happy with the way I was treated afterwards, and having a baggage station at LGB is definitely a plus (I know that in order to keep it I need to fly that service, but this would require connecting through Phoenix every time). Of course, the ultimate resolution remains to be seen — how my bag will come back from repair.

I have no idea why I never thought of it, but he’s was right — it actually would make a lot more sense if airlines allowed one personal item on board for free and then charged $35 (or the going rate) for the first carry-on.

In general terms, the fee would likely target business travelers (or anyone willing to pay a premium to skip the bag claim) rather than leisure travelers and families (since they are more likely to check bags anyway). It certainly wouldn’t be inconsistant with past and current practices for the airlines to squeeze the business travelers first. Plus, then you’d actually be paying for a CONVENIENCE rather than incentivizing folks to carry-on… which only slows the boarding process and creates more hassles than if you were to disincentivize carry-ons.

Well Ed, the higher the baggage fees, the more you and all of us will have to endure the filled, overstuffed overhead bins as well as the delays in loading and unloading the same.
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The TWO BAG RULE went into effect in 1988, yes, 1988. Bags have ALWAYS been a problem in the cabin, especially with the onset of rollaboards, which came onboard aircraft beginning in 1989.
NO ONE wants to check bags. They want the convenience of deplaning and leaving the airport, skipping the baggage claim.

THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PROBLEM. Bags in the cabin.

That said, I’ve gotten a good deal of insight from all these comments, and learned quite a bit as a result. I do understand how difficult it is for a lot of travellers to pare it down to one carry-on (especially if you’re travelling with kids or sports gear). I love the suggestion DeltaPMFlyer had about going with as large a bag as allowed if you’re going to have to pay a fee anyway.

I also liked Andrew’s comments – I enjoy seeing different angles to these issues, and appreciated this string of discussions.