Spirit Airlines claims that the best way to offer its customers cheap travel in the form of cheap airplane tickets is to unbundle (i.e. charge fees) as many of its services as possible. By doing this, passengers only pay for the services that they want. Last week Spirit announced that starting August 1st it will charge $30 for each carry-on bag placed in the overhead compartment.
Some travel experts have questioned how Spirit will be able to successfully execute their new carry-on bag fee policy. Spirit announced that a bag fitting under a seat may be carried on for free.
What will Spirit do if a passenger carries on a bag that fits under a seat then places it into an overhead bin once he boards his flight? Are flight attendants going to be expected to go up and down aisles trying to find out whose bag was placed in the overhead and then collect a fee from the offending passenger?
Given that fees vary by airline, it is confusing and often difficult for customers to make meaningful comparisons in ticket prices between different airlines.
Spirits base fares are often lower than those of American, Delta, and even JetBlue. However once all of Spirits fees are added in, their total fares are often higher than some of its competitors.
The negative reaction from many travel agents suggests that Spirits newest carry-on baggage could well backfire.
www.cheapfares.com