More airline passengers tolerant of baggage fees, study says

Grouse all you want about airline baggage fees, but the numbers don’t lie: You are slowly learning to accept them as a painful but necessary part of the flying experience.

In fact, the overall satisfaction with air travel has increased to the highest level since 2006, according to the J.D. Power & Associates airline satisfaction study for 2013.

On a 1,000-point scale, satisfaction with airlines reached 695 points, up 14 points from 2012, according to the survey of more than 11,800 airline passengers.

And it seems the fury over bag fees has cooled because the gap in satisfaction between passengers who pay for baggage and those who do not has narrowed over the last three years, according to the survey.

“Charging for bags still has a pronounced negative impact on passenger satisfaction, but with each year, passengers are increasingly more accepting of carriers unbundling baggage and other fees,� said Ramez Faza, a senior manager at J.D. Power & Associates.

Barbara Snowberger, a retired claims adjuster from Hollywood, is not one of those passengers who accepts baggage fees. She still vents about the charges, calling them frustrating and unfair.

“I will drive 1,000 miles one-way, if necessary, to avoid the hassle of the TSA and luggage charges,� she said, referring to the Transportation Security Administration. “Flying used to be a joy, and now it’s just a tremendous hassle and costs far more than it should.�

Most of the nation’s major airlines began to charge baggage fees in 2008 in response to a surge in the cost of fuel, which has become the industry’s biggest expense, accounting for 25% to 30% of all operating costs.

More fees have been added over the years to charge passengers for roomier seats, to board early and to log on to onboard wireless Internet, among other charges.

But the bag fees draw the most revenue from any passenger charge. In 2012, the country’s airlines collected $3.5 billion from bag fees, up from $3.4 billion in 2011 and $1.15 billion in 2008, according to federal statistics.

And according to the J.D. Power & Associates survey, passengers are more tolerant of the fees.

Among passengers who pay to check baggage, 37% said the fees are reasonable, an increase from 28% in 2012 and 18% in 2011, according to the survey.

Among fliers who have learned to tolerate the fees is Rob Newman, a television commercial producer from Los Angeles, who flies out of the country regularly for work.

“I totally get it,� he said of the fees. “Airlines are not really that profitable of a business.�

Still, Newman won’t pay the fees if he can avoid them. He said he takes advantage of his frequent-flier status with United Airlines to avoid baggage fees when he flies that airline. Newman also tries, whenever possible, to book with Southwest Airlines, which does not charge for the first two checked bags.

“I will also try to smash everything into a carry-on bag to avoid the fee,� he said.

Such a strategy won’t work on all airlines. Starting this summer, Frontier Airlines will join Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air in charging passengers to bring carry-on bags into the cabin.

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