Wondering why I’m posting on a Sunday? Well, it’s to welcome Washington Post readers to the site. See, today I had an opinion piece in the Post entitled Don’t let bag fees make you nostalgic. Airlines’ golden age wasn’t so golden. What spurred this article? Spirit’s carry-on fee, of course. But that was a broader piece on the industry, so I thought I’d bring it over here for a little more discussion.
The backlash on this carry-on fee has been heated, to say the least, but the hottest air of all is coming from the US Senate, and it’s ridiculous. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) led off the insanity by saying this was horrible, and now he has joined with six other senators to introduce the BAG Fees Act. Reading through their release, they clearly haven’t actually looked at Spirit’s fee.
For example, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) had this to say:
Carry-on luggage is where people keep items essential to their health, work, and safety like laptop computers, medications, food to eat on the plane, baby formula, eye glasses and other items that need to be kept close at hand. These are personal items that airline passengers should not be charged to keep with them in the cabin.
Thanks for playing, Senator, but everything you mentioned there remains free on Spirit. The airline is still allowing a personal item (like a purse, briefcase, etc) and things like diaper bags are free too. So, to help senators from embarrassing further, I’ve put together this handy guide:
To all my first time visitors, thanks for stopping by. I’m here every morning Monday through Friday, so come back often. And if you like what you see, you can sign up to receive your daily cranky via email for free.