Screw It, I'll Walk

American Airline's new fee: $15 for first bag
David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, May 22, 2008

A word of advice for airline passengers: Travel light. Or else.

American Airlines announced Wednesday that it will charge most passengers $15 for the first piece of luggage they check.

Other airlines may soon follow suit, quite possibly marking the end of free bag checking that most passengers have known for their entire lives. Many carriers - including American - decided earlier this year to charge $25 for the second bag that customers check.

The reason? Oil.

This decade's stunning surge in crude oil prices has hit airlines hard. Each airline burns massive amounts of jet fuel, which is made from oil. And jet fuel's price has nearly doubled in the last year. If prices don't fall, American will spend $3 billion more on fuel this year than it did in 2007.

Airlines have hiked their fares in response, but not enough to cover the full increase in fuel costs.
So they're slapping fees on services that travelers once took for granted, such as schlepping bags.
"The bottom line is that our revenues, which include ticket sales and fees, must keep pace with our increasing costs," said Gerard Arpey, chief executive officer of American's parent company, AMR Corp.

The airlines are also taking far more drastic steps, such as eliminating routes and laying off workers.