Going on Vacation? Prepare to pay for first checked bag

[cycloneye]

More pain for the people,this time those who will travel by air,thanks to the spike of oil.

FORT WORTH, Texas - American Airlines will start charging $15 for the first checked bag, cut domestic flights and lay off possibly thousands of workers as it grapples with record-high fuel prices.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24756513/

[CajunMama]

I'm going to vegas in early august. Got 2 roundtrip tickets for $214 each. Glad i got them when i did.

[gtalum]

So far it's only on AA. It'll be interesting to see if it sticks. If the other majors don't follow within a few days, they'll likely rescind it.

I suspect the end of relatively cheap air travel is over for a while.

[x-y-no]

The bad part of this is that people are going to try and put even more in those already bulging carry-on bags. And there's already too little room in the cabin for everything if you have a full flight.

I'm glad I booked Jet Blue instead of American for my travel this summer.

[Ed Mahmoud]

The bad part of this is that people are going to try and put even more in those already bulging carry-on bags. And there's already too little room in the cabin for everything if you have a full flight.

I'm glad I booked Jet Blue instead of American for my travel this summer.

Is there a SE Texas S2K meet-up that I didn't hear about? On one of the super-secret S2K commodity forums?

[gtalum]

The bad part of this is that people are going to try and put even more in those already bulging carry-on bags. And there's already too little room in the cabin for everything if you have a full flight.

AA has also requested that the TSA start enforcing the carry-on size rule for them. No word on whether they plan to accommodate AA on that. Point taken though: this will slow down boarding and debarkation.

I'm glad I booked Jet Blue instead of American for my travel this summer.

FWIW, this only affects tickets purchased on or after June 15.

We don't check bags, so personally i don't care if they charge or not. My wife and I can each pack for an indefinite trip in a carry-on-legal rollaboard suitcase and a backpack. Little Miss Alum will soon be trained to do the same.

[MGC]

I'm flying to Seattle in August. I purchased my tickets in March. Friday I get an e-mail from Continental saying they have rebooked me to the 7:30am flight because Continental decided to cancell my 11:30am flight. Trouble is I will still be on my cruise ship then. The next flight Continental has out is at 11:45pm which don't get me back into Gulfport till 10am. I have little recourse since airfares have increased quite a bit since I booked so if I change carriers I will pay a hefty increase in my fare.....MGC

[gtalum]

Have them check their codeshare flights (flights sold as Continental flights on other carriers' aircraft) on Northwest and Delta. If that doesn't work, try nearby cities. They should be flexible, for instance, in letting you change your "home" airport to New Orleans because of the schedule change. You might have to drive further, but you'll get home easier.

[george_r_1961]

The bad part of this is that people are going to try and put even more in those already bulging carry-on bags. And there's already too little room in the cabin for everything if you have a full flight.

AA has also requested that the TSA start enforcing the carry-on size rule for them. No word on whether they plan to accommodate AA on that. Point taken though: this will slow down boarding and debarkation.

I'm glad I booked Jet Blue instead of American for my travel this summer.

FWIW, this only affects tickets purchased on or after June 15.

We don't check bags, so personally i don't care if they charge or not. My wife and I can each pack for an indefinite trip in a carry-on-legal rollaboard suitcase and a backpack. Little Miss Alum will soon be trained to do the same.

Oh you bet it will slow down boarding and disembarkation. As if it isnt slow enough now. Try being seated on the back row and you have 30 minutes to catch a connecting flight at a gate on the other side of the airport
I travel light. One carryon bag. So this wont affect me at all whenever i take my next trip.