=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/c/a/2008/12/24/BUAD14U0SJ= .DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, December 24, 2008 (SF Chronicle) Airlines keep extra fees despite oil price fall Harry R. Weber, Associated Press (12-24) 04:00 PST Atlanta -- When airlines started charging some passengers $15 or more earlier this year to check their bags, they blamed soaring fuel costs. Since then, oil has plummeted. Yet the industry hasn't stowed away the bag fees. Many of us are still paying to fly with a suitcase that doesn't squeeze into the overhead bin or under the seat. The reason is simple: Airlines are still losing money, though now largely because of the recession instead of oil. And don't expect the fee to disappear even when the economy rebounds. Airlines are finding the fees to be a reliable source of revenue and say that such charges allow passengers to choose only the services they want. Passengers, meanwhile, are paying up and grumbling. Many are being socke= d, on average, $15 for the first bag and $25 for the second. "I think it's unfair, and I think it's highway robbery," said Benjamin Johnson, a 38-year-old government employee, as he headed from Atlanta to Orlando. For the airlines, the bag fees, on top of charges for other once-free amenities, add up to much-needed revenue. The industry is expected to lose $4 billion for 2008 despite the plunge in the price of a barrel of oil from $147 in July to $40 this week, said Calyon Securities airline analyst Ray Neidl. Airlines now say they are being hurt by the recession, which has caused demand for seats to drop. The International Air Transport Association said global passenger traffic declined 1.3 percent in October from a year earlier. "While fuel prices have fallen, the economy has created a new uncertainty for us, and the industry's going to lose billions of dollars this year," said Doug Parker, chief of US Airways Group Inc. "Indeed, it was fuel-driven economic concerns, but now we have different economic concerns. And having said that, I, for one at least, believe it's the right model for the business, irrespective of what environment we're in." -= --------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2008 SF Chronicle <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".