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Since traveling without any luggage is a red flag, maybe they figure the people who bring neither checked baggage nor a bag to put in the overhead compartment will get stopped and put on the No Fly List so they won't even be on the plane.
but fwiw, I agree with the person who said they should have charged for overhead bin use all along and not for checked baggage, in order to expedite the boarding process.
Back when I was in the hotel business I would assist guests with flights, they were not happy over the checked bags charges. It will be worse with overhead bins following suit. If it keeps up, It will be better to use Greyhound domestically- Buy a cheap ticket, brown bag a beer and roll on to the destination. Im half joking on this though.
No joke, for part of my last long trip I did almost exactly that- Greyhound, packed a cooler bag with sandwiches and two flasks of bourbon. It was great. I relaxed, watched movies, nipped out of a flask and saved $400. The bus was way comfier than a coach seat on a plane and it was a lot less hassle. I highly recommend it if you have the time and don't want to do the driving yourself. Eff the airlines and TSA.
My Guess Enforcement will be done in the terminal,
When the Gate Agent scan's your boarding pass it will indicate you are a "Basic" passenger (and have not paid for the Overhead Bag, It will probably be printed on the boarding pass also "No Overhead Bin Bag"),
The Gate Agent will inform you the Cost to pay for the bag, then send you over to the Desk to pay for it.
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Originally Posted by IndyDancer
I agree it would be done at the terminal, but I suspect that they will tag the "overhead bin" bag. Every airline I have flown allows you to take "1 bag and 1 personal item" as long as the personal item can fit under the seat in front of you. So you could still have basic economy passengers carrying on small bags or backpacks.
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Originally Posted by Tober138
Quite easily - the gate agent knows what class of ticket you have when they scan your ticket at boarding - they can simply not let those passengers bring a bag down the jetway to begin with. Just like when they tell people in Zone 4 that, no, they can't board with First Class.
You will still be allowed to carry on a bag (to put by your feet), you just can't USE the overhead bin. That still means they would they would have to identify it. This might work if, once you pay for it, they give your carry on bag a "overhead bin tag". That would still require some sort of random enforcement check to catch the cheaters.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aredhel
One way they are going to enforce it is by having Basic Economy passengers board last. So there won't be any room in the overhead bins for their stuff anyway.
Don't people already pay for priority boarding, (or is that just not United)? That would also imply they wouldn't do any kind of enforcement once on the plane, and that whoever gets on last would just be able to use what's left. That is something people who pay for it will complain about, and want a refund for REAL QUICK.
Quote:
Originally Posted by deeken
Eff United. Nickel and diming sons of bi*ches!!!! Their airlines suck anyway. That is why I chose to only fly with Jetblue and maybe Southwest if no other option. I'd rather pay the extra up front for Jetblue and know that I don't have to play these stupid games with these airlines than to fly with anyone else. I avoid Spirit like the plague. In most cases if Jetblue or Southwest don't fly there, then I won't be going there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CGab
I don't like flying United anyway! I fly Southwest as much as possible! They may not be that luxurious, but at least they don't charge for every little thing!
I got fed up when they started charging for bags; this is another reason why I drive. Between arriving a couple hours early, 5-6 hr flight, and another 1/2 hr to get out of the airport, I'd rather just spend a few more hours and drive. I take several, 1,000 mile drives a year. Between that time and sitting next to some fat smelly guy, and a crying kid for several hours; I'm cool with being on my own schedule. I get to leave when I want, pull over when I want. If a flight gets delayed, its usually for several hours, then our time is about even.
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Originally Posted by headingtoDenver
I'm not surprised by this at all. Think of the nightmare overhead bins are. You have people who know it is a full flight, yet they feel the need to put their backpack, laptop bag, purse and jacket all up in the bin. Then when other people get on the plane, there is no space for their single carryon. The flight attendant then either needs to try and find space in overhead bins nowhere near where the customer is sitting, or by having the bag checked last minute which is also a pain. By charging, I think it will help speed up the seating process because there won't be as much 'crap' in the bins which will allow for plenty of space for proper bags.
This now also brings up the small things. Will you have to pay extra for a small bag or jacket. They always say FAA rules state you can not have anything in your lap for take-off or landing. Are they going to section off the bins, or does a "overhead bin use" mean you can put up there whatever you carried on. Some people have jackets that are really thick and bigger than bags.
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Originally Posted by vision33r
Gas prices are decade lows, no airline companies have pass the savings down to customers. We need more competition.
There only real competition is not going to be from other airlines; its going to be from legal triple digit highway speeds, and high speed rail.
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Originally Posted by TheCityTheBridge
I've long thought that it made more sense to charge for overhead bins than for checked luggage. Once airlines moved to charging for checked luggage, people went to insane lengths to carry on all their luggage and the boarding process slowed. .
Its a luxury tax. In what way does it cost them ANYTHING?? If they wanted to solve the problem and not be a bunch of ..... jerks about it; what they would do is universally give EVERYONE a tag for there bag(s). Everybody would get a priority/1st bag tag. Bins would get filled with priority bags only. I have always thought there is enough room if everyone only used one, and didn't stuff all there belongings up there. If you did it for everyone I think that would make it easier to do then singling everyone out as well. Especially if there tags were assigned a bin.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheCityTheBridge
What we should do, which is not on the table at this point, is open up the US domestic air market to foreign airlines.
This doesn't make any sense. Foreign carriers already fly to and from US airports at international terminals across the country. Preventing those carriers from competing in the domestic market is purely corporate welfare to the US carriers at the expense of US domestic flight customers. I don't care if Delta's bottom-line is hurt by my option to fly a foreign carrier offering better value like SAS, Emirates, or KLM. If US airlines can't win on a level playing field, then let consumers benefit from having better options available.
A foreign carrier--much as it does when operating an international flight--must comply with US aviation safety rules.
When an industry is lobbying for government to protect it from competition, it is a sign that the industry itself needs change.
European aviation--largely as a result of the EU's political integration--is more competitive because national carriers can offer routes within other EU nations. Ryanair, for example, an Irish airline, offers flights between Lille & Marseille, two French cities. Cabotage: Flight freedom | The Economist
Profit margins are roughly 10% which is hardly the definition of gouging. Spirit has the highest margin of them all, if anyone is gouging it's Spirit.
Spirit plays on peoples ignorance because they know many 1st time people will not read, or just think everything is like the past. Ive used them and Frontier and while what you get sucks, I know that for he price I pay I will be getting less. Spirit and Frontier both list clearly what you can and cant do on their site. They are pretty much a city bus in the sky and then you pay for what you want, but to me if im going to pay for assigned seat, more room, carry one, I might as well fly Delta or SW for a more comfortable ride and know im not screwed if anything goes wrong.
When I say gouge, im referring to routes that were like $1-200 RT on airtran and past carriers, but after mergers, those cities are like $3-400 for the same route by the big 3 carriers. In Atlanta, if Spirit or Frontier doesnt fly to a route where its Delta only, be prepared to pay BIG bucks for that flight and im sure its the same at other hubs with AA or United if they are the only one to fly to that city and dont have to worry about a ULCC.
Don't people already pay for priority boarding, (or is that just not United)? That would also imply they wouldn't do any kind of enforcement once on the plane, and that whoever gets on last would just be able to use what's left. That is something people who pay for it will complain about, and want a refund for REAL QUICK.
United, if I recall correctly, has 5 general boarding groups (plus one for elites and First Class passengers). People can pay for Group 1 boarding, but most casual leisure travelers won't. And these Basic Economy tickets will automatically be assigned to Boarding Group 5, the very last group allowed on the plane. Since every flight I've been on in recent years runs out of overhead bin space well before the final boarding group steps foot onto the plane, this won't be a problem. There won't BE any overhead bin space left. And even if by some miracle there was, and some Basic Economy passenger broke the rules and used it (unlikely), that would hardly be a reason for the folks who paid to be in Boarding Group 1 to demand a refund. The reason to pay for Group 1 boarding is to be 100% sure you won't have to gate-check your carryon due to lack of bin space, so as long as no one in that group was forced to do so, they got exactly what they paid for.
Southwest is overrated. First of all, Southwest flies limited routes even within the US, so if they don't go where the passenger wants to go, we're out of luck. Secondly, they are not as competitive as their fans claim they are. At least, not when I'm looking for tickets from TX to the East Coast. When I want to fly somewhere they go, I'll hit the little FARE SPECIALS FROM $49! clickbait link. I follow the link, only to find out that my ticket on their airline would cost much more than UAL or Delta. Free bags aren't worth it if my ticket costs $100 more than flying with a competitor.
Maybe it's time for Am Track to start offering more service.
I would rather go Greyhound than fly and do so whenever possible. The buses even have WiFi these days.
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