Excuse Me Ma’am, It’s $65 Extra For Oxygen….

By Cara Brooke Schultz

Recently two airlines have been in the hot seat with passengers—Spirit Airlines and Ryanair—for charging what most people deem ridiculous extra fees. Spirit Airlines announced on Tuesday that it will now be charging customers for carry-on baggage. According to a CNN.com article, “The charge for carry-on bags varies from $30 to $45 depending on whether passengers are members of Spirit’s ultra-low fare club and whether they ‘pre-reserve’ their carry-on bag in advance.” Airline officials hope this will spiral into a bring less; pay less policy. They also said, “it will improve inflight safety and efficiency by speeding up the boarding and deplaning process.”

The question is: will other airlines start charging for carry-on bags? Which in all likelihood could be the case—Spirit Airlines originally started charging customers for checked bags, and other airlines followed soon thereafter.

Ryanair, based in Dublin, Ireland is thinking about enacting a fee for the use of the bathroom on flights shorter than one hour. The fee would be minimal, one Euro—about $1.33. They said the idea stemmed from trying to encourage people to use restrooms in airport terminals before boarding. Another part of the plan, suggested eliminating one of the bathrooms to free up space for extra seats.

Personally I rather just spend more money on my ticket, rather than pay all of these extra fees for checked and carry-on baggage. How do you feel about all of the additional fees?

I also find myself wondering how other modes of transportation are faring with the airlines tacking on so many additional fees—is the rail system benefiting from this?

 

Comments

[Greg]

OH MAN you just got Greg all fired up here. As a world traveler I have a lot of experience in the field. Here's the deal. when most people search for flights they chose the cheapest one that has decent times. A lot of people don't factor in these extra charges, which do add up quick. Not only do people end up spending more but it creates a negative experience. Oh by the way you owe us an extra $100 because you want to bring luggage with you on your week long vacation.

I love the new Southwest airlines campaign no bag fees. This makes the public more aware of these issues and while now many airlines can still get away with last minute charges I feel it wont last. I will pay an extra $20 for a southwest flight, but i don't have to because they are cheaper anyways.