American Airlines to raise prices

[brnidokiegurl 0]

By DAVID KOENIG, Associated Press Writer

4 minutes ago

FORT WORTH, Texas - American Airlines will start charging $15 for the first checked bag, cut domestic flights and lay off workers as it grapples with record-high fuel prices.

But rival Delta doesn't plan to match American's fee for the first checked bag, a spokeswoman said.

American, the nation's largest carrier, said Wednesday the fee for the first checked bag starts June 15 and that it would raise other fees for services ranging from reservation help to oversized bags. The other fees will mostly range from $5 to $50 per service, the airline said.

Last month American announced it would join other carriers in charging $25 for second bags checked for some passengers, but it wasn't immediately clear how Wednesday's announcement would affect that.

The planned fee on the first checked bag immediately ran into resistance. Delta Air Lines Inc. spokeswoman Betsy Talton said the Atlanta-based airline is considering all of its options in light of $130-a-barrel oil, but doesn't plan to match the $15 fee American announced.

American plans to cut domestic flight capacity by 11 percent to 12 percent in the fourth quarter. American had previously expected fourth-quarter capacity to fall 4.6 percent from the same period in 2007.

Parent AMR Corp. said reduced flying will lead to an undisclosed number of job cuts at both American and its American Eagle subsidiary.

AMR expects to retire 45 to 50 planes from its fleet, most of them gas-guzzling MD-80 aircraft. Those were the plane grounded for faulty wiring last month.

American said rising oil prices have increased its expected annual fuel costs by nearly $3 billion since the start of the year.

AMR shares tumbled $1.10, or 13.4 percent, to $7.10 after the announcement which came as its shareholders gathered for their annual meeting.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Hybrid Airplanes, anyone? Not a bad idea. I might take up on that task!

[SMOKE 1,426]

Hybrid Airplanes, anyone? Not a bad idea. I might take up on that task!

.

Edited May 21, 2008 by SMOKE

[*JG* 2]

Such BS......prices raise and service gets worse.

[HAL 9000 96]

Fly off peak or use no-frills carriers.

[Jack and Barbara 0]

At least have until June 15th before price increase if flying with American.

[pedroh 21]

i know they were also flying 'slower' to save gas

[*JG* 2]

Fly off peak or use no-frills carriers.

What exactly are "frills" anymore? I feel like cattle getting on those planes and the bag of peanuts isn't doing much for me.

[HAL 9000 96]

Fly off peak or use no-frills carriers.

What exactly are "frills" anymore? I feel like cattle getting on those planes and the bag of peanuts isn't doing much for me.

I hear ya... wifey and I'll be going to Colombia on Spirit instead of AA in July. Saved about 50%. We'll see, even though sometimes I think it's all a matter of attitude when flyers pack themselves into a plane during high season.

Nevertheless, I hope the big carriers learn their lesson that they can't nickel and dime their pax and hope to get away with it. OTOH, these moves will make some people fly less, which means those of us with healthy AAdvantage mile balances will end up having our miles re-inflated after some years of having devalued miles thanks to generous earning schemes.

[Ban Hammer 13,340]

Fly off peak or use no-frills carriers.

What exactly are "frills" anymore? I feel like cattle getting on those planes and the bag of peanuts isn't doing much for me.

landing in one piece optional.

[yogib37 3]

Fly off peak or use no-frills carriers.

What exactly are "frills" anymore? I feel like cattle getting on those planes and the bag of peanuts isn't doing much for me.

landing in one piece optional.

Does landing in a corn field count as one piece?

:whistle:

[Donna A 4]

problem is, no one is going to stop flying. no one has really cut back on driving since the big increases. as long as u can still afford to do it then people will.