The great baggage rip-off

stoneman

I was talking to an assistant operations manager that works at East Midlands airport yesterday and he told me that the baggage charges that some companies use are big scam. Infact these airlines are not charged per bag for handling, they are charged a flat fee which is covered in the fees paid to that airport. So, if this is the case, it makes this system of charging for pax. who take luggage show up for what it is.
I realise that some of the cost might be related to the extra fuel needed, but that calculation is done before all the bags are on, and is an industry standard estimation based on how many passengers are on the flight

Nordictat2

Hmmmm do you mean the fee you pay to take extra/overweight baggage or do you mean the budjet airlines who charge for check-in baggage?

Bob63

Of course it is a scam, but it helps the airlines offset the low ticket prices.

Also, the less baggage that the self-loading cargo checks into the hold, the more commercial cargo the airline can carry. The most efficient way to run an airline is with full seats and a full cargo hold.

Mike

rbulph

Do passenger aircraft routinely carry commercial cargo? I've only ever seen suitcases etc. being loaded.

dzug

rbulph wrote: »

Do passenger aircraft routinely carry commercial cargo? I've only ever seen suitcases etc. being loaded.

Well I have seen it - not that often though.

Voyager2002

rbulph wrote: »

Do passenger aircraft routinely carry commercial cargo? I've only ever seen suitcases etc. being loaded.

Some do. When I lived in the Seychelles all our mail came on British Airways: on a flight that came via Alaska and Japan!

Voyager2002

stoneman wrote: »

I was talking to an assistant operations manager that works at East Midlands airport yesterday and he told me that the baggage charges that some companies use are big scam. Infact these airlines are not charged per bag for handling, they are charged a flat fee which is covered in the fees paid to that airport. So, if this is the case, it makes this system of charging for pax. who take luggage show up for what it is.
I realise that some of the cost might be related to the extra fuel needed, but that calculation is done before all the bags are on, and is an industry standard estimation based on how many passengers are on the flight

Hardly a rip-off, since the charges are public knowledge and all passengers can find out about them before buying tickets.

Like any business, airlines sell a range of products (services), some of which have a very high profit margin while others have slender to anorexic margins.

dzug

stoneman wrote: »

I realise that some of the cost might be related to the extra fuel needed, but that calculation is done before all the bags are on, and is an industry standard estimation based on how many passengers are on the flight

Don't follow your logic here. The amount of fuel taken on might well be a standard estimate (and will include a safety buffer) but the amount USED will vary in line with many factors, one of which is the weight carried on the aircraft. And ultimately the airline pays for the amount used.

moonrakerz

rbulph wrote: »

Do passenger aircraft routinely carry commercial cargo? I've only ever seen suitcases etc. being loaded.

Mainly the "big boys", BA etc. Easyjet, Ryanair etc don't want to hang around while they load and unload "normal" cargo !

stoneman

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Hardly a rip-off, since the charges are public knowledge and all passengers can find out about them before buying tickets.

Like any business, airlines sell a range of products (services), some of which have a very high profit margin while others have slender to anorexic margins.

Maybe rip-off is the wrong term. How about lying instead. When the airlines use the excuse for charging that they are doing so to keep costs down , not because they are trying to make more profit, and as I found out it makes no difference to how much they are charged by the handling agent/airport whether all or none of the pax. check in luggage. As for extra weight charges, these I agree with, you have to have a penalty for peeps that want to take more than there fair share, or else you would have lines that look like Nigerian Airlines check-in

dmg24

As someone who rarely takes hold luggage, I would rather that baggage be charged separately, than me have to absorb some of the handling fee for those who do have hold luggage.