Has low-cost Spirit airline travelled to a destination that other carriers may dare not go? That's the assessment of at least one industry observer, frequentfliers.com's Tim Winship. The carrier
yesterday became the first U.S. airline to charge for stowing bags in overhead bins, Matt Helms reports. Bags that fit under the seat will still be free.
Spirit says the costs --
ranging from $20 to $45 -- will reduce the number of bags people carry on, will speed up boarding and deplaning, and will mostly be offset by its lower fares. "Bring less, pay less. It's simple," says
COO Ken McKenzie. But all of the passengers Helm interviewed were clearly "irritated" by the announcement, which they saw as gouging fliers.
The Chicago Tribune's
Julie Johnsson approaches the story from a different angle, pointing out that luggage bins are more crowded than they used to be and that passengers often
need to deplane to check their bags when the compartments are full. "When you compare the storage space available on board today to 20 years ago, the per-passenger number has to be double, even
triple, what it used to be," says aviation consultant Robert Mann. "And, yet, it's never enough."
advertisement
advertisement
Can't you just see the creative minds at Spirit at work? "Yeah, that's the
ticket. We're doing passengers a favor by charging them more."
Read the whole story at Detroit Free Press, Chicago Tribune »