United to Start Charging for Second Bag

CHICAGO - United Airlines will begin charging passengers $25 to check in a second piece of luggage for domestic travel if they are not part of its most-frequent-flier programs, the airline said Monday.

Full Story HERE.

And Amtrak offers 2 full sized baggages with passenger and 3 checked on, per passenger? How can United compete?

Green Maned Lion said:

And Amtrak offers 2 full sized baggages with passenger and 3 checked on, per passenger? How can United compete?

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Maybe by moving people from Chicago to San Francisco in 4.5 hours, not 2.5 days? Not every one has the time or desire to sit on a train for several days just to get across country. Some people actually have to get there and others prefer to spend their time there, not en route. Also, relatively few people check more than 1 bag, many check none (me), and United's best customers, the Mileage Plus and Star Alliance status passengers, are exempt.
As the saying goes, if you need to check a bag, you've packed too much. I'd add that if you need to check two bags you have packed way too much.

But this on top of inedible food, uninhabbitable "seats", surley flight attendants who treat you like inhuman dirt... and so on.

Green Maned Lion said:

But this on top of inedible food, uninhabbitable "seats", surley flight attendants who treat you like inhuman dirt... and so on.

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Pretty broad-brush insult of an entire occupation. Checking my records, I have been on 445 flights over 40 years (yes indeed: I have recorded every one. First on paper, now in a spreadsheet). I guess I've been very lucky. I have never had a flight attendant treat me like "inhuman dirt". Not even like human dirt. I have two flights tomorrow (PHL-DEN-SJC). I'll be on the lookout for the "dirt" treatment. When, by the way, was the last time you were on a flight? Just curious.
Do you like Amtrak food? I do, too. Very tasty. It is, of course, supplied by Gate Gourmet: one of the largest catering firms for airlines. Of course, in airline domestic coach, food is not really an issue. That is why the airport carry-on food kiosk was invented.

As for the seats, here is where I have gotten revenge on the jocks. You see, I am 5' 5", 130 pounds soaking wet. Guess what? I think airline coach seats are fine. They were designed with my wife and I in mind. A couple of years ago I had the window on a flight back to Philly and some poor guy about the size of Michael Strahan (timely reference) contorted himself into the middle seat next to me. I let him get settled, leaned over, and said "airline seats are my revenge for being call a 'runt' in high school." He doubled over laughing (or tried to: he could not move much).

Bottom line for me: Liking Amtrak does not mean disliking air travel, or vice versa. One does not require the other. I like both equally. In fact, combining flights and Amtrak is a great way to take train rides that would not be practical otherwise. At least, that works for me.

The last time I flew was in late 2001 or early 2002. I know it was after 9-11. I'm big (5'11", 290lbs) and I look scruffy (beard I trim when it gets annoying, mustache ditto, hair ditto ditto) and usually disheveled (I use an unfortunate combination of Noodler's indelible ink, left handedness, and a free-flowing Pelican 800 fountain pen combined with white shirts and a lot of coffee). I remember the embarrassment of being strip searched very roughly, being practically interrogated, then getting onto a plane where my butt could not fit into the seat, having the flight attendant spill a jug of hot coffee on me, yelling at me for sitting there, and then continuing without even trying to clean up the mess.

And when I wrote to complain about it, I was treated rudely for not realizing the "expectations of plane flight in coach". Amtrak hasn't been always been a model of perfect service, or anything close to it. But they wouldn't put me through an experience like that. They have been at times mildly surly, at times not very nice, and sometimes irresponsible. But I have yet to have an interaction between myself and an Amtrak employee that was anything other than one human being to another. I have flown many times- the first time was when my parents flew me home from Missouri 7 days after I was born from the adoption agency. That was, ironically, the last time my father flew- he's taken the train ever since, and many times before that.

I will admit that the last flight was an exception for how absolutely awful it was. But it was a culmination of far too many cases of flight crew, airlines, and airport personnel treating me not only like I was unimportant to them (I'm sure I'm not), but like I wasn't even a human being.

I personally can not understand how anybody in their right mind could put up with that kind of treatment. You'll never convince me that you do and aren't bughouse for doing so.

Green Maned Lion said:

But this on top of inedible food,

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What food? Airlines hardly give out food these days. AA only gives out free drinks. On flights 3 hours? or longer you can buy a snack box or a candy bar for 3 or 5 dollars. Even if you ride 1st class they only feed you on longer flights with a real meal. Other carriers you may get peanuts, cookies or something small at least. Or if you take Skybus, you have to pay for everything, even drinks. I even heard their flight crew has to buy their own drinks! I have a feeling they won't be lasting long though.

That said you can sign up for United's Mileage Plus program for free, and avoid the $25 fee for extra bag. But I'm sure the fee is geared toward the traveler that never flies and brings an extra bag a big vacation, and would not want to sign up for the mileage program.

saxman66 said:

...That said you can sign up for United's Mileage Plus program for free, and avoid the $25 fee for extra bag. But I'm sure the fee is geared toward the traveler that never flies and brings an extra bag a big vacation, and would not want to sign up for the mileage program.

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Only elite members of Mileage Plus (Premier and higher) and comparable Star Alliance elites (Silver and higher) are exempt from the charge for the second checked bag. General Mileage Plus members are not exempt.