Quote:
Originally Posted by Chatteress
I never stated that the government should mandate airlines to waive fees for military & vets ... Just that the carrier should freely do that as a goodwill gesture for the men/women that have served our country.
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I agree it would be nice if airlines freely waived bag fees for military passengers. However it costs money to carry the bags and most airlines just do not have the spare cash to do so. Thus the costs would have to be passed onto the other passengers.
Before airlines were deregulated in the late 70's, airlines had lots of money. Airline employees routinely were able to waive fees without having to get approval. With limited competition the airlines could simply raise fares anytime they were hit with an unexpected cost. After deregulation the airlines had to get lean and mean. Several major airlines went away. When 9/11 happened most airlines did not have the cash to ride out things. All of the new security regulations did not come with money for the airlines to enact them. The airlines had to foot the bill. Once again the airlines had to get leaner and meaner. Then as they were finally getting a handle on things along comes the massive increase in the price of fuel. There was nowhere left to cut costs. Airlines now have no choice but to pass all costs onto the passengers.