Spirit, the first domestic airline to charge for checking a bag, will now charge fliers $20 to $30 for carry-ons that go in the overhead bins and $45 if the bag is paid for at the gate. The new fees apply to trips bought beginning Tuesday for travel on and after Aug. 1. The fee doesn't apply to carry-ons that fit under the seat.
"In addition to lowering fares even further, this will reduce the number of carry-on bags, which will improve in-flight safety and efficiency by speeding up the boarding and deplaning process," Spirit Chief Operating Officer Ken McKenzie said in a statement.
Some passenger advocates and travel experts say the new fees take the trend of tacking on extra charges too far and could cost Spirit customers.
"With fees like this, airlines have crossed the line," says Anne Banas, executive editor of SmarterTravel. "I get charging for pillows and blankets ... but carry-on bags are fundamental. Who travels with nothing?"
Spirit, which calls itself an ultralow-fare carrier, has often been a magnet for controversy, criticized for its customer service and fined in 2008 for not including some fees in base fares it cited online.
"Enough is enough," Brandon Macsata, executive director of the Association for Airline Passenger Rights, said in a statement. "What's to follow: Should we be expecting to pay to use the restrooms while on board the aircraft, too?"
In 2008, airlines began charging passengers to check bags to offset rapidly rising fuel costs and then to shore up recession-battered finances. But some experts say it's unlikely Spirit's latest move will catch on. "The potential to annoy the customer is fairly high, so I doubt most other U.S. airlines would follow this," says Jami Counter, senior director of TripAdvisor Flights.
Others say potentially winnowing the amount of carry-on luggage isn't a bad idea.
"How many people have thrown their backs out putting their suitcases in the overhead bins?" says George Hobica, president of Airfarewatchdog, who agrees that stowing carry-ons slows the boarding and emptying of flights. "I do think that it's not a bad thing to roll back the clock to ... when people got on board with (just) their coat and hat."
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