US Airways to start charging for bags

photo by Typophiles

Less than a month after United Airlines announced that it would be charging most passengers $25 to check a second bag, US Airways has announced that it would do the same, starting on May 1. US Airways claims that higher fuel costs are partly to blame and said that this new luggage fee will give the airline $100 million in additional revenue. It's a sign that the à-la-carte baggage trend is continuing throughout the major carriers - it's not unreasonable to say that by summer, virtually all of the majors will have adopted this fee.

And speaking of US Airways, the airline has been seeing some labor strife recently. Unions unveiled a 30-foot rat outside of the airline's headquarters, which supposedly symbolizes US Airways management. And CEO Doug Parker said that "our industry is in a mess, if you haven't noticed... we're about to head into what looks like another downturn."