Money Minute: Airline will charge $100 for carry-on bags [Video]
- Share via
A hundred bucks for a carry-on bag? Welcome to the brave new world of air travel.
Spirit Airlines, which has never been shy about reaching into passengers’ pockets, now charges $45 for a carry-on. Come Nov. 6, people who wait to pay the fee at the boarding gate will pony up a C-note.
This means the cost of your carry-on could be even higher than the cost of your ticket.
If you pay for your carry-on at an airport kiosk, the fee will jump to $50 from $40.
Meanwhile, larger pieces of luggage checked at the airport will cost between $8 and $10 more, while the fee for bags checked online will rise by between $2 and $5. Spirit also will increase a handful of other fees by between $2 and $10.
Not surprisingly, Spirit’s average revenue from fees per passenger in the first quarter topped $100 for the first time.
Other airlines have generally avoided Spirit’s money-grubbing tactics, but you have to wonder how long that’ll last. Times are tough in the airline industry. Any revenue these days is seen as a good thing.
You just know it’s only a matter of time before Spirit starts charging for access to the toilet. And is a standing-room-only section really so farfetched?
Inside the business of entertainment
The Wide Shot brings you news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
