Spirit Airlines has announced new fees for carry-on luggage.  Yes, carry-on luggage.  If you want to know who the *real* Ryanair Airlines is in the US, it is Spirit.  If you’re a member of their $9 Fare Club and pay for your carry on online, you’ll pay $20 for a carry-on bag.  If you don’t book your bag online but pay for it up to the ticket counter, you’ll pay $30.  If you don’t belong to the Fare Club and have to pay at the gate, it’s $45. 

Mind you, Spirit also charges $19.00 for 1st bag *checked* too. 

In general, I disapprove of baggage fees for any 1st bag but in Sprit’s case, I’m OK with it.  Why?  Look at their air fares.  If you play their game, you still save an incredible amount of money on their flights.  Only fools pay additional fees on their airfares that make the total cost approach other airlines. 

In a twisted way, Spirit’s fees kind of make more sense to me.  They’re unabashedly charging for the right conveniences and with scaled levels.  It is hard to argue against that approach. 

Will other US airlines adopt this approach?  Maybe.  Frankly, it may well be the more sensible approach to fees but if you do see an airline adopt this, you’ll see them lower or eliminate their 1st checked bag fee I suspect.  Airtran could be a good candidate for this approach perhaps.  I suspect the legacy airlines may avoid it as it targets their favorite customers:  the business traveler.  I definitely see Ryanair taking this challenge on in the near future.  It fits perfectly within their strategy.

Filed under: Airline News by ajax