Senator Schumer Fights Airline Carry-on Bag Fee

[cal04]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=10344080


U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said Sunday he's trying to get the federal government to prohibit airlines from charging a fee for carry-on baggage, calling it a "slap in the face to travelers."

The New York Democrat is making a personal plea to the Treasury Department to rule that carry-on bags are a necessity for travel, which would make them exempt from a separate fee outside the ticket price.

"Airline passengers have always had the right to bring a carry-on bag without having to worry about getting nickeled and dimed by an airline company," Schumer said. "This latest fee is a slap in the face to travelers."

Schumer said carry-on bags often contain medications and other necessities, particularly for families. Carry-on fees artificially avoid higher ticket prices and the taxes applied to tickets, Schumer said.

[Wilms]

1. I'd worry about war and junk like that.

The airline drops the ticket price by a hundred bucks and charges $50 for luggage and $10 for lunch. Get the guy a calculator.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

2. are you THAT ignorant of how airline ticketing works?

and are you under the impression that for some reason, if they WANTED to worry about the war and a few other issues, they cannot?

sP

[Wilms]

4. Inform me

Or continue to insult.

I recently paid the lowest fee in fifteen years for a flight, by about $100. The sandwich was 10 bucks and it wasn't very good.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

21. flights are scheduled and priced based on demand...

and the fact that you paid so little on ONE flight means next to nothing. i fly very regularly and the nickel and dime crap that the airlines have been doing have added up quite nicely. So...the flight that is so conveniently priced low NOW means that money has been rolled into other flights. and then on top of that, they are charging up to $100 round trip for CHECKED BAGS. One airline is charging up to $70 round trip for CARRY ON BAGS. Add $10 for your shitty sandwich and $25 for preferred seating...

So...for ONE ROUND TRIP FLIGHT you have $205 in fees in addition to the fares that really haven't changed all that much...

sP

[Wilms]

24. Just checked prices and they're below levels fifteen years ago.

So maybe that's a popular route I'm on?

I'm sure you can find a combination of fees, real or hypothetical groupings as in your example, that support your point. But I have in fact flown for WAY less money than years ago. So I'm not sure about what your posting or why you're having a hard time being polite with me.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

26. ignorant is a statement of fact...not rudeness

you have no clue what airline fares are on average from 15 years ago. I have held the highest level frequent flier status on 2 airlines (that means a minimum of 150,000 miles per year) for the last 11 year straight and fares have NOT declined.

sP

[Wilms]

29. Sorry your route is so unforgiving.

I just checked mine and it still cheaper than it was fifteen years ago.

Should I lie?

[ProdigalJunkMail]

34. one route??? riiiight...

all fifty states...52 countries...6 continents...that is my flight pattern over the last 15 (more over the last 11). and you are trying to compare your ONE route against the industry as a whole and saying that people who fly for a living should just suck it up and deal with it...sounds an awful lot like the 'I got mine, screw you' crowd...

sP

[Wilms]

37. I didn't doubt your experience. You questioned mine.

Here's data showing the general increase in ticket prices over the last fifteen years.

The cheaper prices I got were not exactly anomalous. The average increase of 15% compared to the 40+% in the overall inflation rate since the mid-nineties is informative.

http://www.bts.gov/programs/economics_and_finance/air_travel_price_index/html/table_11.html

And I realize this is personal for you. For me, it's facts and data. An increase of 15% might be unfair, but compared with the overall inflation rate, it's other areas where the sucking up is happening. Real estate might be one.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

44. and your fact shoot your assertion that fares are down to hell

because air travel rates (per person per plane) are markedly up since then...so fares should be MUCH lower...based on volume travel alone. But no...

it's not personal...you're just wrong.

sP

[Wilms]

47. I think it explains each of our experiences, actually.

I don't know that the "volume" argument is sound. I'm sure that model holds up for awhile. But I think these industries have already eaten into economy of scale to the point where there is little margin.

Are the execs overpaid? I'll bet. But that's another subject.

And yes, on average, plane ticket costs over the last fifteen years have gone up at one third the inflation rate.

[blueamy66]

49. Can we talk of the

HUGE decline in customer service in airlines in the last 15 years

The flight attendants get young passengers to throw your bag of peanuts at your now. Flight attendants cannot be bothered to ask if you want a refill. No pillow, blankets, free magazines, smiles or courtesy anymore....

I'd rather pay a bit more and not be treated like a farm animal.

[Wilms]

50. I don't disagree that service got crimped.

And no one wants to be treated poorly. But MOST, I presume, want a lower price. This is what drives a lot of things. It ain't just the giant corps. So pilots and flight staff are getting paid worse and worse.

Not that it's being offered by the airline's, but I would understand having to pay more so that airline employees could make a reasonable wage.

[CLANG]

57. Sounds like you might be the abberation, not Wilms

Most people don't fly all fifty states...52 countries...6 continents... and 300,000 miles a year (according to an anonymous poster on an internet forum).

I thought I'd help Wilms out by redirecting your rudeness to me for awhile...:fistbump:

[ret5hd]

3. So really the airlines are doing us a FAVOR!!! I never thought of that!

:rofl:

[Wilms]

5. I didn't argue that, I said that fees are lower.

That was my recent experience. I won't even argue that's a good thing with what people are paid to run airlines.

If Schumer gets his way, the price will go up.

[MidwestTransplant]

6. Ok but do you know a single person who travels with zero bags on a plane (under or in the cabin?)

This is just a way to make more money but if it's passed into the ticket price it doesn't matter bc it affects everybody anyway.

[Gormy Cuss]

11. Business day trippers and weekend travelers.

So far, the only airline instituting a carry-on fee is planning that fee for use of the overhead bin, not the space under the seat in front of you.

Schumer did point out the real reason for his outrage: by moving charges out of the ticket price the airlines avoid paying the taxes and fees assessed on tickets.

[Wilms]

12. OIt's a way to hold tickets prices down.

Meanwhile, on my last flight they would have had to charged $75 dollars for luggage to bring the cost up to what I paid over 15 years ago.

The real problem is that pilots are probably making less than they did fifteen years ago.

[KittyWampus]

15. Well Wilms, maybe you don't realize the extent to which taxpayer dollars SUBSIDIZE PRIVATE AIRLINES

[Wilms]

17. In which case the prices should go up. n/t

[hlthe2b]

10. Perhaps when they start trying to charge separately for

drop down Oxygen masks, air-sick bags, sitting in the statistically safest seats on the plane, beverages of all kinds on long haul flights (while refusing to let you bring water on), not to mention access to the bathrooms..... you will think Schumer has a point. :shrug:

[Wilms]

13. Except that isn't what is happening.

Next?

[hlthe2b]

14. Next is right... Just wait.

The bathroom issue has already come up with at least one European discount airline.

[Wilms]

16. So if the price is lowered by a dollar, and then raised fifty cents for the bathroom you lost out?

Don't really want to argue since there isn't much of one to make.

They dropped prices is the bottom line. You want to be concerned about a REAL rip-off, see what regional pilots are making.

[hlthe2b]

20. Hidden fees don't impact you and me--they may annoy, BUT

those harmed by these fees are those least able to plan for them--those who could barely afford the ticket to begin with. So, you say, they shouldn't fly if they don't have the funds to be able to plan for all these extras and incidentals? Perhaps you've never had a close family member die--far away and at a time when you were strapped for funds.

Think about it. If you can possibly think beyond YOUR bottom line. :eyes:

[Wilms]

25. I'm actually think beyond my bottom line.

With what pilots get paid, I'm disappointed with all the clamoring for lower pricing.

But your not making sense. If someone, "who could barely afford the ticket to begin with", gets a ticket for way less than it was years ago, and with the added fees it's still less than years ago, why are we even discussing it?

[hlthe2b]

27. TIcket prices are not that much lower...

But you can't seem to discuss without becoming rude, so I'll let you just converse with yourself.

[Wilms]

30. Didn't realize I was rude to you. Explain?

[ProdigalJunkMail]

22. please stop arguing prices are LOWER

based on your one flight...they have NOT dropped prices. I have looked over and over and over again at my fares over the last 10 years and they haven't lowered prices a bit...

sP

[Wilms]

31. Mine are lower. Shoot me. n/t

[uppityperson]

33. You keep claiming that without any proof. I can claim I'm an astronaut.

So, proof of that assertion is needed or it is just words.

[Wilms]

38. I lie about airline ticket prices whenever I can.

:eyes:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=8129976&mesg_id=8131187

[uppityperson]

45. anyone can claim anything on the internets.

:eyes:

[Wilms]

48. Yes. You can claim that you're participating in good faith.

You can also claim you didn't call me a liar. I suppose you could claim you didn't review the link I provided.

That, I'd believe.

[uppityperson]

51. Asking for proof of an assertions=calling you a liar? Wrong.

Good luck with that.

[Dr.Phool]

35. Bang!

You asked for it.

[Wilms]

39. Thanks.

I owe you for that.

:D

[uppityperson]

52. However, you said "they're below levels fifteen years ago", not "mine" but "they"

Now you are up to "mine are lower". Odd

[Wilms]

53. And I was indeed checking the route I take. (That was the exercise.)

Meanwhile, the link I provide shows that in some areas prices are down, but certainly up in others, and on average higher.

So I was wrong. On average, prices are higher than 15 years ago at 1/3rd the inflation rate. Now realizing that I'm calling my congresscritter.

[uppityperson]

60. Defensive much? eom and eoc (contact)

[demtenjeep]

40. wonder what those with illnesses will do when they start charging for bathroom rights

people with Crohn's and IBS and pregnant ladies?

hum

[CLANG]

58. They'll just charge for the cleanup.

[KittyWampus]

18. You can address the many ways American taxpayers already subsidize private airlines.

If airlines can't remain profitable and constantly need taxpayers to keep them going, maybe they should be nationalized.

[Wilms]

19. You can address it. Start a thread.

Seems like a reasonable thing to discuss. I'm merely responding to the OP.

[Donnachaidh]

41. Irish Airlines was going to charge to use the loo -- did that happen? n/t

[hlthe2b]

42. I think it was just a single discount airline...

not a particularly large one. But, I don't know where it stands, given some blowback.

[RC]

7. Why can't they allow you to take your carry-on free, if you have checked baggage?

Otherwise charge for the carry-on by the pound, with the scale by the x-ray scanner. Or is common sense too last century?

[ixion]

8. Chuck, we've been slapped around by the airlines since the 80s

and it has gotten progressively worse, no matter which party was in the majority.

Why don't we try and solve real issues, like the never-ending pain that is the TSA, and stop worrying about incidentals.

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. Airline regulation is under the Treasury Dept?????

No wonder then airlines are trying to charge as much as they can.

[mdmc]

23. socialism

where does the law say that airlines can't financially slap travelers faces?

[WolverineDG]

28. That carry-on fee is bull shit

So am I going to have to pay $25-30 to carry on my purse? Fuckwads.

dg

[ProgressiveProfessor]

36. Actually you are allowed a single "personal bag" like a purse or laptop case.

for free.

[high density]

56. If you put it under the seat in front of you, it will not be charged

I would like to understand why Schumer finally decided to start fighting these fees. Checked luggage is nearly required as well if your trip is more than a few days, yet I never heard him talk about those fees.

Me, I'll just fly JetBlue when I can. The base fare might be a little more but the planes are clean with more leg room, plus they don't nickel and dime on these stupid fees.

[WolverineDG]

61. Continental used to be worth the extra fare

when American started charging for food & snacks. Now CO is going that way, so there's no reason to pay more. Not that I'm flying much anymore anyway. It's getting so it's cheaper to just ship your luggage to your hotel (& you can track it online).

dg

[CLANG]

59. And they wonder why their business keeps plumetting

People hate to fly nowadays. Most people used to like it. The airlines are in a vicious cycle caused partly by themselves, but mostly from the 9/11 fear and subsequent security suffocation. As they lose customers, they try to compensate by raising fares and fees, and lowering services. Then they lose more customers. What worries me the most is cutting pay for pilots and mechanics. When taxi drivers make as much as pilots, we may be in for some scary shit. And it's not too far off.

[DevonRex]

32. They're charging me a fee because I'd die without my medicine?

A week's worth takes up a whole carry-on. Are they gonna charge me for my purse, too?

[walldude]

43. Well I'm glad he's tackling the important issues..

I understand that these fees suck but is this really a priority?

[grace0418]

46. I'm going to start wearing cargo pockets like crazy, and maybe one of those photographer's vests.

I'll keep the quart baggie in one pocket, my phone in another, iPod, book, snack, change of clothes stuffed in various places, tickets, maps, sunglasses, camera...

I'll look like a complete fool but at least I won't have to pay those stupid fucking fees.

[Jkid]

54. Well there's always the alternative.

Expanding Amtrak



But that will never happen.

[Initech]

55. Awesome!!! Can he reverse the bullshit liquid ban for carryons while he's at it?

THAT is a fucking slap in the face to travelers that we have to have all our liquids and meds in one single, small ziploc baggie. :argh:

[4_TN_TITANS]

62. This is about the best we can get out of the Senate these days...

and I'm sure Republicans will block even this little measure.

[customerserviceguy]

63. If Congress really feels it needs to fidget with airline pricing schedules

How about a law prohibiting excessive check-on baggage fees, and maybe starting to charge for screaming seat kickers (a/k/a "lap babies")?