# Another airline to charge on first checked bag...



## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26560456/


Question, gas is down for what over week now, lower then ever has been all year.

Two, what the heck does the airline ticket exactly pay for now? Charge for water, pillow, soda, bag. So what does the ticket pay for?


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## coheedrules (Oct 29, 2007)

From an airline pilots perspective: 
The fares should be much, much higher. I don't think little fees for pillows and drinks are the way to go. The fare pays for the massive expensive of aircraft maintenance, fuel (yes it's down this week but airlines typically buy in hedges so an immediate drop in oil price doesn't impact their daily bottom line), and crewmember salaries. All of these expenses are at their lowest levels compared to cost of living in the history of the airline industry. When a pilot is hired at an airline they make peanuts. My first year at a regional airline I was paid about 18,000 dollars a year. That lasts a year and then your pay will go up to the 25,000- 35,000 range. You are stuck at that pay level for an unknown amount of time until you can upgrade to captain. As a captain I'm in the 60,000 dollar range. It took me 5 years and 3 airlines to get to this pay level. I fly a jet that carries 76 people. Thats a lot of responsibility for 60,000 a year and 15-18 nights away from my family in crappy hotels in cities I don't want to be in. Now with an impending merger and an uncertain future in the industry I may be laid off at anytime or displaced back to being a First Officer and my oh so familiar 25,000-30,000 dollar a year salary. There is no job security for airline employees. All of this after 4 years of college and another 25,000 to 35,000 dollars spent on flight training. Yes, I could quit and do something else. Sometimes I wonder why I don't. I still enjoy it so I stick with it for now. At large major airlines you can make six figures still, but that is a smaller group of pilots every year. None of this is the consumers fault. It can mostly be blamed on poor manangement. Regardless, an across the board fare hike is really what is needed. Would anybody really not buy a ticket if it went up 20 to 30 dollars round trip? 
fwiw


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## ivwarrior (Jul 27, 2008)

I honestly think most people would rather pay a little more for the ticket, and NOT have all the little add on BS. Like paying to check a bag, who the hell travels without at least one bag? Yes, I know some people cram everything into a carry-on, but then it's usually a carry on that takes up too much space and doesn't allow enough room for others to have their reasonably sized carry on bag..........


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## COM (Mar 15, 2008)

My girlfriend is a flight attendant for a regional airline. She has been there for about two years. She makes peanut shells. The US air infrastructure is in peril of collapse and has been for quite some time now. The main reason, IMHO, is overcapacity. Too many planes going to often to too many places served by too many airlines. The system needs some reform and rationalization, and perhaps airline mergers will produce this outcome.


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## Guest (Sep 6, 2008)

ivwarrior said:


> Yes, I know some people cram everything into a carry-on, but then it's usually a carry on that takes up too much space and doesn't allow enough room for others to have their reasonably sized carry on bag.


Hey, I'm one of those micro-packers who stuffs everything into a carry-on. 6 times across the Atlantic  

That said, I'm not as cheap as it sounds. I do look for the cheapest flight, but you get what you pay for in the end. If you have to bring the kitchen sink, it has to go somewhere. I can't say I've never complained about minor things on an aircraft, but they can charge for carry-ons. They're extras, so paying extra isn't that surprising.


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