Shortly after most airlines begin charging to check a bag on flights, the debate began on whether or not the airlines had an obligation to deliver that bag to the destination reliably and, failing to do that, refund the charge.

It’s a question I asked myself as soon as American Airlines began those charges since they used to be well known for bag delays from Chicago to Dallas. So well known that if you’re bag didn’t show up on your flight and you were a regular, you just waited for the flight that arrived an hour to two hours later. It never came on the very next flight, it usually came on the flight after that and sometimes the flight after that. I became so used to it, I simply sighed, went to a bar and waited without even registering a complaint to the AA baggage clerks because I inevitably found that I knew when it was coming more accurately than they did.

I firmly believe that when you charge for this service, you have obligation to deliver the service reliably or, failing that, an obligation to refund the baggage charge. In dollars, not flight credit. And immediately, not weeks later.

Airlines say that if the DoT requires them to do this, costs will rise and everyone will pay more for their flights. Yes, they said costs.

Costs won’t rise but the revenue from those fees might, perhaps, be reduced and doesn’t it say something when airlines panic over this? The airline industry is a weird one. They’ll cavalierly hand out freebies to people who fly frequently and, yet, charge huge fees and abuse customers left and right who are anything less than a frequent flier. They’ll cling to the fees and fares they’ve charged until their body is cold and dead. And many consumers accept this without even much objection.

Let me ask you this: Would you order a new washer and drier, permit yourself to be charged months in advance for a delivery that is delayed and when the items do arrive you find them damaged or one missing and not complain? What we wouldn’t put up with from just about any other service or product provider we regularly put up with from the airlines. Why?

I would love to see someone reading this argue the airline case and not from the point of view of “fares are cheap, quit expecting so much.” It isn’t expecting much to see your luggage travel on the same aircraft to the same destination you are going to.

Filed under: Airline Fees by ajax