Spirit Airlines to charge $30-45 for carry-ons?

[AZaviator]

Possibly the worst idea yet to penny pinch customers.

But.....if the bag fits under your seat, you won't be charged. What a great deal!

Whoooooo are these people????!!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36193399/ns/travel-news/

 

[Skippy]

just read it and you beat me to posting


this has got to be the stupides F'n think ive ever heard of--- guess they are getting desperate to pay the pilots with their new contract.

UFB

SKIPPY

 

[imacdog]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100406/ap_on_bi_ge/us_carry_on_fee

Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza said having fewer carry-on bags will help empty the plane faster. He said the idea is to get customers to pay for individual things they want, while keeping the base fare low.
"The beauty of it is they will do what they think is best for them and will now have the choice," he said.

Yep, another winner in the land of airline management!

 

[johnsonrod]

If true, my extended family and I will do anything we can to AVOID traveling on Spirit. Tell Benny Baldonza to s*ck it...

 

[Cpt Oveur]

Tactic to push the pilots over the edge? It's not a publicly traded company, but can Baldonza take his money and run?

 

[AKAAB]

.
.
.
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It's an April Fools Day joke...they can't do anything on time anymore...

 

[yahooair]

Is there any airline that does this? maybe some ultra low cost airline on the other side of the Atlantic?

 

[crxpilot]

Actually the airlines have had it all wrong. They should charge for carry ons and make the checked bags free. Then nobody would bring their junk on the planes and it would be easy to get on and off.

 

[climbhappy]

this is a case of an MBA grad being so deluded as to think incremental revenue growth is better than long term customer retention... customers have a point when they say F'it. when the sales fall off , they'll be forced to do a mia copa, and come begging. it's over the edge on this for me. bad move

 

[ProFracPilot]

As a consumer, I agree - this is a horrible idea. But from a business standpoint it appears to me that the genie is now out of the bottle. Next up? I think it will be AA. Every S80 I've been on lately (and I ride on too many of them) have had packed overheads. The FA's are telling everyone to please quickly stow their baggage to allow for an on-time departure, while at the same time you have people swimming upstream in the aisle to get their bag checked at the jetway. Offer discounted pricing to check the bag underneath; charge a premium for overhead space (those who hold status will continue to avoid the charge); space and boarding problem fixed. And the rest will soon follow.

 

[climbhappy]

ProFrac,
sometimes business standpoints can be dumber than heck..just ask the coke execs..."New Coke"...it reminds of what I saw when US air started charging for sodas. I commuted on them so I really only saw the effect on USAir, but nobody less maybe one every other flight ordered a drink..not even a beer. they rejected all beverages because of the policy...so the policy ends up costing more in lost sales of beer and wine than what came from the perceived growth in cola sales.

 

[ProFracPilot]

ProFrac,
sometimes business standpoints can be dumber than heck..just ask the coke execs..."New Coke"...it reminds of what I saw when US air started charging for sodas. I commuted on them so I really only saw the effect on USAir, but nobody less maybe one every other flight ordered a drink..not even a beer. they rejected all beverages because of the policy...so the policy ends up costing more in lost sales of beer and wine than what came from the perceived growth in cola sales.

I'm with you, Climb. I'd die of thirst on US before I'd pay them for a drink. But I think this is a bit different. The airlines created a cabin problem when they decided they could raise revenue by charging for bags. Customers whined and complained - and crammed their "carry-on" beyond full. Checked baggage loads may have shrank some, but people really like to have their "stuff". Then they figured they could bump the price another $5. And now we're at $25 for the first checked bag. The last carousel I saw was packed, so passengers are willing to pay this nut to to have their stuff. I think the same thing will happen in the cabin. One of the legacy carriers will be the first to float the trial balloon (again, I think it will be AA) and the rest will follow like lemmings. And who will be the winner in all this? WN. Again.

 

[QOL_is_great:)]

I know it's not the crews (pilots and FAs) but what a new low for an industry that is reaching new lows.
What a pondscum move!!! Spirit has reached the bottom more quickly then anyone would have thought.
I feel you all that fly (work) for the POS management that runs this airline. I am not looking forward to having to fly on Spirit in August to MCO for sim. The crews have always been great to me and now they are going to take the sharp end of the sword that's coming for the pax.
A sad day indeed.....I can't wait to see who's next.

 

[wood pecker]

Does Spirit allow the crew to put bags in overhead? A few months back in the USA Today there was a gripe from a passenger asking crews to not hog the overhead space.

 

[AZaviator]

Is there any airline that does this? maybe some ultra low cost airline on the other side of the Atlantic?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't even think Ryanair does this in Europe.... and they are the at the top of the list when it comes to squeezing every cent out of customers.....well.....maybe until now.

I don't blame the crews at Spirit at all, but definitely blame their management. I agree in that AA will probably be next in line.

I've never flown on Spirit and never will as long as it continues to operate the way it does with charging customers for ridiculous things. Will they be charging women for carrying on their purses?

SWA wins again!

 

[climbhappy]

profrac:
I can see the logic behind what you say. I recall about the CEOs viewpoint of what an ultra low cost carrier is. He was rather indignant about customers felt about their policies and vowed that they buy tickets on us because of the price and that alone..I wonder if ,when they start adding up all the extras, they'll figure it out

 

[kwick]

They're letting you put a bag
under the seat and knocking
$40 off of the ticket price.

Pretty good deal. And no
"Cattle-Car Seating."

 

[airmack]

I hear that spirit crews will get a discount of 5% on fees for storing their bags onboard and receive an extra $10 per day if they just leave their bags at home.

 

[CX880]

This might be controversial but doesn't spirit have like 20 something airplanes and 500 pilots? Yet they charge for carryons? Do you guys have a 20 hour monthly guarantee?

 

[CA1900]

Pretty good deal. And no
"Cattle-Car Seating."

Their seat pitch it two inches narrower than Southwest's. Sounds like a cattle car to me.