News, Spirit waives baggage fees for no one even a church group..

[Alaskan Mutt]

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.

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.

[rogerbacon]

Originally Posted by pvande55

I flew Spirit and I'd do it again if the cost savings were substantial. I did without the carry on. The church group can ship it ahead if that is more economical.

I flew Spirit before they started charging for carryons so my dislike of the airline has nothing to do with that. I just thought that their seats were more uncomfortable than other arilines, didn't recline or have as much room as others, and they charged for everything except water. I swear I think that if they could get away with pressurizing the plane to a lower pressure and forcing everyone to buy supplemental oxygen they would do it.

[Amelorn]

Typical American attitude...they want Wal-Mart prices and Saks service. A little secret about low cost airlines....once you get done with fees, you may as well have booked on a legacy. And the customer service tends to be better.