On a recent business trip to speak at the Leisure Travel Summit, hosted by Best Western, I was struck by the amount of conversation about checked baggage fees the airlines instituted in 2008. Sure, airlines rolled out other a la carte fees as well (headphones,
snacks, etc) but none drew more criticism or anger than the $15-$50
extra for checking bags.
The audience for this panel discussion was made up of media professionals who are focused and educated on travel, yet there I was answering questions and listening to rants about this incremental cost. People hate these fees.
I understand the issue. This is the one charge that hits almost everyone. Don’t want an $8 sandwich in-flight? Don’t pay for it, or bring your own. Don’t care about watching movies? Don’t buy them, or bring your own. Traveling to Europe for 10 days with your family of five? Uh oh. The only way around the baggage fee is to pack light, but sometimes that’s just not possible. So, I understand why this is the lightning rod.
I am definitely sympathetic to the issue, but allow me to offer a little perspective that I think the airlines themselves have done a poor job of communicating.
Airlines plan for the cost of fuel to average around $80 per barrel for any given year. Their worst case scenario planning accounts for the cost per barrel to be up around $100. In July 2008, the actual cost per barrel was almost $150 ($147 to be exact). This is almost 50 percent more cost than the airline industry’s worst case scenario. Simply put: Airlines were pushed to the brink of financial ruin.
At that time, if airlines charged you per ticket what it actually cost them to fly you from Boston to New York City, for example, it would have cost $600 round-trip (as opposed to the $125 RT average fare today). How many of you would have flown at those prices? I didn’t think so.
So, airlines did what they could to cut costs and make up the difference anywhere else they could rather than raising the actual price of an airline ticket significantly.
This is where the a la carte fees come in. The baggage and other fees are an attempt to offset the financial losses airlines continue to endure. While the additional fees may appear to be unreasonable, they are in a sense optional. From my perspective, the cost of the actual flight is not optional. If I want to walk onto the plane, I need to pay the airfare. This is the one “fee” I do not want to see increased. Everything else is optional.
Here are some suggestions for avoiding added airline fees.
Baggage fees:
— Pack light enough to be able to carry all of your items onto the plane (check out http://onebag.com)
— Explore cost of overnight shipping services which could be less (FedEx, UPS, etc)
— If you have a frequent flyer card, show it to anyone who will listen to you. It just may get the fees waived, or at least some of them.
Food/Drinks:
— Bring food from home. It’s that simple. It’s cheaper and will taste so much better.
— You can’t bring drinks (water, juice boxes, etc.) through security so don’t bother trying. Buy them after going through security and if your airline offers free bottled water in flight, grab a few to go.
Seat assignment/Legroom:
— I never pay for a few extra inches of legroom, but that’s just my preference. You might be different. Either way, the fee is still optional.
I’m not sure why the airlines do not share this perspective. They need to keep the cost of flying reasonable or else people just won’t fly. Regardless, I can appreciate the financial situation they are in and am thankful they put the choice for additional expenses in my hands. At the end of the day, it’s a small price to pay to be able to experience different parts of the world. A little perspective will help you go a long way.
© Cheapflights Ltd Carl Schwartz
