Spirit Airlines introduced $30 fees for carry-on bags when the fee is paid online or over the phone and $45 at the gate [credit cards only please], becoming the first U.S.-based carrier to charge for carry-on bags.
Passengers are allowed to board a jet with a carry-on for free if it fits under the seat, but there is a long list of excluded items, including “food for the flight.”
Other carry-on items excluded from under-seat stowing include umbrellas, cameras, infant diaper bags [no word on adult diaper bags], assistive devices, coats, wraps, hats, car seats, strollers and reading material.
The airline charges $25 for a first checked bag when the fee is paid online or over the phone and $45 when checked in at the gate.
Members of Spirit’s $9 Fare Club pay reduced fees for carry-on and first checked bags, at $20 and $15 [for domestic flights], respectively.
The carry-on policy went into effect for reservations purchased starting yesterday for travel Aug. 1, 2010, and after.
The $10 reduction on checked bags for $9 Fare Clubs members is good on tickets purchased beginning July 1 for travel Aug. 1, 2010 and beyond.
Forrester Research senior travel analyst Henry Harteveldt feels that Spirit, known for its outrageous marketing forays, may have gone a little too far this time with its carry-on bag fees.
“To charge people to check bags and bring them on the plane could cross the line to provoke a bad reaction from consumers and could provoke bad reaction from Washington, D.C.,” Harteveldt says.
The airline, of course, characterizes the move differently, saying that it is “progressing to the next phase of unbundling…” with its carry-on bag fees and reduced bag fees for $9 Fare Club members.
In another move, Spirit unveiled Penny Plus Fares — a penny fare plus taxes, fees and fuel — on 1 million seats annually for members of its $9 Fare Club.
So, for example, a seat on an Atlanta-Myrtle Beach flight, if available, would cost  $31.03, including the ticket, fuel, and taxes and fees.
While Harteveldt thinks the carry-on-bag fees are off-base, he welcomes Spirit’s penny-fare initiative.
“One thing Spirit is doing right is the $9 Fare Club,” Harteveldt says. “If you join the club, they are saying we’ll make a commitment to you to create special value. On that point I thnk it is terrific. They are being very creative.”
Here’s Spirit’s carry-on fee schedule:
Related posts:
- Delta, Continental raise bag fees, will Southwest and JetBlue pack it in?
- With nothing to lose, Spirit Airlines clubs Tiger Woods with crash ad
- Southwest Airline’s Kelly calls on competitors to increase bag fees
- Continental Airlines hopes to get a leg up with fees for premium seats
- Southwest Airlines more myth-maker than maverick on ancillary services
Fly Southwest
At this point, what is too much? There are so many different ancillary fees now, nothing would surprise me. I think we’ll see more new and different ancillary fees in the next few months. And Flight Attendants are becoming Shop Girls and Guys.
But Henry H. is right, eventually it’s going to be heard in Washington DC.
@peggy/@dennis
Can some someone explain Henry’s comments about the issue being heard in Washington (for our European readers!). Why? How? To what outcome?
In this current market and global crisis all these big businesses will try using dirty tactics but will never think once that we should at least give customers and consumers something in return.
They are thinking to take the last penny in the wallet of the customer. Lolz
Interesting post
Rob: I flew Southwest a few days ago. No bag fees for me and my three kids. Loved it. And, one of my daughters says, “It was beast.”
Peggy: At some point, you and Henry are right…. some politician or Congressional committee is going to take up the ancillary fees issue. As long as it is transparent, I don’t know on what basis they could challenge the fee onslaught. Unless perhaps anticompetitive practices are at play.
As long as the deal is clear I don’t see a problem, you pay your money and make your choice. Experience has shown that people do up-sell themselves to alternative fare propositions for convenience and flexibility either with the same or a different airline. If Spirit can attract passengers and make money from charging for carry on bags, good luck to them. To Peggy’s point about flight attendants “becoming Shop Girls and Guys”, well yes, as airlines become travel retailers, the cabin simply becomes part of the shopping experience, it doesn’t mean to have to buy any extras.
@mike
I’m kinda with you on this one.
For all the hand-wringing about it, consumers will simply vote with their feet if the apparent industry outrage is reflected.
Take the example of Ryanair in Europe, which is consistently introducing extra fees on various elements of its product. Have its passenger numbers dropped significantly? Nope.
That’s obviously a simplistic view, but it’s worth remembering all the same.
They heard the cry….”CHARGE”!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and they did). I’m sure the railroads are loving it, airlines wanted a “deregulated” environment (of course they didn’t ask for adult management) and now they can’t begin to figure out how to make it on their own (just a note, they CAN’T) Its either a utility and regulated, or a competitive environment……and a pretty interesting race to the bottom…Maybe the govt ought to pull all the hard and soft subsidies and let them survive on their own merits. (OK, Southwest already dominates in a lot of markets so we won’t see that much change………)In the end, either pricing that covers costs must prevail…..(and no “just cover your fixed costs!) I’ll stick with ground transpo at this point.
so if you leave your coat on – you can take it for free – if you take your coat off you have to pay?
With that logic, Milind, it looks like it would be a “bargain” to check your coat in a suitcase. $5 cheaper than the fee for a carry-on.
I checked the Spirit website, and contrary to what this post suggests, the “excluded” items – cameras, food, coats, reading material, etc. – “are not counted towards a customer’s carry-on baggage allowance and are free of charge.” In other words, “excluded” doesn’t mean that you can’t stow them under the seat, but rather that you can bring all those things for free in addition to a bag that fits under the seat. I still think this new policy is horrendous and won’t be flying Spirit anytime soon, but at least they’re not charging $30-45 for passengers to bring a coat or a book on board.