Stupid airline fees: US Airways - UPDATE

May 7, 5:35 PMAlbuquerque Travel ExaminerNeala Schwartzberg

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UPDATE:

US Airways responded to my complaint. You will notice that what they did was say that they regret my displeasure, and then restate the same policy and ticked me off to begin with.

Who feels better now about paying to paying. Oddly enough. Not me.

Thank you for contacting US Airways regarding our baggage charges. We regret your displeasure and appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns.

Beginning July 9, 2009, you can pay for your checked bags when you check in online and save a few. If checking luggage online, you will be charged the standard first baggage fee of $15 and the second baggage fee of $25. Customers who choose to pay for checked bags at the airport will be charged $20 for the first checked bag and $30 for the second checked bag.

If you have more than 2 checked bags per person, you must check those at the airport. Also, if your bag is overweight or oversize, additional fees will apply.

For more information on our baggage allowance for both domestic and international travel, please refer to our website at: www.usairways.com/awa/content/traveltools/baggage/baggagepolicies.aspx. Your business is important to us and we feel confident that US Airways can continue to meet your future travel needs.

I’ve ranted about the “pay to pee” proposed by RyanAir. But that was, at least in theory, a proposed charge, not an actual charge.

I have also ranted, with good cause and sometimes with good results, about stupid airline fees which were actually going into effect.

United Airlines wanted to charge for meals on transatlantic flights. They changed their mind. US Airways actually did charge for water. They changed their mind as well.

The rationale for abandoning the stupid water charge? “The beverage program was distracting from the outstanding improvements in on-time performance and baggage handling US Airways’ 34,000 employees worked so hard to achieve last year,” said US Airways Chairman and CEO, Doug Parker, in a press release dated February 23, 2009.

Yeah, right. That was the reason.

And now US Airways is back. It’s not enough that the airlines charge us to check baggage (and then complain when we carry rollerboards on the plane), now there’s an extra fee to pay for the fee for the blasted checked luggage.

Yes, US Airway wants us to pay for the privilege of paying.

From their website:
Beginning July 9, 2009, you can pay for your checked bags when you check in online and save a few. Customers who choose to pay for checked bags at the airport will be charged an additional $5 service fee (beginning July 9, 2009). www.usairways.com/awa/Content/traveltools/baggage/baggagepolicies.aspx

Huh??? This is no cheapo airlines. The prices are not so low that we can or should shrug off these stupid fees.

You know what I think? I think they should eat that new charge. If you agree - here’s the url for their customer service information. Let them know it’s stupid to milk your customers dry. www.usairways.com

As for me, I’ve already registered my displeasure. There’s a lot of other airlines out there, and some, like Southwest, let you check your luggage for free (gasp!).

What do you think?