Spirit Airlines Baggage Fees

Spirit Airlines just announced that they are increasing the fee to check a bag up to $100.  This new fee increase is for carry on bags that are paid for at the boarding gate.  If you check in online, and pay for your carry on in advance, the fee is much lower.

Baggage fees are a terrific example of unbundling services.  Bundling is the practice of combining multiple services within a single price.  The airlines used to bundle a host of services together in their ticket price.  Once you bought your ticket, you got to fly, your bags got to fly, your carry on got to fly, they fed you, and you got the in flight movie.  The logic behind bundling is that most passengers use and appreciate the extra services, and it is more convenient.  Paying multiple fees feels like getting nibbled to death by ducks.

The downside of bundling is that if you don't want the extra services, well, that's tough, because you still pay the same price.  Not bringing any luggage?  Still the same price.  Airline food gives you indigestion?  You're still paying for it.  In a sense, bundling means that some passengers are subsidizing services for the other passengers.

So now the airlines are unbundling their services.  When you buy a ticket, that gets you from point A to point B.  You want to get luggage from point A to point B, that will be charged separately.  You want a headset?  Pony up two bucks, big spender.

For the light packer, unbundling baggage fees from ticket prices keeps ticket prices low.  The people who can't bear to be parted from their anvil collection, on the other hand, are paying the full price of flying their stuff all around the country.  Unbundling can lead to higher efficiency, as people pay for only the services they deem essential.  This is not a bad thing.

The downside is that unbundling increases the complexity of the transaction.  On Spirit Airlines baggage fee schedule, there are at least fourteen different ways of paying for a single bag brought onto a flight, which range from $18 to $100.  Trying to get the best deal can require a lot of thought, planning, and effort.

Like I said, it can be like getting nibbled to death by ducks.