The US Travel Association claims that airlines’ checked bag fees are making it more difficult to pass through security at airports and are calling upon airlines to reduce or eliminate them to improve this situation.

Do they add to security line time?  I suspect that those fees added an incremental amount of time to waiting in lines but I don’t think it’s a prime driver of security wait times.  The truth is, the business traveler has been running around with briefcases, purses and rollaboards for years and the business traveler comprises the major part of those passing through security most of the time. 

Furthermore, no airline is going to do this to alleviate security wait times.  If anything, they’ll (rightly) point out that security wait times are the problem of the government.  Given the taxes and fees that are levied on travel already, I would agree that it isn’t the airline’s problem. 

Security wait times are much more likely being driven by how those lines are designed, changed and/or increased security procedures and old airport infrastructure.  I honestly look forward to the day we see a modern airport designed to accomodate security in the 21st century as I think that could be managed much better with design. 

Another contributor to security wait time is the staff itself.  Anyone who has traveled can tell you that some airports have fairly effective and efficient staff while others have very ineffective and inefficient staff.  Again, that’s the government’s domain and problem. 

Are people carrying more onboard aircraft?  Absolutely.  But changes in baggage fees didn’t drive 100% more carry on baggage.  It was a much more incremental amount and I would make an off the cuff guess that it probably drove about 20% more carry on baggage at most.  Remember that most business travelers already can avail themselves of free baggage check-in as a function of their membership in frequent flier programs.  They simply choose not to.

Filed under: Airline Fees by ajax