A U.S. airline known for its ultra-low fares will begin charging fliers as much for their carry-on bags as it charges for a flight to the Bahamas.
Spirit Airlines said Tuesday that beginning Aug. 1, passengers will have to fork over $45 to store their carry-on bags in the overhead bins.
“I’m not going to pay it,” said Bryan Root, 42, of Oxford, Conn., as he waited at LaGuardia Airport yesterday to board a Spirit flight to Myrtle Beach, S.C. “I’ll drive just out of spite.”
Natalie Diberto, 25, of Manhattan, who headed to Detroit on Spirit, said the new fee was sexist.
“Girls will have a hard time with it because we have a purse and typically another bag,” Diberto griped.
Spirit is the first U.S. airline to charge passengers for carry-on luggage.
In addition to carry-on bags, the airline will continue to charge passengers $25 for a single checked bag and jack up the fee for a second checked bag to $45.
Spirit’s Chief Operating Officer Ken McKenzie said the move will allow the airline to keep its ticket prices low.
A mid-April flight from LaGuardia to Freeport, Grand Bahama, costs $46 one way, only a dollar more than what the airline is poised to charge for a carry-on bag.
“Bring less; pay less. It’s simple,” said McKenzie, adding that purses, briefcases and small bags that slip under seats remain free.
In a statement, the airline said the new fee will “improve in-flight safety and efficiency by speeding up the boarding and deplaning process.”
Whether other airlines will follow suit like they did for checked-in baggage fees remains to be seen.
Rival JetBlue reacted by mocking Spirit’s new fee on its corporate Blue Tales blog, telling customers to “enjoy free use of [its] overhead bins and more legroom than any other airline in its class.”
Whatever they want. And you can fly on another airline if you don’t like it or take a bus or stay home.
No one owes you anything. No matter what comrade Obama or Schumer tells you.
It’s not just arabs committing terrorism seems like its the airlines too
They are going to charge for that diaper and teffilin bag as well….
everyone open your pockets now b/c there going to start charging for the seatbelts soon!!!!!!!!!!!!:)
when they started charging for luggage they had a good excuse, blame it on the price of gas…what’s the excuse now?? as if someone will go on the plane with nothing?!! why not add the $45 into the price?
spirit in general charges for soft drinks while in flight, while other airlines wouldn’t think of charging for a complimentary something..they were one of the first to start charging for reg. baggage, i’m not surprised that they are charging for bringing carry-on!! i just hope that other airlines won’t take their lead.
so what you gonna do now, put your husbands tefilin on the floor under the seat in front of you, or pay $45 to store it in the overhead bin??
“Natalie Diberto, 25, of Manhattan, who headed to Detroit on Spirit, said the new fee was sexist.”
It’s also anti-Semitic because Jews also carry a talis bag.
whats next? are they gonna charge for the air we breathe?
calm down, calm down
soon there genna charge to go to the bathroom.
why can’t they make it more simpler ,
charge the passengers the full price at once when they are purchasing the tiket instead of making them have more head aches??
Spirit has corrupted the airline industry & have lost many a bag that was paid for even in check in. What they are doing is going to be detrimental to them we will see it happen soon
i know that this is off topic but this reminds me of some hotels in certain cities that charge you a resort fee when you check out usually an additional $15 to $20 a night more & if you don,t pay the resort fee when you check out then it gets charged to your credit card.same thing here it,s called unexpected hidden charges that travelers are unprepared for it.
r they gonna start charging to bring ur own folding chair too?
I think it is perfectly fine! I for one am tired of going on a flight with my diaper bag and my husbands tefillin bag and having nowhere to put them because everyone decided to not pay the $25.00 or $15.00 for luggage. It serves everyone who does that right! Listen if you are buying a $74 ticket I think you can splurge and put your luggage where it belongs.
Now we’re just gonna have to get big pockets, until they start charging for that.
so 100$ to go to bahamas big deal!