new airline baggage limit: one suitcase for free

[srqrebel]

Why do you want charge people for services they do not use? I would rather ship anything I cannot carry on anyway, so why should I be charged the same price as the crazy lady who brings her entire wardrobe and cats?

If only that were actually the case.

I'm sure they have no intention of using this new income source to make airfare cheaper for those of us who fly light.

[MengerFan]

Why do you want charge people for services they do not use? I would rather ship anything I cannot carry on anyway, so why should I be charged the same price as the crazy lady who brings her entire wardrobe and cats?

If only that were actually the case.

I'm sure they have no intention of using this new income source to make airfare cheaper for those of us who fly light.

It is necessarily so. If luggage guy is paying $15 more than no-luggage guy, then no-luggage guy is paying $15 less than luggage guy.

If by that you mean that airfare will not decrease for non-luggage guy below that charged before the new policy implementation, then you are comparing apples to anal beads. The relevant comparison is that between the price paid by no-luggage guy now and that which would have been charged had the price discrimination not gone into effect.

[Friday]

I thought I heard a news report yesterday stating that United Airlines was charging $15 for the FIRST bag you check.

It's American: http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/21/news/companies/american_airlines.ap/index.htm

[srqrebel]

...The relevant comparison is that between the price paid by no-luggage guy now and that which would have been charged had the price discrimination not gone into effect.

Good point, though I am not going to claim clairvoyance. Who knows whether the airfare was poised to increase more than usual, or not. My bet is that airfare will continue to increase as usual, with the airlines pocketing the increased revenue.

After all, as Russell pointed out, Southwest does not seem to feel the need to do this in order to maintain their competitive fares.

It makes little difference to me personally. Sometimes I take one suitcase, sometimes two. It really depends on where I am going, and how long I'm staying. I prefer flexibility for convenience' sake, but I also don't mind paying for every little service individually, as long as the savings are actually passed on to me.

[MengerFan]

Once again, it is necessarily so. If it were not the case that no-luggage guy is paying less than he would under a single price system, then what would be stopping airlines from charging a billion dollars a ticket? Up would be down and down would be up, unicorns could fly, and George Bush would be the greatest president.

[Pat McCotter]

Up would be down and down would be up, unicorns could fly, and George Bush would be the greatest president.

You people are tearing my worldview apart, y'know!!! You make it sound like these things aren't true!