Dragon,

Recheck those. Oct 29 was the Merger agreement effective date, which means Oct 30 was DCC. Here's a cut right from Steve Dickson's code-a-phone: "As such, our official Date of Corporate Closure (or DCC) will be tomorrow, Thursday, October 30th."

PG

Thought that's what I was saying. Obviously did not have enough coffee. Thanks for fixing it.

:) You're right about that. This is the sort of thing smart travelers figure out real quick, so I question the long term viability (or sense) of the baggage check fee program.

That said, here's some thoughts on the subject:


1. Many women will check bags, if for no other reason because their cosmetic kits are not easily or cheaply replaced. (Thank you, TSA for this profit making opportunity)

2. There are plenty of passengers (business travelers in particular) who don't really care about a $15 or $50 dollar charge. It's chump change. (Hard for a cheap pilot such as me to comprehend)

3. RyanAir is famous for this kind of thing, and lets face it: all the carriers are copying their "charge for everything" model these days. Let's not forget this either: RyanAir has repeatedly stated that they will go trans-Atlantic in the near future. At least big-D will have everyone used to being charged like crazy if/when this day ever arrives.

I should clarify...a lesser amount of people will wind up taking all the space before everyone has had a chance to board. Ive seen this happen already on NW flights.

And here's a novel idea...let's just add an additonal baggage charge (say $50 bucks) to the price of the ticket and not make the baggage thing an issue!

We've got to be the only industry that charges more to produce a service than we charge the users of that service.

Because it all comes down to one thing. Well two. One, if we take the price out of the ticket our fares show up first on all of the travel websites. Two, it makes people carry less, which leaves more room for the cargo we are carrying.

There is a bit more. Actually the reason why fuel surcharges and bag fees are applied (and are working to a large extent) isn't because of just the general flying public its because of all bulk purchases and corporate contract accounts. Fuel surcharges/bag fees makes sure almost EVERYONE pays the piper.

Now, enough of this crap, I mean who cares?!?!

Where the hell is the AE?????????????????????????????

Who knows, the AE keeps getting pushed back for a few reasons. Changes in fleet, and changes in how we are going to man the summer schedule. I am sure that sometime before Jan we will see it.
The longer they wait the better. More backfill etc.

FWIW Non-revs and our Precious medals do not pay these fees.
It is more for the jo blow that normally does not fly. AMR is the same way.

I'm no marketing expert, but I suspect most leisure travelers buy tickets based 99.9% on quoted ticket price comparisons. The "extra fees" aren't considered until they actually get to the airport.

It's a psychology thing. Kind of like when people buy a big screen TV on sale. They think of the sale price, not the extra money that they'll have to spend on a TV cabinet, cables, a blu-ray player, upgraded cable/dish service, etc. This is where electronic stores make a killing.

True, but then they get to the airport, are confronted with the extra charges, get ****ed, take the bags to the gate and gate check them. Push back is delayed while the extra bags are added below. Bags go on the jet, no fees collected and the customer is mad at DAL. Lose, lose all the way around.