OK, so imagine that your favorite supermarket comes up with a new rule: “$5 extra charge for second shopping basket!” “Say what?” you say to yourself, shocked. “This used to be free – I will never shop here again.” Then you discover that all other supermarkets do the same and you end up paying the charge.
Then, one morning you read: “$5 extra to use the Express line – now they have crossed the line! I will never shop here again!” But yet again, you see that you really have no choice.
Time goes by until one evening after work at the store, the cashier tells you “didn’t you know, it’s $5 extra for your first basket now too – started today!” You start to seriously consider going vegan and growing your food at home.
This as you probably know all too well, is what airlines have been doing. Over the past couple of years, more and more fees have crept up on us for things that used to be free. But now, several airlines ‘offer’ you to pre-pay for those very things that used to be free.
You can now pre-pay for selecting your seat early and United – in a move surely to be followed by other airlines – allows you to pre-pay $249 to ‘avoid’ checked baggage fees. And again, like other programs of the sort, it applies only to a very small segment of passengers. You can read all about it for yourself on United’s site, but it is pretty self-explanatory.
There’s no doubt in my mind that some airline executive somewhere is working on a plan to charge for reserved space in the overhead bins. It is just a matter of time.
What about FlyMiwok’s operators? Our operators charge $15 per person for baggage weights over 20 pounds and the maximum any single passenger can bring to a flight is 40 lbs.
So how is this charge different from the airlines’? It’s not the number of bags that’s important, but the weight. The reason is simple: the aircraft our operators use are light 4-seater aircraft (think luxury-car with wings) and managing weight and balance, which are critical for flight safety, is a much more delicate task than with airliners. The more baggage weight you bring with you – the more the pilot needs to work to accommodate it.
Also – unlike the airlines – the operators don’t have ground crew available. Only one crew member is needed to help you with your baggage – your friendly pilot.
Gad Barnea – CEO – FlyMiwok, Inc.
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