Yes

by Teetant

Created on: August 30, 2009

Today, when air travel has become an option used frequently by one and all, charging separately for checked in baggage is one powerful idea that will induce passengers with a sense of responsibility, and restore some of the old elegance to air travel.

Airlines, like any other business, must charge enough to recover all their costs and more, so as to make a profit, and be able to stay in business. Since carrying baggage is a service that costs the airlines, they must charge for it one way or the other. Therefore, the real question is "Should airlines charge separately for checked in baggage or include the charges in the ticket price itself." In other words, "What is the best way for the airlines to charge for checked in baggage?"

Every alternative method of charging for baggage service will have a different effect on passengers in deciding, first, whether to travel at all, and second, how to travel, that is, how much baggage to take along, and how much to check in. Consequently, the answer to the question will depend upon what passenger behavior the airlines want to encourage and what behavior they want to discourage, especially in the economy class that accounts for the largest number of total passengers.

Flying customers fall in two broad categories based on the purpose of their travel: business travelers, and personal travelers. Business travelers are most interested in speed, efficiency, and convenience. They want to get in and out of airports quickly. They travel with only the essentials, and would want to minimize the time they spend at the airports. That is why they like and try to carry all their baggage with them in to the cabin so as to avoid checking it in altogether, and save time spent on checking in and collecting it. Also, business travelers are not too concerned about the price, so long as it can be paid quickly and conveniently. Since many are not likely to have any baggage to check in, they will be the least affected by how the airlines charge for it. Moreover, since many of them travel in business class or first class, they are subject to completely different baggage rules.

Personal travelers, who constitute a bulk of the economy class, are likely to have lot more baggage. They include people traveling for personal reasons and emergencies, vacationers, excursion travelers, and one way travelers who are either moving or going away for a long stay. Their actual amount of baggage will depend upon the duration of their trip or excursion, whether they are traveling with family and children, and whether they are one way travelers. Since most of them are on a long awaited, well planned trip, they are willing to arrive early at the airport to check in their baggage, and spend the necessary time to collect it at the destination. However, personal travelers are not so generous with their money. In fact, they are very price sensitive, and since the travel is a major expense item in their budgets, they are quite keen to get the best value for their money. The only exception will be people traveling on personal emergencies, who, wanting to reach their destination in a hurry, are likely to behave more like to business travelers.

If the airlines charge separately for checking in baggage, the base ticket prices will become that much lower. Also, since the baggage charges will be collected later at check in time, it will not be a consideration when personal travelers plan the trip and select the airline. The lower ticket price will attract more people to consider and decide to travel resulting in an increase in demand for air travel. However, at the time of getting ready for the trip and deciding how much baggage to carry, they will realize that they will be held responsible for their decisions, and will have to pay for what they carry. As a result, they will be more inclined to travel light, taking along only what is absolutely needed, and is worth paying for to carry.

Since the main business of the airlines is to carry passengers, it is in their interest to have travelers carry only the minimum necessary amount of baggage. It will reduce the total amount of baggage the airlines have to handle, reduce the loading and unloading time, quicken the turn-around of flights, and make it possible to fly the planes more number of hours, thereby generating more revenues. It will also reduce the hassle of dealing with lost and misplaced baggage and associated costs. And charging separately for checked in baggage will be able to accomplish all that. It will make passengers travel more responsibly and carry minimum necessary baggage, which will have many positive effects. It will increase demand, actual air traffic, and revenues for the airlines. It will reduce the total baggage handled, thereby reducing the turnaround time for flights, and increasing revenue generating flying hours of the planes.

So far, the airlines have only thought of charging increasing amounts of flat fee for every additional item checked in. However, this still encourages passengers to fill each piece of baggage to the maximum. Instead, consider what will happen if the airlines start charging for each checked in item based on its actual weight, with the per pound rate increasing for each additional item. It will make travelers even more responsible in carrying only what they absolutely need, and further, reduce the weight of each piece to the minimum. Many passengers may in fact welcome such a system especially in the present difficult economic times, where, with a little inconvenience of careful planning, they will be able to save money.

Including the charge for checked in baggage in the base ticket price, as done in the past, has several opposite and undesirable effects. First, it encourages passengers to carry maximum weight and size of baggage allowed, thereby increasing the total amount of baggage to be handled by the airline and the associated costs. Also, the higher, baggage-inclusive ticket price has a negative effect on the demand for air travel and the revenues generated. And in the long run, that only forces the airlines to further increase the ticket prices.

That is exactly what is happening today with the carry-on baggage as well. Since its cost is included in the base ticket price, people try to carry on the maximum amount of baggage permitted, even when they cannot physically lift or even drag it. This situation is even further aggravated because airlines are not always strict about checking the actual size and weight of the carry-on baggage. That further encourages passengers to take chances and carry baggage that exceeds the limits allowed by the rules.

This problem may actually worsen if airlines start charging separately for checked in baggage, because, that will encourage passengers to use the carry on allowance to it maximum in order to save money. That is why there is in fact a strong case for airlines to simultaneously start charging for all carry-on baggage as well with the only exception of absolute necessities that can fit in the pockets such as travel documents, money, eye glasses, medications, cell phones etc. The effect could be very dramatic. Many people would walk into the cabin virtually empty handed. That would restore the concept of carry-on back to its true purpose, stop the disgraceful rush of passengers at the time of boarding to capture maximum storage space for their hand baggage, free a whole lot of cabin space making it easy to get in and out of seats, and restore the dignity of air travel back to what it was in the good old days. It will also make boarding much faster and smoother, reduce the boarding time significantly, and make the turnaround of flights even quicker.

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