A large group of budget airlines from all over the world have announced they will begin to charge for carry-on bags.
The International Budget Airline Association (IBAA) said the majority of their members voted to begin universal carry-on bag charges. Beginning today, all carry-on bags will be measured and charged at a rate of $1/1 Pound/1Euro, and so on, per inch. So, a full size carry-on of 45 linear inches would cost $45. Additionally, any bag weighing over 10 lbs would get charged an additional dollar per pound.
The IBAA claims these additional costs are needed to help offset rising fuel prices and the increased demands for outrageous bonuses and golden parachutes by the airlines senior executives.
In a surprise move, Spirit Airlines, only one of two U.S. based carriers to already charge for carry-ons, said the would lower the free carry-on size to that of a one quart ziploc bag—similar to what is currently allowed for liquds through security. Anything larger would be charged at the new rate.
Other revenue producing programs being considered include:
“Auctions for Food”— Under this new policy, no food or drink would be allowed to be brought on board. The airline would only bring enough food for about half the passengers. Instead of charging a set fee, each food or drink item would be auctioned off.
“Lavatory by the Minute”—In this scenario, a passenger would swipe his or her credit card to get into the lavatory. There would be an initial charge of $2 to unlock the door, and then a meter would run charging 50 cents per minute. (The concept came to one of its members as he took a taxi to the airport.)
The IBAA said for the first time representatives from the world’s major air carriers attended their recent meeting in Cyprus to see if they could “borrow” some of these revenue enhancing schemes.