Spirit Airlines to charge for use of overhead bins

jtheune said:
And where would you have them put those things?
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smaller item under the seat in front of you.

And wear the **** suitcoat when the overhead bins are full.

iow - be considerate of others.
 
EdFred said:
You know they could set up 4 sets of bench seats running longitudinally. Sort of like club seating. Since they are doing away with meals now, no need for a tray table.
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1999gcabin.jpg


Like that ? http://www.rampartaviation.com/1999gcabin.jpg
 
Missa said:
Don't you listen to the pre boarding announments? usually goes something like this:

"This flight is full, please stow your "personal item" (ie purse or briefcase) under the seat infront of you so that we can accomidate carry-on's in the overheads"

You are paying for the tiny seat, want more? go first class. Don't just take the space I paid for.
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Either you paid for part of the overhead bin ( in which case I get my share same as you ) or you did not. But you don't get to claim that bin space as your and deny that others have a right to use the bin space as well.
 
Bob Noel said:
smaller item under the seat in front of you.

And wear the **** suitcoat when the overhead bins are full.

iow - be considerate of others.
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Nice, Your telling me what I have to wear and how I have to sit but you consider this being considerate. How considerate of you.
 
weilke said:
I don't think there are many business travelers on Spirit, save for the oddball who has to go from Rhode Island to Orlando.
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:dunno: The only time I've flown Spirit is for business...corporate travel agent picks the flights for the most part for us- generally on the basis of cost and they do factor these charges in the cost, as well as travel time (based on milage) to various airports. Since all of us that travel take at least a laptop as a carry-on, our agent will automatically add this cost to any spirit ticket.
 
jtheune said:
No I'm sorry, I'm not going to put my briefcase on the floor nor am I going to sit on my jacket. Yes I will check my suitcase but I'm simply not willing to put my jacket or briefcase in the place that my feet go. The seats and space allocated is simply too small for that.
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If I have two carry on items, one goes overhead, the other at my feet. And I hate that, but it's the right thing to do. But, give up my overhead space to some guy can put a bag up there that should be checked? Not happening.

Missa said:
If you you get a rude seat-mate it's just about that... don't pull up my armrest so you can spill onto my seat! arm rests should only go up AFTER the cabin door is closed and non one is in the middle seat.
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A seat mate (other than my wife) raises that arm rest and I'm hitting the FA call button. Now. I will not tolerate that. There's too little space in that seat as there is and I'm taking all that my employer or I paid for. No ands, ifs or buts about it.
 
jtheune said:
Nice, Your telling me what I have to wear and how I have to sit but you consider this being considerate. How considerate of you.
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No I'm not.

I'm saying share the space. Are you one of those really nice people
who won't put anything under the seat in front of you?

Is this really that difficult a concept?
 
wsuffa said:
In deference to Greg, I won't say what I really think about UA.. ;)
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Thanks. It's the horse I have my wagon hitched to.

but US Airways is about the bottom of the barrel in the legacy department. Too bad, because Piedmont was once a great airline.
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No doubt about that. I was with a Piedmont Commuter when the merge went down and always thought the wrong company survived.
 
kevin47881 said:
If I did 100 flights on United my company would fire me for excessive airline fees (and rightfully so). Furthermore, I'd have to double my commute time (at a minimum) due to the outdated hub and spoke system compared to direct flights.
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Like Spike said, it depends on your location. I'm not specifically talking about UA, I'm just using them as an example for why status matters if you want to avoid all these fees. For Florida, maybe SWA makes more sense. For me, UA is very price-competetive.

kevin47881 said:
Of those perks you listed above, the only one not available on SW is first class. However, they did provide me with my companion pass. A companion pass allows my companion (go figure lol) to travel with me for zero cost except airport fees of about $5.00. The FA's on SW are actually pleasant to fly with. Those on USA and Delta are rarely pleasant (not rude but certainly no enjoyment). I'll stick with SW. YMMV.
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The FA aren't rude at all. In fact, as a GS, they are generally amazing. First class is a big "perk" - if you can even call it that. Economy+ is something that no other carrier, and certainly not SWA, has. And the other perks I mentioned aren't matched by SWA or other discount carriers fully. I didn't really understand this until I got some real status on UA. Let's take a recent example. My flight from Honolulu had just taken off. They had a flap problem, so we had to come back and land:

- Right after the door opened, an agent walked on board the plane and handed me a first class boarding pass for the next flight (this flight, btw., was sold out, and almost all other pax were stuck in HNL for the day).

- The agent also gave me a food voucher.

- Then he offered to escort a few others and myself to the AA (!) lounge.

Get back to me once you get this on SWA.

SCCutler said:
Much also depends upon where you are - for most business travel itineraries out of the north Texas area, for example, UAL would be largely useless, unless you opt to change planes.
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I agree. Like I said, of course it depends on where you are. I'd imagine AA to be much more appropriate for the TX area.

-Felix
 
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Greg Bockelman said:
Thanks. It's the horse I have my wagon hitched to.
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No question you're one of the good guys....

No doubt about that. I was with a Piedmont Commuter when the merge went down and always thought the wrong company survived.
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Agree. I used to ride Piedmont out of ROA when I was in college. About 8 flights a day to DCA, and a bunch to other places. I still remember the YS-11s. Unfortunately, I also had experience riding Allegheny as a kid because they had nonstops from DCA-PVD (my grandparents lived in Providence). Wonder if some of those old Agony DC9s are still flying on NW/DL?:rofl:

Piedmont wins hands down.
 
Bob Noel said:
No I'm not.

I'm saying share the space. Are you one of those really nice people
who won't put anything under the seat in front of you?

Is this really that difficult a concept?
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I do put something under the seat in front of me. They are called my feet. I put my carry on items like my laptop case and jacket in the overhead bin, the space designed and designated as a storage area. And as I said in a earlier post, if you want to limit people's use of the overhead bins then set a standard for the amount of space they can use. Make it fair to all so no allowing women to have a extra bag called a purse or parents to have a diaper bag for a non revenue passenger. If you want to divvy up the bin space to a certain cubic foot per seat then fine, do so. But other wise stop complaining that your not getting your fair share of space and don't tell others how they have to make use of the space that the airline has allocated to them.
 
sba55 said:
The FA aren't rude at all. In fact, as a GS, they are generally amazing. First class is a big "perk" - if you can even call it that. Economy+ is something that no other carrier, and certainly not SWA, has.
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SWA's standard seat pitch is better than any other airline's coach; it is between E and E+.

But, of course, they don't fly to Hawaii (yet).

sba55 said:
Like I said, of course it depends on where you are. I'd imagine AA to be much more appropriate for the TX area.
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If...

1. Their fares were not silly stupid-high; and
2. They could manage not to cancel more than half of the flights I book on them (always the return-home leg, too...).
 
SCCutler said:
SWA's standard seat pitch is better than any other airline's coach; it is between E and E+.

But, of course, they don't fly to Hawaii (yet).
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I'm not bashing SWA at all. However, E+ does feature the most legroom in economy for any US airline, and if you fly just 20,000 miles a year with UA (their lowest status level), you get access to E+ I believe.

SCCutler said:
If...

1. Their fares were not silly stupid-high; and
2. They could manage not to cancel more than half of the flights I book on them (always the return-home leg, too...).
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Sure. I don't know anything about the TX market :)

-Felix
 
sba55 said:
I'm not bashing SWA at all. However, E+ does feature the most legroom in economy for any US airline, and if you fly just 20,000 miles a year with UA (their lowest status level), you get access to E+ I believe.


Sure. I don't know anything about the TX market :)

-Felix
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Actually it's 25K - and yes, E+ is great. That, no baggage fees, and going to the "premier security line" (shorter) are three reasons I'll do what it takes to keep even minimal status on UA.
 
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SCCutler said:
Again, making my point precisely. You should not have to "get status" to receive basic customer service.
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But is being exempt from "bag fees" actually a basic customer service? How about E+? Or going through the premier line? Are those basic?

I'd say that everyone gets a level of basic customer service - no matter if it's your only flight, or not (whether it's good customer service is another discussion - but it's still basic). If you are a loyal customer, they give you perks. If you travel very little then paying 25 bucks each way to cart overweight bags (or extra, etc) isn't putting you out a whole lot (other than irritation). If you travel 25K miles or more per year on one airline, you're traveling a fair bit and already paying that airline a lot of money. They are then exempting you from the nickle/dime stuff.

Last year I earned 37K or so miles on UA. That was despite a trip to France on Air France (would have earned me at least 8K miles I think, had I gone United) and a trip to Belgium wherein I USED UA miles - another 8K or so miles I would have earned, maybe more. I also used miles to go to Savannah (wouldn't earn many miles there anyway).

I also got double miles for a trip to London (which I would have done anyway, frankly - nice to have the extra miles, will use them one day. That one trip almost earned me enough miles to go to Savannah, for instance.)

So, in one year I coulda earned over 50K miles were it not for the miles used and trips on other carriers. 25K is min status, I think 100K is the next bump. All those miles I earned were strictly personal, no work trips. That's not chump change on these airlines and they are giving a little perk to the customers who use them a lot.

I understand not wanting to pay extra - no one wants that. But, they figured out fees for checked bags is a viable source of revenue, the market (so far) is supporting it, so it's not going anywhere.

I still think that charging for both checked and carryon is ridiculous - what's the incentive then?
 
A system where you have to fly a lot like that to get good treatment is not something that leaves me wanting to fly commercial, and rather leaves me more convinced to just spend the money on 100LL and go myself.

If I had a Lancair, I doubt you'd ever catch me flying commercial.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
A system where you have to fly a lot like that to get good treatment is not something that leaves me wanting to fly commercial, and rather leaves me more convinced to just spend the money on 100LL and go myself.

If I had a Lancair, I doubt you'd ever catch me flying commercial.
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It's been 3 years since I flew commercial (thank goodness I don't have to for work). It limits the places we go, but we're spoiled by the Trinnie. I so don't want to fly commercial that last year when we weren't sure if the Trinnie would be out of annual in time for my family reunion in KS, plan B was to drive. And we really want to go back to the BVI's, but I just can't make that airline reservation.
 
jtheune said:
Either you paid for part of the overhead bin ( in which case I get my share same as you ) or you did not. But you don't get to claim that bin space as your and deny that others have a right to use the bin space as well.
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Yep you get part of the bin space, but if you have a roll on suit case, that is your share of the bin space. You do not get more for the rest of your crud.
 
woodstock said:
But is being exempt from "bag fees" actually a basic customer service? How about E+? Or going through the premier line? Are those basic?
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Inasmuch as traveling for a long distance on an airplane inherently requires some baggage, and the practice of the charging to check bags is a fresh new initiative, then yes, checking a bag is a basic customer service item. Another way to put it: splitting out bag check fees from the fare is a sneaky and deceitful way to advertise a fare which is lower than reality.

E+, seats with significantly more room, is a clear enhancement, and is worth more money (or is appropriate as a well-earned perk for frequent customers). If UAL flew anywhere I wanted to go with remotely useful schedules, I'd seriously consider them just for the E+ seats. For that matter, when AA had MRTC, I specifically chose them for business travel for that reason, but it worked out (apparently) to be a bad deal for them.

"Premier Line"? If you mean check-in, that's fine; if you mean security (government-mandated), I throw foul on that.

But like i said, I fly commercial so rarely that it's not worth fretting about.
 
Kaye said:
It's been 3 years since I flew commercial (thank goodness I don't have to for work). It limits the places we go, but we're spoiled by the Trinnie. I so don't want to fly commercial that last year when we weren't sure if the Trinnie would be out of annual in time for my family reunion in KS, plan B was to drive. And we really want to go back to the BVI's, but I just can't make that airline reservation.
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My problem is that I have to fly commercial for work occasinoally, and sometimes have trips that I just don't have time to complete if I go by road, with personal flying being cost prohibitive.

If I got a Lancair 360 (200 kts @ 10 gph) I'd be done with commercial aviation were it not for that pesky thing about ice. I wonder what sort of de-ice equipment I could add...
 
SCCutler said:
Inasmuch as traveling for a long distance on an airplane inherently requires some baggage, and the practice of the charging to check bags is a fresh new initiative, then yes, checking a bag is a basic customer service item. Another way to put it: splitting out bag check fees from the fare is a sneaky and deceitful way to advertise a fare which is lower than reality.
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Agree to a point. Putting bag check fees on bags #2 and up encourage people to pack more efficiently.... it tends to discourage folks like the woman from Dallas that checked a second bag *just for her shoes* (for a 4 day meeting...).

That said, I pack efficiently and can do 10-days with a carry-on. If my fare were lowered by the amount paid by others for checked bag fees, then fine. But it's not - as you point out the bag fees are just an unadvertised fare increase. Worse, you get NO REFUND if the airline loses your checked bag. So you pay for a service you don't receive.

E+, seats with significantly more room, is a clear enhancement, and is worth more money (or is appropriate as a well-earned perk for frequent customers). If UAL flew anywhere I wanted to go with remotely useful schedules, I'd seriously consider them just for the E+ seats. For that matter, when AA had MRTC, I specifically chose them for business travel for that reason, but it worked out (apparently) to be a bad deal for them.
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What UA has been doing is cutting back the F cabin for E+, meaning less upgrades for the frequent flyer. The E+ seats don't offer much more room than Southwest or JetBlue. I can't really tell the difference between E+ and WN/B6... still, it's an improvement over econocramped in the back. BTW, a lot of companies also won't pay for an E+ seat even if it's the only way to get a preassigned seat on the plane.....

"Premier Line"? If you mean check-in, that's fine; if you mean security (government-mandated), I throw foul on that.
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Security, too. Airlines pay for the space prior to the checkpoints, including the lines. If they want to offer elite lines, that's OK with me. For the most part the elite lines are far morre efficient because there are fewer families with young children and folks that don't know what to do at checkpoints.

But like i said, I fly commercial so rarely that it's not worth fretting about.
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Some of us don't have that choice.... :(
 
Missa said:
Don't you listen to the pre boarding announments? usually goes something like this:

"This flight is full, please stow your "personal item" (ie purse or briefcase) under the seat infront of you so that we can accomidate carry-on's in the overheads"

You are paying for the tiny seat, want more? go first class. Don't just take the space I paid for.
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How often do you fly commercially? I used to, a LOT, for business. I am 5'7" and 150lbs....medium-small by most accounts. If there is a bag "under the seat" as you say, even I cannot stretch my legs out. So now I have to sit in a rigid position for 2-3 hours, possibly getting DVT, all because someone wants to bring in an over-sized roll-aboard? Ummmm.....no.

I can say this...it has been my experience, after years of flying commercial, that it is NOT the frequent business flyer that is the problem but it is the itinerant vacation flyer who does not HAVE A CLUE how to travel on airlines today.
 
tdager said:
How often do you fly commercially? I used to, a LOT, for business. I am 5'7" and 150lbs....medium-small by most accounts. If there is a bag "under the seat" as you say, even I cannot stretch my legs out. So now I have to sit in a rigid position for 2-3 hours, possibly getting DVT, all because someone wants to bring in an over-sized roll-aboard? Ummmm.....no.

I can say this...it has been my experience, after years of flying commercial, that it is NOT the frequent business flyer that is the problem but it is the itinerant vacation flyer who does not HAVE A CLUE how to travel on airlines today.
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I'm not begruding anyone space in the overhead, I'm begruding people all the space. If you want your breif case up there, don't cary on a roller bag too.
 
Missa said:
I'm not begruding anyone space in the overhead, I'm begruding people all the space. If you want your breif case up there, don't cary on a roller bag too.
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Seems logical to me.
 
I don't pay for my tickets. Thanks to my SWA credit card I have free tickets and free drinks galore, plus a companion pass.
 
flyersfan31 said:
I don't pay for my tickets. Thanks to my SWA credit card I have free tickets and free drinks galore, plus a companion pass.
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It adds up fast when you buy AvGas using an airline credit card, doesn't it? Frequent Flyer miles/credits when you fly yourself.... :yesnod:
 
Missa said:
Yep you get part of the bin space, but if you have a roll on suit case, that is your share of the bin space. You do not get more for the rest of your crud.
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My favorite trick is when the people in the back of the place (boarding first) fill the overhead compartments in the front of the plane on their way by.

I was always tempted to take it out and leave it on the floor.
 
Missa said:
I'm not begruding anyone space in the overhead, I'm begruding people all the space. If you want your breif case up there, don't cary on a roller bag too.
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A simple solution would be to have people PAY to use the space. (Hmm... Isn't that how this thread got started?)
 
Hmmm.... I like to have my stuff at my feet. That way I have access to it if I want it without getting up and rummaging through the overhead.
 
Everskyward said:
Hmmm.... I like to have my stuff at my feet. That way I have access to it if I want it without getting up and rummaging through the overhead.
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You're also Tiny.

I myself, prefer to have my carry on at my feet as well. Mostly because its usually full of expensive stuff and I may want access to it.
 
Steve Foley said:
A simple solution would be to have people PAY to use the space. (Hmm... Isn't that how this thread got started?)
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Individual lockers. One for every seat. If your oversize monster roll-on container doesn't fit, you have to check it.

This overhead bin problem is simply a result of the airlines being too lazy to enforce their carry-on policy.
 
weilke said:
Individual lockers. One for every seat. If your oversize monster roll-on container doesn't fit, you have to check it.

This overhead bin problem is simply a result of the airlines being too lazy to enforce their carry-on policy.
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Yep, all they need at the gate is a box to pt your stuff in. If it fits, you can take it on the plane. If it doesn't, gate check it.
 
EdFred said:
Yep, all they need at the gate is a box to pt your stuff in. If it fits, you can take it on the plane. If it doesn't, gate check it.
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Alot of place have that box. The problem is no one enforces it.
 
ron22 said:
Alot of place have that box. The problem is no one enforces it.
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Except on the RJs where the carry-on becomes an inconvenience for the airline. As long as it is an aggravation for the pax, they don't give a ####.
 
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