The trend started with Delta and Continental, and now other airlines are following suit: upping baggage fees to cover the rising cost of misplacing and manhandling your belongings.
“It’s a simple matter of supply and demand,” says Delta spokesman Skip Fryer. “If people continue to rely on us to rip their luggage to shreds and reroute it to the far corners of the earth, then they’re going to have to pay for that kind of luxury.”
Someone has to pay for this unholy mess. Oh, it's YOU!Most airlines began exploiting baggage fees years ago to help break even. What followed was a wave of other money-making ventures, from charging for pillows and soda to East German-style restrictions on using frequent flier miles. United Airlines is rumored to be exploring even more options, including a surcharge for not having to endure the buttocks of fellow passengers pressing against your face as they brush past you to reach their seats.
For its part, Delta says it’s not looking to ding passengers for more cash, but merely keep up with its own costs.
“We literally have a team of thousands of baggage handlers dedicated to making sure your luggage ends up on the wrong flight, and even sometimes the wrong airline,” says Fryer.
“We have to pay those salaries. We have to buy that gas for the luggage carts so that we can drive your bags to the other end of the airport and throw them on, say, a flight to Abu Dhabi. Passengers demand that service. And if we’re not dedicated to customer service, why are we in business?”
