Jaunted

Baggage Fees / Checked Baggage Fees / Carry-on Baggage Fees / Europe Travel / Budget Travel / Airlines / Airline News / Luggage / Baggage / → All Tags

All the Airline Baggage Fees You Need to Know for Spring Travel to Europe

Going somewhere this spring or summer? Europe, maybe? If you or someone you know has a transatlantic flight or two in their future, then there's one super helpful guide you need to bookmark: EuroCheapo's Guide to Airline Baggage Fees on Flights to Europe. It's simple, it's brilliant and—better yet—it was just updated.

You can see a small snippet of the chart above, but trust that it covers everything from IcelandAir's first-two-bags-free policy to Continental's outrageous $200 extra charge for an overweight bag. Thanks to this chart, you'll be better able to plan when it's worth it to wear triple layers of souvenir T-shirts to avoid crazy fees.

See the complete EuroCheapo Guide to Europe-bound Baggage Fees RIGHT HERE.

[Excerpt image: Eurocheapo]

Baggage Fees / Checked Baggage Fees / Carry-on Baggage Fees / Spirit Airlines / LCCs / Airline News / Airlines / → All Tags

Spirit Airlines Raises Baggage Fees Again, Screws Over Passengers

What does a little last-minute packing mean to you? Maybe a forgotten toothbrush, or that you have to call a cab versus taking public transportation to the airport. For Spirit Airlines, your last-minute packing means dollar signs in their eyes, because they've just upped their baggage fees.

According to CNN, Spirit will now charge extra for those who wait to pay for their checked or carry-on luggage until within 24 hours of departure. If your within 24 hours of your flight and you go online to Spirit's website to pay, it'll be an extra $5. If you freak out and call Spirit on the phone to pay, it's an extra $10. Here's the complete chart of what's owed when, if you're flying Spirit with anything more than a little purse:

more ›

Airline Security / Political Travel / Congress / TSA / Airline Industry / Airports / Carry-on Baggage Fees / Baggage Fees / Airline Fees / Airport Security / → All Tags

TSA Wants to Increase Security Fees Because You've Been Avoiding Checked Baggage Fees

It's time for our annual "TSA wants more of your money" post. Every once in a while TSA complains that Congress needs to increase the security fee that you pay as part of your ticket, and when that happens we do our part by reminding everyone what a wasteful, inefficient, careless, irresponsible, mindless, negligent, thoughtless, and other words that are synonyms for wasteful—and also obnoxious—agency they're running.

Last year the request came right after TSA instituted its kind of moronic post-Christmas terrorist attack rules, which meant increased security theater without increased security, which meant increased costs without increased security.

more ›

The Jauntys / Travel Awards 2010 / Jaunted Awards 2010 / Carry-on Baggage Fees / Spirit Airlines / → All Tags

The Most Ridiculous Airline Idea Of 2010 Is...

It's that time of the year again, the time when the year just plain ends. Alas, we can't just let 2010 go that easily, especially since travelers spent it both up in the air and up in arms over a crazy range of topics, encompassing everything from nudie scans to tarmac delays. Needless to say, we're ready for 2011, but first we're taking a brief look back at the best of 2010 with the Jaunted Travel Awards,—or as we fondly refer to them—The Jauntys.

First, let's be honest. We really, really wanted to name the "pay-to-pee" and standing passenger concepts from Ryanair's Micheal O'Leary as 2010's worst idea, but there's just one problem...all that happened in 2009. Regardless, there were plenty more bad ideas that happened this year, and the winner for 2010's stupid airline idea is Spirit Airlines' carry-on fees.

more ›

Carry-on Baggage Fees / Baggage Fees / Airline Fees / Spirit Airlines / LCCs / Bad Ideas / → All Tags

Spirit Airlines' Controversial Carry-on Bag Fees Officially in Effect

Yesterday you can bet that passengers flying Spirit Airlines faced longer lines to board and more confusion, as the low-cost carrier's $30 carry-on bag fee went into effect. The change was announced back in April, and the new fee applied to anyone booking a Spirit ticket from April on for flights August 1 and beyond.

Whether you like it or not, if you're flying Spirit Airlines you will encounter a fee at some point. Unless you can handle traveling with only one small purse that fits under the seat in front of you, but who does that? The airline's CEO thinks you can. The carry-on fees, which range from $20-$45, apply to anything you want to stow in the overhead bins, but remember that if you check it instead, you've got to pay for that privilege too. Here's the breakdown:

more ›

Bad Ideas / Spirit Airlines / Carry-on Baggage Fees / Baggage Fees / Checked Baggage / Ben Baldanza / Airline News / Travel News / → All Tags

Bags Not Necessary for Travel, Says Spirit Airlines' CEO

Ben Baldanza: Your new dartboard?

Today, we add another bulletpoint to the timeline of the bad ideas of low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines:

July 2010: CEO Ben Baldanza testifies before Congress that bags are "not essential" for travel. This was part of his explanation for charging for carry-on baggage, as Congress takes Spirit to task for levying hidden fees. Baldanza's actual quote:

Carrying more than one bag is not necessary for all travelers and we believe it is unfair to charge those customers for extra services they do not use—indeed, it is the basis for Spirit's policy to unbundle services not essential to passenger transport."

While this may be true for some, ABC News wisely notes that Spirit still charges to bring that one bag unless it fits underneath the seat, on an airline with the worst leg room in the first place.

more ›

Carry-on Baggage Fees / Spirit Airlines / Jetblue / American Airlines / Delta / United / US Airways / Airilne News / Baggage Fees / → All Tags

Five Airlines Promise Never to Stoop to the Low of Charging Carry-on Fees

As if it wasn't enough to charge passengers per bag they check, airlines have upped the ante with fees even for carry-on bags, beginning with American low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines.

Since this fee of $45 for a carry-on if paid at the airport—with slight discounts for paying online—won't be taxed, Congress isn't happy. The US Senator currently at the heart of the opposition to carry-on fees is NY Democrat Charles Schumer, who has not only made the news show rounds with his arguments, but has also secured commitments from five other airlines they they will not stoop that low. The airlines who vow not to add carry-on fees are: Jetblue, American Airlines, Delta, United and US Airways.

more ›

Spirit Airlines / JetBlue / Travel Ads / Carry-on Baggage Fees / Travel Advertising / Humor / → All Tags

Avoid Spirit Airlines' New Carry-On Fees with the 'Sherpa Shirt'

Business is a cut-throat world, and the airline industry is more brutal than most. So when Spirit Airlines stupidly decided to charge for carry-on luggage, they basically invited angry travelers and direct competitors to start piling on. Our response was mostly to point out how the new fee was part and parcel of a history of bad ideas from Spirit Air. JetBlue came up with something a little less direct.

The LCC took to their official blog to announce that, while they obviously recommend flying JetBlue because their overhead bins are free, they understand that sometimes itineraries just don't work out. For those times they recommended the "Extrago Sherpa Shirt," a "special outerwear that we designed to hold 'an entire trip’s worth of necessities, including the money you’ll save by not checking or carrying on your bag.'" It was originally part of their Christmas viral ad/store thing in New York, and they've brought it back.

more ›

Bad Ideas / Spirit Airlines / Airline News / Airlines / Carry-on Baggage Fees / → All Tags

Spirit Airlines' Carry-On Fee is Just the Latest in a History of Bad Ideas

When Spirit Air made their huge announcement last week that they'd begin to charge passengers for both carry-on and checked baggage, making them the first airlines to do this, we can't say we were too surprised. With the way that airlines have been nickel-and-diming over the past year, a carry-on fee was bound to happen. Although we would have expected it more from European budget airline Ryanair, Spirit's history of bad decisions proves that they were due for a boneheaded move, and this happens to be it.

Stupid ideas of their past include such lovely things as a hidden "Passenger Usage" fee and that time that their CEO, Ben Baldanza, hit "reply all" on an embarrassing email. Oh yea, that last one was particularly eye-opening.

After the jump, we look at Spirit's milestone of stupidity...

more ›

Baggage Fees / Spirit Airlines / Political Travel / Carry-on Baggage Fees / → All Tags

Spirit Airlines' Carry-On Baggage Fees Face Government Opposition

It seems like the whole world has been flipping out about Spirit Airlines and their decision to charge for carry-on luggage. We thought it was only a matter of time before an airline pulled something like this, but that doesn’t mean that people are just going to sit back and take it. In fact, it looks like the federal government might get involved in this latest fee-for-all.

Senator Chuck Schumer has called the latest fee a “slap in the face to travelers,” and he wants some of his government buddies to prevent airlines for charging fees like this. He’s chatting with the Treasury Department, as he feels that the carry-on bags are a must-have for travel. Classifying bags as such would ensure that the general ticket price would cover them and would prevent separate fees.

more ›

Airline Fees / Checked Baggage Fees / Kayak / Spirit Airlines / Carry-on Baggage Fees / Airlines / → All Tags

Kayak Works to End the Guessing Game of Hidden Airline Fees

Just a small sample

If you thought that Spirit Air's new carry-on baggage fee makes airline fees confusing, then you should check out this chart!

The "Airline Fees" chart assembled by Kayak.com might seem like a just a bunch of numbers and airlines, but next time you book a flight and wonder exactly how much you'll be paying in hidden fees, it'll be a lifesaver. The chart is actually the best we've seen of fee charts, and it even allows you to filter the long list by specific airlines. For instance, if you're trying to decide between Southwest and Spirit, filter the list down to the two and you'll see that Spirit wants to charge you for both carry-on and checked baggage and Southwest lets you go free on both accounts (and they'll even throw in a small snack).

more ›

Nude Travel / Naked Travel / Spirit Airlines / Baggage Fees / Carry-on Baggage Fees / Checked Baggage Fees / → All Tags

The Only Travelers Happy About the $45 Carry-On Fee Are Nude Travelers

So Spirit Air yesterday announced that they'd not only be upping their checked baggage fee, but that they'd begin charging to even carry on luggage. They basically set a precedent, as the first airline to do this, and we're not surprised to hear the public outcry against it.

Although 99% of people think charging for both checked and carry-on baggage—which means you cannot avoid an extra hidden fee—is horrible, there's one group that's lauding the decision: the nude recreationists. We just received an official statement on the Spirit Air carry-on fee from Erich Schuttauf, the executive director of the American Association for Nude Recreation, who is actually psyched for the fee, She says:

more ›