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That’s the spirit: returning to airline $1 soft drinks
The reaction to Spirit Airlines’ starting to charge for baggage and soft drinks was generally negative, despite the airline’s pr spin in the guise of “liberating customers from being forced into paying for services they do not desire or use.”
The Fort Lauderdale-based airline said it will cut fares by as much as 40% and impose the new fee system for all flights operating from June 20.
“Customers will be given the allowance of one carry-on bag with the option to check additional bags for a fee,” it said. The first two checked bags will be $5 each if booked online or $10 apiece if checked at the airport, with a third bag costing $100.
The carrier will charge $1 for each cup of soda, coffee or juice a passenger drinks during flight.
That idea is “dead on arrival,” said airline consultant Robert Mann.
A year ago, commuter carrier American Eagle cut short an experiment to charge customers $1 for drinks because of poor response.
Spirit becomes the first US airline to charge for checked bags but follows Flybe, Ryanair, Aer Lingus and Norwegian in imposing baggage fees.
Air Canada offers discounts for customers who do not check bags and British Airways limits the number and size of checked bags based on flight distance and is charging up to ($231) for excess bags.
Spirit says the sweetener to this news is that it is cutting the cost on some flights by up to 40%.
Will other airlines copy Spirit?
Executives from both United Airlines and American Airlines have said they are considering fees to mitigate escalating handling costs.
“We can offer incredibly low fares by enabling customers to pay for only those options they want. As customers have told us over and over, it’s all about the fare,” Spirit CMO Barry Biffle told the AP.
Spirit said the move is in line with the “standard product features and options” offered by the “automobile, brokerage and computer industries.”
Report by David Wilkening
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