Spirit Airlines to Raise Carry-On Baggage Fees to $100
Low-cost American carrier Spirit Airlines announced this week that they will be joining a long line of airlines in raising fees for luggage. But this fee is ridiculous, even by industry standards – starting next week, they will begin charging up to $100 for each piece of carry-on luggage.
Spirit Airlines offers extremely low fares but makes up for these low prices by charging very high baggage fees. Average customers already spend more than $100 in fees for a round-trip flight. Over 40 percent of its revenue comes from ancillary fees – fees on services for things like baggage, non-alcoholic drinks and pet carriage.
The chief executive of bestfares.com, Tom Parsons, called the baggage fees “skyway robbery.” He went on to explain that most people won’t realize the fees until they get to the airport, then be forced to pay high amounts of money to carry on luggage, which is traditionally free. Most airlines do not charge for such a service.
The rate hike will involve a tiered fee system. Checking in a carry-on bag online will cost $35. Doing it over the phone will cost $40, and $50 at the airport ticket counter. However, if you take your carry-on luggage all the way to the boarding gate without checking it in and paying a baggage fee, then you will be charged $100. This seems relatively unfair, considering that checking in carry-on luggage is something that’s not currently part of the standard airport procedure.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the future of airline fees as Spirit seems to be setting a precedent for yet a new category of fees. Will other airlines follow suit, exploiting this new loophole get customers to pay yet more money for flights? It remains to be seen, but if past trends are any indicator, it seems likely.
