Spirit Air to Charge for Carry-On

Discount airline Spirit Air will charge up to $45 for each piece of carry-on luggage taken aboard its aircraft.
Spirit Air to Charge for Carry-On
NO FREE RIDE: Spirit Airlines will charge for carry-on luggage. (Tim Boyle/Getty Images)
4/8/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/spit3123858.jpg" alt="NO FREE RIDE: Spirit Airlines will charge for carry-on luggage. (Tim Boyle/Getty Images)" title="NO FREE RIDE: Spirit Airlines will charge for carry-on luggage. (Tim Boyle/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1821291"/></a>
NO FREE RIDE: Spirit Airlines will charge for carry-on luggage. (Tim Boyle/Getty Images)
NEW YORK—Discount airline Spirit Air has done the once-unthinkable: charge up to $45 for each piece of carry-on luggage taken aboard its aircraft.

Spirit Airlines has become the first major U.S. carrier to charge passengers for carry-on luggage. Customers paying in advance online will be slapped with a $30 fee for each bag stowed in the overhead bin, while passengers at the gate will be charged $45.

For now, stowing baggage under the seat in front is free of charge.

The fee goes in effect this week and will be applied to all flights booked for Aug. 1 or later. The company said that the measure is necessary to reduce carry-on bags and help lower fares.

“In addition to lowering fares even further, this will reduce the number of carry-on bags, which will improve inflight safety and efficiency by speeding up the boarding and deplaning process, all of which ultimately improve the overall customer experience,” said Spirit’s Chief Operating Officer Ken McKenzie in a statement. “Bring less; pay less. It’s simple.”

At the same time, the Miramar, Fla.-based Spirit will lower fees for checked baggage.

While some analysts question the move and fear that airlines may soon be charging a fee for going to the lavatory, some believe it’s a good strategy for today’s economy.

“The idea for them is to charge as little as possible for the base fare while charging additional for everything else,” said BNET travel industry expert Brett Snyder. “This is the Ryanair model that hadn’t really found much traction in the U.S.”