Alaska announced some fee changes today for tickets purchased on or after October 30, 2013, and I actually think they're not giving themselves enough credit. The bad news is that they're increasing the cost of checked bags. The old checked bag fees were as follows: While the checked bag fees for tickets purchased on or…
Continue reading: Alaska mostly increases fees… I give them kudos!
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
lucky, you seemed to have grown quite a liking to Alaska lately. last year, they couldn't no anything right (they were the most weird airline, companion pass devaluation, etc).
does EK redemptions have anything to do with it 🙂
@ T3pleShot -- Hah, maybe I'm not expressing myself properly, because my thoughts on them haven't changed on bit.
I still find them bizarre, I still think I'm getting on a bus every time I step on an Alaska plane, and I still think their first class product makes that of the legacies look good.
But they're also extremely reliable and consistent, and have a good mileage program. So it's not that I love the airline as such, I just think they're really strong with their core competencies.
And don't forget that once you've booked your ticket on Alaska, and the airfare drops, they'll give you a travel voucher for the difference!
Strange how you see raising the fees which affect most travelers as a good thing.
The waived change fee 60 days out is nice, but the number of people who can take advantage of that is very, very, very small. The number of people who will be affected by the higher baggage fees is much higher. The company expects this change to pad their books by ~50mm annually. How is that good for passengers??
@ Wandering Aramean -- I said the increase in baggage fees sucks. I don't like that change at all. But purely in terms of the adjustments to change fees, I think that's a wash.
So you think higher bag fees, which affect far more customers, are OK because a few will get away with lower change fees in some scenarios and much higher change fees in others?
Something about that math doesn't add up to me.
I flew AS in first ANC-SEA last week. Champagne was available, the lunch was good, and the hand-held digiplayers had good material. No complaints!
@ Wandering Aramean -- Apparently I wasn't clear:
-- The increase in bag fees sucks
-- Looking only at the adjustment in change fees, I think they're a wash
On the whole this is a negative change because of the increase in bag fees. But I'm looking at the two changes individually, since either could occur without the other.
I agree with Lucky on this one. They have a fair cancellation policy which I think most people can logically understand even if they disagree with it. As for the baggage fee, airlines have every incentive to raise them since this revenue is not taxed. Can't fault the airline for trying to shift revenue to untaxed auxillary services.
fees are fees, and I dont like em one bit. Especially raising the fees for baggage to $25.00, which Southwest doesn't even have.
So what are you giving them "kudos" for?? If it is overall a negative change, which you seem to acknowledge, why encourage them?
@ Wandering Aramean -- I'm giving them kudos for the way they adjusted the change fees. While they're a wash as such (I think), the system makes more sense.