Posts Tagged ‘baggage fees’
New Airline Rules
New airline rules mean good news for you, because more compensation will go to passengers.
The new rules put in place by the Federal Department of Transportation are intended to protect passengers from unfair airline practices.
For instance, it’s bad enough that baggage fees continue to rise, but the likelihood that the airlines can also lose your baggage on top of charging you for it just got a little easier with the following new airline rules.
— If the airline loses your bag, it must return your baggage fee in addition to compensating you for the luggage and contents.
If an airline loses your bags, one would think that returning your baggage fee is the least they can do.
Over booked flights that cause passengers to get bumped is another big issue that continues to trouble passengers. The new airline rules on passengers getting bumped doesn’t stop the practice, but you will receive additional compensation for the inconvenience.
— Passengers bumped from an oversold flight are entitled to receive double the amount of the one-way ticket up to $650, provided the next available flight is no more than one to two hours later than the original arrival time domestically and one to four hours internationally. Compensation can go up to four times the ticket price, as high as $1,300. Previously, compensation was capped at $400 and $800.
So many passengers have horror stories about being trapped in an airline plane for hours on the tarmac due to extreme delays. The new airline rules extend bans on tarmac delays, and the airlines must allow passengers an opportunity to deplane.
— Tarmac delays are ban of more than three hours for domestic flights, and the ban now includes small airports. The rule prohibits such delays without allowing passengers a chance to deplane. For international flights, the limit is four hours and now includes foreign carriers at U.S. airports.
And the new airline rules include another win for passengers. The airlines must now list all charges associated with the cost of the airline ticket on the website. So no more surprise fees!
— All fees must be prominently disclosed on airline websites.
According to the Department of Transportation additional rules will be imposed on the airline industry next year, but don’t get happy yet. The airlines are complaining that they need more time to adapt to the current changes before more are imposed.
The delay was approved, but the following list of new airline rules are scheduled to take place next year.
• Disclose bag fees during booking and on e-tickets.
• Promptly notify passengers at the boarding gate, on airline websites and via their phone reservation systems of flight cancellations and delays of more than 30 minutes.
• Allow customers to cancel reservations without payment for at least 24 hours if they’re made at least a week before departure.
• Include all government taxes and fees in advertised fares. Airlines typically exclude them.
• Not raise a fare after a ticket has been bought unless it’s a result of government taxes and fees and the flier agrees to any increase.
• Requirement that the same baggage fees apply through all segments of a passenger’s trip.
Now Take Off!
Very Cheap Airline Tickets
Ship Your Luggage Ahead
Baggage fees are here to stay and the worst thing about them is they are continuing to multiple and grow like Pete moss on your deck. It’s time to ship your luggage ahead.
Airline baggage fees are all over the place right now; $15, $25, $35, even $45 dollars. You can never really be sure what you will be charged until you get to the airport. These new baggage fees can increase the cost of air travel, depending on your number of bags, by hundreds of dollars.
Think of it. If you are charged $45 each to check two bags, that’s $90 dollars each way, or $180 dollars round trip is tagged onto the cost of your very cheap airline ticket. Now that very cheap ticket isn’t so cheap anymore.
Just wait until airlines start charging for carry-on bags. Remember you read it here first.
It’s time to ship your luggage ahead.
When we travel, I ship all the bags and items we want through UPS. It’s cheaper. I can send everything directly to the location. I don’t have to worry about the airlines losing or damaging our stuff. We don’t have to lug baggage through the airport, and everything gets there before we do. It’s great.
For instance, when I ship clothing I use duffle bags. Duffle bags hold a lot of stuff and they are nice and light weight. Don’t use a regular suitcase. You don’t want to pay for the weight of the bag, only the weight of your items.
You can also ship all the items the airport bans with no concern or hassle. No one will take your shampoo and conditioner because the bottles have too many ounces.
You will pay one fee to ship your luggage instead of $25, $35 or $45 dollars per bag. And after you’ve done all the work to make sure you have a very cheap airline ticket, the last thing you need is ridiculous luggage fees tagged onto to ruin the excellent rate you got on your cheap ticket in the first place.
We have found that UPS at the present time is the least expensive to ship your luggage ahead. Fed-x is more expensive, but if you operator on a last minute travel basis, Fed-x will get your bags there quicker. There are also premium services like Luggage Free, Luggage Forward, Virtual Bellhop, etc.; more for the business crowd rather than family travel.
Start shipping your luggage ahead on your next trip. It really makes your trip a lot less costly, and less stressful. No surprise fees, no lugging bags, no hassle at security, no concern that your bags won’t get to your location when you do.
Now Take Off!
Very Cheap Airline Tickets
Cheaptickets Cheap of the Week!
More on how to ship your luggage ahead on Businessweek
Take Control of Airline Fees
Ok, you have booked your airline ticket. Great! Got that out of the way, or have you? Once you buy your airline ticket, you tend to believe that you have got the cost of your air travel pretty much covered, but there are plenty of new and hidden fees that can end up costing much more than you expected.
For instance, some airline fees can outweigh the price of your bargain airline ticket. I am sure you have heard by now that Spirit Airlines decided to start charging as much as $45 for carry-on bags. So far, other airlines have decided not to follow suit. We can only hope so, but just about every airline will charge you to check your bags, and if you are not careful it can really rack up.
Most airlines are charging anywhere between $15 to $25 dollars for the first checked bag, and $25 to $30 for the second bag, and so on. And baggage fees go as high as $50 per bag for international flights. So if you’re not sure of the bag size and bag weight requirements of the particular airline you are flying on, you could end up paying hundreds of dollars just for your checked bags alone.
Solution: Call ahead and make sure you know what your airline will charge when you check your bags and ask about weight restrictions. You will also want to pack efficiently. Don’t carry everything you could possibly wear on your trip. Pack your clothing by outfit, and not by item. That way you will have a complete outfit for each day, and not a bunch of individual pieces that you may or may not wear. No, it’s not fun to have to limit what you take with you on your trip, but it’s a necessity now.
Once on the plane you might as well keep your wallet out, because the fees just keep on coming. Typically only soft drinks are free. You will pay for snacks on United Airlines and US Airways, ranging from $3 to $8, and alcohol, headsets, Internet access and airline phones all come with their own price tag.
Solution: Bring your snacks with you or purchase them at the airport before boarding the plane. Don’t bring beverages. They will be confiscated at the security check-in, but remember soft drinks and water are free, so you don’t need to. You may also want to use your own headset from your iPod or MP3 player instead of paying for the used headphones the airlines charges you for, and definitely use your own cell phone instead of that phone on the plane.
You are now ready to get on that flight – once you’ve called ahead to make sure you know your baggage and weight restrictions, packed wisely to keep your baggage fees to a minimum, and carried your own snacks on the plane to take control of your airline costs as much as possible.
Now Take Off!
Very Cheap Airline Tickets
