Here is the article:

FORT WORTH — American Airlines, hit hard by escalating fuel prices, said Wednesday passengers will be hit with fees to check any bag, starting with tickets purchased after June 15.

American and its American Eagle subsidiary will also trim their fleets, cut their flight schedules and lay off workers in the coming months.

Speaking at the annual meeting of AMR Corporation, the parent company of both airlines, chairman, president and CEO Gerard Arpey said travelers would face a $15 charge for the first piece of luggage checked, the first time any major domestic airline has used this method to increase revenue.

Delta doesn't plan to match American's fee for the first checked bag, airline spokeswoman Betsy Talton said.

"These are difficult but necessary steps," Arpey said, noting that rising oil prices have inflated the airline's annual fuel costs by nearly $3 billiion since the start of the year.

American recently instituted a $25 fee for second bags checked after a free first bag. Arpey said other passenger fees will be increased, including surcharges for pets and for unaccompanied minors.

Also on Wednesday, Arpey said AMR planned to cut its domestic capacity by up to 12 percent by retiring 40 to 45 American Airlines jets and 30 to 35 American Eagle aircraft starting in the fourth quarter. Some of the planes will be retired; others will be parked at a desert storage facility.

Arpey said fewer flights will lead to job cuts at both American and American Eagle. The number of workers facing layoffs was not announced.

AMR shares tumbled $1.10, or 13.4 percent, to $7.10 after the announcement which came as its shareholders gathered for their annual meeting.

Here is a link to the actual page where it was posted:

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/s...aafees.1522e30e.html

. . . as if passengers needed any more incentive to pile on as much carry-on crap as they can haul.

a fee for minors - should be a interesting suit on age discrimination coming on that one

Hmmm...I wonder what a third bag would cost???...It won't surprize me if the airlines are going to start a charge for Firearms handling fee...they always come up with something to get a buck....CK

American Airlines, as well as all commercial airlines around the world are in severe danger of going bankrupt due to the unprecedented rise in the price of oil/jet fuel (oil now $133/barrel). I'm not an airline employee, nor do I have any stock in any of them (oops, just remembered I've got a few thousand shares of Southwest which is not one of my sterling investment stories ) but if we want to keep flying at a semi-reasonable cost then we'd better chip in and quit bitching and hope for the current oil prices to, at least, moderate. Last time I checked a ticket to Africa was at least $2000 and now some people are getting their panties in a wad over $15 for a bag. Most domestic flights cost (or will) at least $300 RT so if a passenger checks a bag each way, it is a 10% rise in ticket/travel cost on those flights. If you can't stand it, take a bus which has it's own fuel cost issues.

Stonecreek:

They've got pretty strict rules about carry ons as is but up until now they have been somewhat loosely enforced. I suspect that will change if the per bag charge catches on. Right now it is kind of a trial ballon by AA but airline companies desperately need money and are scrambling every which way they can. I'm not someone who believes in donating to corporations but I certainly want some semblance of our current airline flight structure to continue to exist. If a few bucks or even a hundred bucks or so per ticket helps attain that goal then I'd pay it without too much complaint. Anyone who can't see the enormous problems created for them by oil prices can't see the forest for the trees.

butchloc:

The easy answer is not to let minors fly unaccompanied which is not what the public wants. Minors do take more time and effort by the airlines. A surcharge is not unreasonable in my opinion and would be fully warranted by the facts.

quote:

Stonecreek:

They've got pretty strict rules about carry ons as is but up until now they have been somewhat loosely enforced. I suspect that will change if the per bag charge catches on.

I suspect you are right. I've always objected to passengers cluttering up the cabin with tons of "carry-ons" that are clearly oversized and should have been checked -- an option which was always free. The airlines will now have a financial incentive to strictly enforce carry-on rules, perhaps to the detriment of passengers who were previously reasonable about their carry-on luggage.

But my objection to extra fees for checked baggage, extra fees not to sit in a middle seat, extra fees to get a wilted salad or a flat Coke, extra fees for this, that, the other, ad nauseum is this: If airlines need additional revenue to be financially viable, it is much more acceptable to simply raise the price of a ticket than to nickel and dime the passengers with extra fees for standard services. This is an inefficent and costly-to-administer way to increase revenues, thus it adds more to the cost of travel for the passengers than the net revenues it generates for the airlines. Think about it: Instead of paying for the cost of the flight with one credit card transaction when you purchase the ticket, you may be paying for it with separate transactions when you purchase the ticket, check your baggage, buy a coke, or change seats. It's a dumb way to do business.

Aksheephunter:

Just checked with Gracy Travel on May 20th, 2008. I was informed that an extra pice of checked luggage such as an ammo case, would now be $150.00.Supposely on all airlines!!!

Yep!....here it comes!...they're going to put the screws to us, they figure if we can go and hunt Africa, what's another $100, $200, $300 and so forth. I wonder what SCI, and other orgs think about this?....CK