U.S. airlines collected $3.4 billion in bag fees last year

http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20110613&id=13763646

Airlines collected $3.4B in bag fees in 2010
By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ

NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. airlines collected $3.4 billion in bag fees last year. The 24 percent increase from 2009 shows how the airlines are increasingly reliant on charging for once-free services to make money.

The fees — typically $50 round-trip for the first piece of checked luggage — are one of the few bright spots for an industry that is caught between rising fuel costs and customers who expect rock-bottom airfares.

"If it weren't for the fees, the airlines would most likely be losing money," said Jim Corridore, airline analyst with Standard & Poor's.

That's little comfort to fliers who've felt nickel-and-dimed by the airlines over the past three years as fees have proliferated. And as they face higher airfares and packed planes for travel this summer...

think about amount of stuff *and* the necessity of stuff which they're taking with them. eg. two pairs of shoes is better than three pairs, etc.

bags into the cabin, clogging up the aisles as they attempt to stuff them in the overhead compartments. It's slowed down boarding and deplaning considerably.

I'm still checking a bag and carrying on a laptop case, like I've always done. I stash the laptop case under the seat. I haven't put anything in an overhead compartment for years. I hate them. Haven't lost a checked bag, either.

People are bringing more bags on to the aircraft, rather than stowing them. I'd rather see a return to two free bags, and higher ticket prices than what we have now.

I manage to beat a bit of the bag charge by having a Continental credit card, my first bag flies free. It's well worth the annual service charge for the card, and I run much of my spending through it, picking up frequent flier miles along the way.