Joe Brancatelli, the savviest business traveler I know, runs a great blog and has just reported …
"American Airlines has announced that it will begin charging $15 to check ANY bag on a domestic flight. That’s for checking the FIRST bag, folks, not a second bag. American already charges $25 for a second bag.
"This is a NEW fee to charge ANY bag on a domestic flight.The fee is effective for domestic tickets purchased on or after June 15 and will hit most travelers. The exemptions: full fare coach, business and first-class customers and AAdvantage Gold, Platinum and Executive Platinum members. Flights to Canada and U.S. territories are also covered by the new fee. International flights will not have the $15 first-bag fee,
"Frankly, I expect the other Big Six carriers to match American’s move with lightning speed."
- Read more from Joe at joesentme.com
- American – one of the VI’s main air links, also an announced it it slicing capacity by 12%, according to this story from Reuters: http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080521/amr.html?.v=4