Should congress ban airlines from charging for carry-on luggage?  

Well you know I'm not crazy about government interference in private business. What I really want is for PEOPLE to prevent this practice by not flying Spirit Airlines. A boycott would also be nice, but I don't have the time for such a thing.

To me carry-on luggage is far more important than checked bags as it is the only guarantee that my luggage will arrive at the intended destination with me. I just know that once the government gets its claws into an industry, they never let go and I fear what they could do to air travel as a whole if this is allowed.

*tip toes up veeeeeery carefully.....
*tap tap

As tempting as it is to agree with this (and it is), we should be very carefull when we over look propper propper government authority of things. As satisfying as it may sound to allow this to go through as law, they really don't have the authority to dictate this and if we let them do it, simply because it is a cause we agree with, it opens the door for more down the road we may not agree with.
We already have more laws in this country than any person can reasonably live with in as it is anyways. Passing more just because we want to stick it to someone we think is sticking it to us only leads to a perpetual cycle of ever growing government power, and these people have more than enough power already.
I would say the best way to handle this one instead is not fly with this airline, let the crooked bastarrds go out of business.

I don't want to pay an extra fee for a carry-on either, but do you really think the government interfering would fix the problem? Spirit is famous for nickel and diming people and if you let the government ban this tactic, don't you think they'd just come up with something else? Wouldn't avoiding Spirit like the plague be the best tactic both for ending this practice and showing other airlines that we will not tolerate it?

Remember, this isn't a situation like we've had with phone companies or utility companies that abuse us thanks to their monopolies. With airlines we have many choices and just avoiding the one airline that does this might be all it takes.

No, I don't agree with government control over travel prices, but I also don't agree with paying more than I have to when traveling.

Well, forget Spirit Airlines, I'll fly Delta! :)

Yeah, I'll likely be going back to Airtran. They've got the dirtiest planes and feel like a Greyhound with wings, but at least they don't pull the scams that Spirit does.

I guess with this global crisis affecting almost every nation, prices going up we still have our choice on who to patronize.If those people in power do nothing then we should be the one to initiate and do something about it.

Well, I guess that means putting Spirit out of business.

Yup, I've got to agree with you that they will charge what they will charge, and the gov't should be constrained in how much they can manipulate the market.

I say let them charge what they will charge and hopefully the market will help pull costs back down.

However - I do think that there should be truth in advertising, and when you purchase your tickets, all of your charges should be at that time. sorry, it came to me AFTER I hit post

That's the big problem with Spirit. They suck people in by having fares that may be $20-$50 lower than their competitor, but then nickel and dime you to the point that you aren't saving a penny and may actually be paying more than you would with a competitor. It's a matter of separating costs to mislead a customer and pull them away from the competition.

I do think though that consumers should control this by not using such airlines. I am tired of congress telling everyone how they should do business. People just need to be more aware of what's going on and at least this is one case where the media has been very vocal about Spirit's tactics.

I agree taskr. I took a friend to the airport and after waiting over an hour in line, they were told every body had to pony up $50 for gas! I would have thought that when offering tickets, they would have known that the plane needed gas. That airline is no longer in business. HHmm I wonder why. That is the way to combat that crap. or take a boat

You're right. There are no shortage of airlines that were bankrupted and put out of business by pissing off their customers. The nice thing about this is we have so many alternatives. I hate what Spirit is doing, but I don't think government interference is the best way to fix it. Government interference should be an absolute LAST resort to fixing problems in private business.

Yeah, the thing that bugs me is that this is preemptive. We're still months away from Spirit implementing this plan and already Schummer is jumping at the chance to get government claws into the airlines. As Spirit is the only airline planning to do this, I think that if they lose business, other airlines won't even THINK about doing the same thing.

Excellent point, Taskr! I also thought of that, but forgot to mention it.

I've been hearing something about this for a day or so, & I have several questions. How are they defining "carry-on?" Size? Style? Is a purse considered a carry-on? If not, I'd find one of those enormous purses teens carried when I was in high school. They were round & barrel shaped, & girls could use them as luggage for overnight stays with friends, but you could put huuuuge amounts in them! I mean, when the floppy tops were stood upright, they actually resembled street-worthy garbage cans made of (probably faux) leather, & were nearly as big! I thought they were ugly, even as I grudgingly admitted they were practical. I used to wonder if they didn't get sore backs from hauling them around, though.

The point is, I'd probably just get something like that & tell them, "This is my purse," & let them struggle with the idea. There ya go--no carry-on luggage fee!

Maggiepie
GO TO Open Mike CATEGORY & TALK ABOUT ANYTHING--EVEN 2 or MORE TOPICS AT ONCE!

"Why do you think the government is the answer to everything we don't like?"

Why do YOU think that's how I feel? All I did was post this issue for discussion. I didn't say that I supported this. I just asked for opinions.

It was a rhetoric question, I didn't intend to antagonize you. Sorry for not making myself clear.

No - government needs to tay out of this. The American consumer can deal with these things, but flying a different airline.

I'm thinking of looking into finding the corporate exects online and emailing them "thanking them" for keeping extra charges from being added by them as well, and letting them know that if they get on the band wagon (so to speak) - I'll be finding another airline to fly with.

You think airlines are pricey - I checked with Amtrak for the cost of going from Oklahoma city to Columbus, Wis. (11 mi. from my hometown.) With a sleeper car, it's close to (or over - I forgot) $700 ! And one has to stay in a hotel overnight in Chicago going up and returning - talk about an expense !!!!