The great TSA luggage scam
When American Airlines announced two weeks ago their plans to charge for any checked luggage on their flights, the public — as seen through the media — was outraged. How could the money-grubbing airline industry big wigs be looking to charge the poor, helpless wittle consumer yet again?
Gawker, however, wasn’t sold on that populist argument put forth by the American media. Hamilton Nolan sympathized with the PR flacks and airline reps who have and will continue to bear the brunt of the criticism:
As hard as it is to sympathize with the airline industry, they deserve a little sympathy. They were the victim of an easy cheap shot by the national media, which cried “Not another price increase!” while knowing full well that revenue needs to go up one way or another. American’s only mistake here was being the first one to put in this fee. Now that they’ve broken the cherry, watch as all their fellow airlines fall in line.
There is problem though with Nolan’s criticism and the media’s coverage in general. People writing about American Airlines’ plan have, by and large, neglected to touch upon key aspect of the $15 luggage fee: Due to ridiculous TSA measures, a lot of travelers have no choice but to check their luggage.
The TSA, as they are wont to remind us at every opportunity in every U.S. airport, will not allow travelers to take on any sort of container with liquid, gels or aerosols larger than three ounces. While there are prescription medication exceptions, anyone wishing to take a long trip with shampoo or toothpaste or mouthwash or after shave or cologne or perfume will be totally zapped by the American Airlines policies. Travelers can’t take these items on the plane, and while it’s possible to pack a small suitcase for a long trip, toiletries are, by and large a necessity.
So now travelers are faced with two choices. They can continually spend the money on the other end to buy new toiletries or they can pay the airlines a fee to manhandle check luggage. Either way, the traveler is the one getting bilked out of money, and I’m surprised only that it took so long for the airlines to figure out a way to exploit TSA’s so-called security measures for financial gain.
Musings | Benjamin Kabak, June 3, 2008 1:02 am
Todd — June 3, 2008 @ 12:56 pm
I fully expect another increase in TSA fees soon as well. Id’d be very easy to increase those without people noticing.