Poor American Airlines cannot catch a break, though its wounds tend to be self-inflicted. Its luggage fees are hardly outrageous, but the optics of raising baggage fees now? About as good as the first quarter loss it will soon report…
American Airlines Raises Baggage Fees On Transatlantic Basic Economy Tickets
The first checked bag is free on most American Airlines longhaul flights, but AA rolled out Basic Economy tickets last year on some international routes that do not include any checked baggage. Effective April 21, 2020, the fee for the first checked bag rises from $60 to $75.
This fee will apply to flights between Europe, Israel, Morocco, and the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.
An American Airlines spokesperson confirmed the change:
“Starting today [Tuesday, April 21], American is changing its checked baggage fees for Basic Economy passengers on transatlantic flights to better align our bag fee structure with our Atlantic Joint Business partners, British Airways, Iberia, and Finnair. These changes only affect passengers who purchase new Basic Economy tickets on transatlantic flights starting on April 21 going forward.”
Following the crowd again…
The Optics Of This Change At This Time
Life in this world, for better or for worse, is really like the song Popular. And part of being popular means being shrewd. Now maybe AA figured it was better to do this now than later once travel improves. But for crying out loud, travel demand is down 95% and American Airlines just received a generous cash grant and attractive loan from U.S. taxpayers.
Is this really the time to try to collect an extra $15?
In AA’s defense, the change is not unreasonable and it has chosen (unlike United and JetBlue) to maintain domestic checked baggage fees at $30 for the first bag (versus $35).
But now? Thanks for the bailout now we are raising fees?
Horrible timing, even if this was planned long in advance.
CONCLUSION
Instead of talking about AA’s generosity in extending status, we are talking about a stingy, tone-deaf move during a time in which transatlantic traffic is at virtually zero. There is never an ideal time to raise baggage fees, but this no-notice increase in the same week AA will receive generous taxpayer supports strikes me as a foolish move.
(H/T: JT Genter // image: AA)
AA is free to charge whatever they want and see if people will pay it and fly on ther airline. The US Govt was wrong in providing billions of dollars in taxpayer cash in return for virtually nothing. The airlines should have been forced to choose between: 1) the capital markets 2) a private solution which would have resutled in shareholders being wiped out or 3) a government solution in return for most of the equity.
Instead, the govt gets a call option on 1% of the bailout? Why not 90% Sweetest deal in history. American taxpayers? Shafted again.
At least they are making decisions to try to improve their balance sheet to stave off bankruptcy. Would people be happier if they made no changes, wound up in bankruptcy and didn’t repay the $6.5B in govt loans/taxpayer money?
One of the three original large legacy carriers is going to need to fail, go out of business and liquidate. It needs to be American that disappears. There is not going to be sufficient demand for air travel for at least a decade to sustain these 3 airlines. So why limp along with 3 unhealthy carriers when one can be sacrificed and leave two healthy ones. There is simply nothing about American worth saving. It’s not really even American. It’s really just the twice re-branded crappy 1983 America West that survived. It’s time to put it out of its misery.
Sadly, people only care about for their own wallet and are to selfish to see the big picture.
I don’t disagree that the optics are bad, but I think this is more or less lost to the masses who don’t follow the industry like we do.
To me, AA has handled themselves the best out of the US3 throughout this whole mess. Things like timely refunds are what the public is going to remember.
They shouldn’t receive any money at all, taken from us taxpayers. AA has become a greedy corporation, and an exploiter of travelers, packing us as sardines with their uncomfortable seats, and seat arrangements.
I wouldn’t call it following the crowd; in general, airlines in a join venture/joint business are able to coordinate pricing, and in fact are often obligated to have similar pricing structures set up so that one carrier isn’t cheaper than the other. This applies to baggage fees as well. The timing is bad, but frankly it’s not an unreasonable change and AA probably had to do it sooner rather than later to meet their joint business obligations.
But their new video is not bad: https://vimeo.com/aacorpcommvideo/review/410157576/9c65ddece7
Doug Parker seems to use the Magic 8 Ball to make decisions. Forget optics, making this move at this time is simply stupid. “Thanks for the bailout and here’s a new higher fee for the few people that are actually still flying us. Come back soon!”
One of the three original large legacy carriers is going to need to fail, go out of business and liquidate. It needs to be American that disappears. There is not going to be sufficient demand for air travel for at least a decade to sustain these 3 airlines. So why limp along with 3 unhealthy carriers when one can be sacrificed and leave two healthy ones. There is simply nothing about American worth saving. It’s not really even American. It’s really just the twice re-branded crappy 1983 America West that survived. It’s time to put it out of its misery.