Carry-Ons to Cost $45 at Spirit Airlines

Expats in Guatemala are angry because Spiritair.com is going to start charging 45 dollars for a carry on bag. I made a joke, and said,
"Soon the airlines will weigh you and make you pay by the pound, maybe we call it."
"Fat American Baggage Fee."

I have been researching the size of Carry On Luggage for years, and in my opinion. 95 percent of carry on bags are too large to be called carry ons if the airlines enforced their own rules.

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Panajachel, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala --- Thursday, April 8, 2010
By Andy Graham of HoboTraveler.com

| Guatemala Hotels
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Only Five People Waiting for Baggage
I took this photo at United Airlines the baggage carousel in New York, City. Normally, with overseas flights, it is easy to find the baggage carousel, I can follow the main group of people from the plane and they lead me to the correct baggage carousel.

This did not work in New York, only five people checked their bag, I thought to myself.
"The plane is top-heavy, this is dangerous."

Good Advice Ignored
I told the old bag of a woman here in Panajachel, Guatemala who was crying the blues in the Dinosaur Coffee shop.
"Weigh all your bags; you need to know exactly how much your luggage weighs."

People Living Overseas
If I were living in Guatemala, every trip I made to the USA, I would carry back as much as possible on the airplane. It just makes sense, the products sold in the USA cost less, the appliance, the televisions, the goal is to have the same quality of life as in the USA, and the only way to do this is to bring things here from the USA.

If you do not want tricky, buy an American Airlines ticket for twice the price.

Ryanair.com is charging people to use the toilet, and I think fat people should pay more.

Truth in advertising is the real problem here, the world has decided that tricky and clever is an acceptable business practice.

"Please do not tell me you never seen one of the baggage size tubular boxes, I know you are not that dumb." Standing in line is part of life, why does this cause you so much emotional pain, does it hurt to be alone with your own thoughts?

Eric a reader did some great research on Carry On Luggage size.

Carry-Ons to Cost $45 at Spirit Airlines

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has written 51 comments

Andy,

Completely agree about the oversize carry-ons that should be checked.

Not only top a heavy plane, but it's cumbersome, people get up and down out of seats more in-flight, takes longer to board and longer to exit.
On a short flight excess carry-ons might even cause it to be late.

In a way, airlines charging for total weight (person and all baggage) makes sense.
More weight, more space taken, and more fuel used.
Think about it, nobody on a flight is paying the same amount anyway.

So long as airlines post their policy and rates in a prominent fashion, I would take no issue.
I think it would allow consumers to better evaluate prices between airlines.
A flat charge for extra baggage isn't fair to people with a bag of feathers versus someone with a bag of rocks.

I know there are some larger folks that can be required to buy 2 tickets if they cannot buckle up with 1 seat. So indirectly this is (sort of) already being done for a persons weight. Larger folks might take offense to this, but it's just the reality of commerce.

Eric

has written 205 comments

Just wear 3 pairs of underware,2 pairs socks,4 shirts,2 pairs shorts,2 pair pants,2 light jackets,load the pockets with more socks undies, a pair of sneakers,camera,gum,can of spam,spam and spam.

Now your packing like a REAL HOBO !

Asiabill from has written 258 comments

What a coincidence! I just joked about the same issue yesterday when checking in in Cebu City about the airlines charging people by their weight and weight of their total baggage meaning more petite people can travel cheaper. Anyone under 50kg / 110lbs could fly for half price.

When we first went back to the States in 95 I was so over confident and naive about starting a small business. After researching and getting use to living there I came to the same conclusion as the issue you mentioned, ( "Truth in advertising is the real problem here, the world has decided that tricky and clever is an acceptable business practice." ) that to compete in the USA one must be dishonest aka tricky, misleading so I gave up the idea and realized how lucky were in the Philippines.

Visited 40 Cities | 2 Photos

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Distance From Guatemala, Panajachel to:
Miles
Kilometers

Accra Ghana
6,184
9,952

Bangkok, Thailand
10,324
16,615

Cairo Egypt
7,513
12,091

Chicago
1,885
3,034

Frankfurt Germany
5,952
9,579

Istanbul, Turkey
7,013
11,285

Johannesburg South Africa
8,506
13,689

Kathmandu, Nepal
9,492
15,276

London
5,470
8,802

Los Angeles
2,152
3,463

Manila, Philippines
9,441
15,193

Mumbai, India
9,865
15,876

New York
2,070
3,332

Orland, Indiana
1,899
3,056

Paris France
5,819
9,365

San Francisco
2,183
3,513

Singapore
10,926
17,584

Tel Aviv Israel
7,616
12,257

Tokyo, Japan
7,621
12,264

Carry-Ons to Cost $45 at Spirit Airlines

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