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<p>Nickeling and diming all the way…</p>
<p>Over-weighting jets is one of the most dangerous things an airline can do. As people get fatter and weigh more, the overall weight on an aircraft becomes an issue. If UAL is charging fees to control aircraft weight, this is a good thing. If they are doing so to merely collect more revenue, then this is a bad thing.</p>
<p>How often do travellers take a second suitcase anyway? I’m a frequent flyer, many times a year, and I have never had more than one on a trip! </p>
<p>What I wish airlines would do is to crack down on the ridiculous size of carry-ons that many flyers bring on board, and then cram into the overhead compartments.</p>
<p>“If they are doing so to merely collect more revenue, then this is a bad thing.”</p>
<p>Why is it a bad thing to charge prices that the market will bear? Especially when those prices bear a direct relationship to the amount of service (i.e. jet fuel) a customer is using?</p>
<p>razor: the article notes that United’s purpose is to collect more $$. And, of course, this will hit our kids who fly to distant colleges.</p>
<p>I hear United’s CEO wants out, badly. Hence the “we hate customers” “enhancements.”</p>
<p>Except if he quits, he gets no golden parachute. He wants UAL to merge so he can sell his stock right then and cash out.</p>
<p>I am going on a long trip overseas with different climates. I need two pieces of luggage. Last year I had one piece. I was told I would be charged $20 extra for going 2lbs over the 50lb per bag limit. Never mind that I had only one piece of luggage when I could have had 2 pieces for a total of 100lbs with impunity. If I’m going to be charged $20 for 2lbs, I might as well pay $25 for another 50lbs! Who says it’s about controlling weight?</p>
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<p>Yes, I heard this will provide them with $100 million extra revenue a year.</p>
<p>Yes, this will hurt college kids who travel back and forth to home by plane… parents, too. Often times when I fly to see my kids, I pack a suitcase of my own, and fill another with things they need from home (or have been known to fly with a mostly empty second suitcase); when I see them, they may give me some out-of-season clothing they no longer need at school for me to bring back with me.</p>
<p>I live in the Chicago area, and I hate United with a passion, long before this new policy.</p>
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You are right. If UAL can command the higher fees, they should go for it. Airlines have been losing money for years; it would be a good thing for them to make a little money once in a while so they can pay their employees better and replace equipment like any other business.</p>
<p>I’m all for it, and I travel alot. This is something most airline travelers can easily absorb, if they choose. $25 for 50 lbs. - try shipping something coast to coast by UPS for that.</p>
<p>I have no problem with it. Travel light. Unfortunately the reaction to this will be people bringing bigger carry-ons and cramming them with the heaviest items. This will make for problems with the bins, and late arrivals not having bin space. Travellers will stretch every rule beyond limits. As it is I see women with gigantic handbags + laptop bag + roll-on carry-on walking into the aircraft. Ugh.</p>
<p>“How often do travellers take a second suitcase anyway? I’m a frequent flyer, many times a year, and I have never had more than one on a trip!”</p>
<p>My college kid sure does. She brought home a library of books over vacation to finish a paper and then had all her gifts to take back with her. She just made the weight limit for two suitcases. Traveling light has never been her motto I guess.</p>
<p>I personally don’t have a problem with charging more for weight. I was just floored by the idea that I would be paying $20 extra for having 52lbs in one bag but would not if I had had two bags, totaling 100 lbs. It did not seem that the airline cared about controlling for either weight or space. So I’ve learned my lesson: two bags, and as full as I care to fill them.</p>
<p>Marite, I’d put in a little canvas bag in your luggage, so that if you are overweight with one bag, you can pull out the second bag and fill it with 2+ pounds of the first bag. It’s highway robbery that they would charge you for 2 pounds. For customer satisfaction purposes, I’d have let you go with a cautionary warning.</p>
<p>I’ve noticed catalogs selling luggage weighing instruments. If UAL’s actions become industry standards, then we’ll all have to buy one.</p>
<p>The market will decide if this idea flys. If they lose just a little ridership it will be dropped.</p>
<p>Last time I flew out of Kona airport they had scales for customers to use while in line. It was nice to have because I had a large suitcase and was concerned that it would be over 50 pounds, in which case I would have had time to redistribute some of that weight to other bags! I agree that it’s a good idea to have an extra foldable tote just in case!
I have a friend who was charged extra and her bag was really not that large. I saw what she had packed when we got to our destination and it really was not excessive. Turns out her empty hard-sided suitcase weighed a lot to begin with!! I definitely kept that in mind when purchasing luggage for my college girls and looked for lighter weight models.</p>
<p>I just bought D a small convertible bag for a 2 & 1/2 week trip.
I believe their carry on limit is 26 lbs</p>
<p>What is really a pita- is the quart bag- 3oz restrictions, because where D is going ( I also wonder how they came up with 3oz- it is easy to find products in 2 or 4 oz- but not 3)- it is unlikely that she will be able to find the same sort of products- that she has been using. Because of allergies etc- it would be nice to be able to bring with.</p>
<p>Medications, OTC or prescription, are exempted from the 3 oz requirement.</p>
<p>Check bags at the curb. Often times they aren’t weighted. It has worked twice in two weeks. It also helps to have a few dollars visibly in hand as a tip for the airline rep who, in most cases, isn’t an airline employee but a subcontractor.</p>
<p>So does she put medication in a different plastic bag? she actually has a lot- she is taking 4 different medications & that is just prescription- 5 if we count her inhaler- ( OMG- I just realized she will have 7 or so- because she also will be having to bring the malaria med plus an antibiotic- to be used in case of emergency)</p>
<p>and that isnt counting the over the counter things she needs to get to sleep and to help her stomach. boy- I think she takes more than me. Poor kid.</p>