Passengers determined to take advantage of cheap fares, whether cheap airplane tickets or cheap vacation packages often do not check luggage so as to avoid checked bag fees.
Airlines checked luggage fees of $15 to $40 per bag has resulted in more than $6 billion in revenue for U.S. airlines over the last four years. These fees have also led to an increased number of bags being carried onto planes.
There were 59 million more carry-on bags in 2010 than the year prior, according to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Debates have arisen over how much more it costs to screen all the added bags, who should pay the increased cost, and whether airport security is being threatened by processing all the additional bags.
TSA remains emphatic that the quality of its inspections has not suffered. Instead it claims that the additional bags being brought to security checkpoints is affecting passenger wait times.
The Department of Homeland Security has recommended increasing the passenger security fee to $4 from $2.50 starting in 2012. This increased fee would raise $600 million a year. The current fee pays for less than a third of the costs related to passenger and property screening.
Baggage fees have become the largest source of flight related ancillary revenue for airlines.
The U.S. Travel Association has recommended that the Transportation Department require airlines to include one checked bag in the base ticket price. Experts believe such a move would force airlines to raise fares resulting in potential travelers choosing to stay home.
The incentives in place today (fees to check bags vs. free carry-on) encourages passengers to overwhelm security checkpoints and planes cabin storage areas with carry-on bags. Only by changing these incentives can passengers behavior be expected to change.
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