The Hidden Costs Of Travel – Checking Bags
Posted on: October 28, 2008 by Matt 3 Comments
Originally uploaded by birdlike
I normally travel a couple of times a year for various reasons but usually between Denver and Vermont. When I lived in Colorado my vacations were generally to come back and see family. Now that I live in Vermont again I have not flown anywhere for the better part of a year and apparently a lot has changed since my last trip.
My last trip by plane was back in February. I flew from Denver to Burlington, VT with the expected connection along the way. When checking in I was able to check a bag (since it had toiletries in it I was not able to bring it as a carry on) and choose my seats or if I wanted to pay extra upgrade my seats. This was not the case on my flights last week; in fact I was shocked to discover some of the changes in the past 8 months.
On Thursday afternoon when I started to check in at the airport the process seemed unchanged until I hit the question: “Are you checking any baggage for this flight?” Even though I was on a short trip I opted to pack a bag to be checked so that I could bring my own toiletries and shaving items. Since a few of my toiletries were not the “travel size” of less than 3.5 ounces I had to check the bag. I pressed yes and then was prompted with the usual screen to select the number of bags I would be checking but something seemed off. Instead of simply selecting the number of bags to check I was now presented with a cost to check the number of bags I have! Each bag to check now costs $15 – a steep increase from allowing two checked bags for free then charging for additional bags.
Before putting my card into the machine to check my bag and pay the $15 I asked one of the attendants about the charges. She politely informed me that yes, you have to pay to check any bags now and that pretty much all airlines are now charging to check baggage. I swiped my card and figured that at least my company would be picking up the tab (I hate having to spend company money almost as much as my own though).
After making my way through security I opted to grab a bite to eat (airport prices for food – another outrageous markup) and review my printed itinerary. I thought that maybe I had missed something regarding checked baggage but noted once again that there was no indication of additional charge. In fact the exact quote from my travel confirmation on baggage was:
“Baggage guidelines—Be sure to review your airline’s baggage allowance guidelines. Airline rules for checked baggage allowances vary. Many carriers allow passengers two checked bags and one carry-on while some only permit two checked bags. All carry-on baggage will be subject to search. Review the Transportation Security Administration’s guidelines for baggage.”
I shook my head and figured that I will just have to tell my boss about the unexpected charge and submit an extra $30 on my expense report for the month. My boss took it pretty well simply calling the airline companies a “bunch of bastards” and telling me to expense the cost. So for anyone else out there traveling in the near future – watch out if you plan on checking bags for your flight. Check your airline’s web page for their policies on baggage so that you do not accidentally get caught by surprise when checking in.
