Life without baggage…

So you want to plan a quick weekend getaway for a change of scenery. Not having a lot of time or money you want to get the most bang for your buck. Years ago your biggest dilemma would have been to find the cheapest airline ticket on multiple travel search engines. But today airlines have taken an a la carte approach to what is included in your flight price and this can make what appears to be a steal for an airline ticket, actually a rip off. With an increase in baggage fees and lack of in-flight meals, it seems as though very little is included in an airline ticket outside of taxes.

When Spirit Airlines decided recently to add a charge for carry-on baggage they claimed that it was to give passengers a better value for their flight and to cut down on time at the gates. They also said charging only for what services a passenger uses will in the end save them money over other airlines base fares. Is it true?

I did a quick comparison of three airlines for a 2 night getaway from LaGuardia airport in New York over the Memorial Day weekend. I looked for flights that left on the morning of May 28th and returned May 30rd in the late afternoon or evening. I used the price selection option on the airline websites so that I could choose the least expensive option and not get any additional fees. For this length of trip, I would probably carry-on my bag but I also looked at the cost if I checked my bag. In the past, carrying my bag on would allow me to avoid the fee that most of the airlines are now charging for checked bags and assure my bags would be with me when I arrived. The airlines of choice for this little experiment*:

Spirit Airlines - They now charge $45 for a carry-on bag. If you decide to not carry-on your bag, they charge $19 for the first checked bag(if you purchase online) and $25 at the airport. For our purposes we are going to assume that I planned ahead and would pay my checked bag fee online.

American Airlines - There is no charge for a carry-on bag but $25 for your first checked bag.

JetBlue Airways - You can carry-on items and/or check one bag for free.

I chose domestic and international destinations to get a better comparison and this is what I found:

Cancun, Mexico - I should book with SPIRIT
The base fare for Spirit was $592.41 and even with the extra $90 to carry-on or $38 to check the bag it beat out JetBlue’s fare of $807.33 and American’s $749.33 (there shouldn’t be a baggage charge to check your bag since it is considered international but it would be $799.33 on American with the $50 bag charge round trip).

San Juan, Puerto Rico: - I should book with AMERICAN
American’s base fare of $508.20 (or $558.20 if you checked your bag) was almost $100 less than both Spirit and JetBlue. Spirit had a base fare of $563.84 and would be $653.84 if you carry-on or $601.84 if you checked your bag. JetBlue was $608.20.

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida - I should book with JETBLUE
Even though Ft. Lauderdale is a hub for Spirit the fare from LaGuardia was still cheaper on JetBlue at $412.40 given Spirit’s new fee for carry-on bags. Spirit’s base fare appeared cheaper at $355.42 but if you carry on your bag it rises quickly to $445.42. American was $498.80 or $548.80 if you checked a bag. Spirit would win if you checked your bag (the total would only be $393.42). But seriously are you going to check your bag for a two night trip to Ft. Lauderdale? The reality is most people are probably going to want to just carry-on and so I suggest they book with JetBlue.

The benefit and savings on all the airlines tend to go to frequent fliers and airline members. Gain even the basic elite status on most major airlines and you no longer have to pay for your bags. If you join Spirit’s $9 fare club you have access to their lowest fares, a savings of $50 dollars for some of our destinations. Of course, it will cost you $39.95 annually and will not save you on their baggage fees. To consistently really save on airline fees may mean that you need to travel more often and commit to one airline to become a frequent flier. This is not realistic for the person that may travel only once or twice a year or when certain destinations are significantly cheaper on another airline. For instance our search may have produced cheaper fares or different outcomes if we changed departure airports, choosing to fly out of JFK or Newark.

So what does this mean when you are searching for your next flight? For business travelers who tend to make quick trips and carry-on their bags, Spirit may not necessarily be a good option unless there is a difference of more than $100 in the base fares before baggage fees. For the occasional leisure traveler they will need to really compare airlines and the fees. When you see a posted fare, it will be important to now consider the length of the trip and what kind of bag you will be traveling with. I tend to have the unfortunate problem of shopping tons while traveling and then needing to carry-on my purchases, even when I checked my bags. For me Spirit would hardly ever be a good option since I will have to pay for checked bags and a carry-on adding at least $128 to a roundtrip ticket. I could of course just decrease my shopping…but I would rather just shop and choose a different airline. All travelers should never just take a fare at face value but always look to see what the airlines fees for baggage and other add-ons may be. There is nothing worse than having less spending money on a trip because you forgot to include $50 each way for bags and the cost of purchasing food on a five hour flight.

* fares were based upon an online search on April 19, 2010 on the following websites - www.spiritair.com, www.aa.com, and www.jetblue.com .