Correllation - Bag Check Fees and On Time Departure?

killbilly

Vocals, Lyrics, Triangle, Washboard, Kittens
Seems like I've been flying AA quite a bit lately - moreso than SWA (much to my chagrin) but I keep having itineraries and destinations which make SWA difficult.

I generally check my bag (hate messing with it), so I've been sucking up the $15 bag fee, but I'm noticing a lot of passengers are not. Like, a LOT of them.

And what I'm finding is that the boarding process is taking a lot longer. If you're boarding later than Group 3 or 4, you're pretty much screwed for overhead space. Then you have agitated FAs and pax trying to find a place to put bags, you have d-bags who keep putting their coats in the bins, and it just seems like a mess.

So I'm curious. Since implementing the fees, has AA suffered in their on-time performances? Has it actually COST them more money with delays? Is the correllation I seem to perceive accurate?
 
Hmmm, never thought about it but maybe THATS why lately I can never seem to find overhead space!
 
That's actually a really good question. I've encountered that on DAL and the number of gate checked bags is ridiculous...
 
I think it definitely could be a factor. I've been sitting many a time at the gate past departure time, while the rampers are still shuttling gate-checks from the jetbridge all the way back to the cargo compartment. Creates a quick-turn hassle too with the bottleneck near the door. Interesting thought.
 
Would be interesting to quantify the negative financial impact of this phenomena - makes you wonder if the airlines would really just be better off incorporating the fee into the price of the ticket. The whole thing has made me a lot more inclined to fly SWA, though. Not because I check bags, but because I'm growing tired of having to fight for overhead space for my small carry-on.
 
Weather or not the revenue from the bags outweighs the cost of the delays remains to be seen, but there is a marked increase in delay numbers once airlines charged for the first bag. There was not really an increase when airlines still had the first bag free.

Personally I was cool with one free bag. Charging for the first one is a bit much. At least on the ticket counter side of things the airlines have made it real quick and easy on the agents. If I had to take all the bag fees on the old systems, the lines would be out the door, and flights even more delayed.
 
Would be interesting to quantify the negative financial impact of this phenomena - makes you wonder if the airlines would really just be better off incorporating the fee into the price of the ticket. The whole thing has made me a lot more inclined to fly SWA, though. Not because I check bags, but because I'm growing tired of having to fight for overhead space for my small carry-on.

And that, precisely, is my question.

Now, I've been told by wiser souls on this site that airlines have little black-magicked elves in the revenue department who know, to the nickel, what a flight costs and what it earns. So, being the naive PPL that I am, I'm going to assume that they know what the real numbers are.

Gerald Arpey has not responded to my proposal that we could eliminate the overhead bins altogether if we forced everyone to check their bags and fly naked.
 
Now, I've been told by wiser souls on this site that airlines have little black-magicked elves in the revenue department who know, to the nickel, what a flight costs and what it earns. So, being the naive PPL that I am, I'm going to assume that they know what the real numbers are.

That may be the case, but there is a big difference between having data and having information.

While I don't completely hate the airline, I am convinced American has considered the possibility of having steerage-class passengers bring their own lawn chairs for seating.
 
That may be the case, but there is a big difference between having data and having information.

While I don't completely hate the airline, I am convinced American has considered the possibility of having steerage-class passengers bring their own lawn chairs for seating.

Bloody true, that.

Wait a second. You're like the third person I've seen here who is in Austin that I've not met...

We need to plan a mini-Austin M&G. Hell, we might as well make it a weekly thing....
 
I always laugh when they gate check 30-something rollaboards on Continental. The business travelers aren't dumb. That's 30 bags which circumvented the checked bag fee. Awesome.

US Airways is reversing the drink fees. Hopefully this will follow suit. FYI I never have a problem finding space for my rollaboard on full SWA flights. Go figure.
 
I always laugh when they gate check 30-something rollaboards on Continental. The business travelers aren't dumb. That's 30 bags which circumvented the checked bag fee. Awesome.

US Airways is reversing the drink fees. Hopefully this will follow suit. FYI I never have a problem finding space for my rollaboard on full SWA flights. Go figure.

I've noticed on SWA that the bins on the 73-700s and 738s are larger and can take more stuff. I still usually check the bag on SWA because, at least in AUS, the rampers are johnny-on-the-spot with the offload and I get it pretty quick anyway.

The bins don't seem to be as big on the MD-80s, and we all know that AA flies a lot of those.

But my point is that I know delays cost the airline money, and from what I've heard, a LOT of money. For example, 15 bags @ $15 a piece is $225. But the flight gets delayed 15 minutes. Does it cost the airline more than $225 for that 15 minute delay?
 
I always laugh when they gate check 30-something rollaboards on Continental. The business travelers aren't dumb. That's 30 bags which circumvented the checked bag fee. Awesome.

Right. I've been taking the AA Connection (Chautaqua ERJ 145) lately. The "Valet" bags at the gate is the best of both worlds. Wheel down the jetway, leave the bag and step-off at the destination to find the bag without fee or overhead hassle.;)

Of course now I can put my coat in the overhead:D
 
Although this idea is logical, we have to remember that a lot of things involving aviation are illlogical.

I don't really think that bag check fees play a significant role upon on time departures. This is mostly because on time departure percentages are numbers that are typically VERY skewed. Airlines have ways of "padding" these numbers whether the flight actually leaves on time or not. I know precisely how one major airline does that on a routine basis because I frequently fly with them and know people that work for this airline. When a plane is getting close to its departure time and it's becoming clear that the flight will not make its on time departure, pilots simply release the parking break. Even though the plane may sit another 15 minutes, it is shown as having departed, and vacated the current gate. This can also be a potential safety issue because the pilots at this specific airline don't tell the ground crew when they are doing this and the aircraft does move slightly, as I have felt several times on flights I have been on. But that's a topic for another day. Pilot kicks the brakes, the plane sits 20 mins, there's your on time departure.

In the end, bag check fees are just another way for an airline to make an extra $15 off passengers.
 
Yeah, I agree that the accuracy of reported arrival and departure times can be suspect.

However I still think that the bag check fee was a marketing nightmare. Instead of marketing the $15 as a fee, why didn't they sell the customers that it was a discount for not checking a bag? In reality, they could have bumped every ticket up by the bag check fee and I'll bet very few people would have noticed or even cared for that matter. IMO, the whole issue could have been swept under the rug and it would have been business as usual.
 
When a plane is getting close to its departure time and it's becoming clear that the flight will not make its on time departure, pilots simply release the parking break. Even though the plane may sit another 15 minutes, it is shown as having departed, and vacated the current gate. This can also be a potential safety issue because the pilots at this specific airline don't tell the ground crew when they are doing this and the aircraft does move slightly, as I have felt several times on flights I have been on. But that's a topic for another day. Pilot kicks the brakes, the plane sits 20 mins, there's your on time departure.

haha yeah, I witness this a lot. But usually it came at urging of the ground rather than the crew. But I do recall that a majority of the time the pilots would release the breaks before asking the ground, which is a safety concern.
 
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