Airlines back off extra bag fees for military
Originally published Friday, August 15, 2008 at 1:38 p.m.
Updated Friday, August 15, 2008 at 2:43 p.m.
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Stumble It!WASHINGTON — Some airlines have begun giving military personnel on official travel a pass on expensive baggage fees when they carry heavy duffel bags stuffed with combat gear.
Faced with criticism from veterans groups and others that the fees are a financial burden, several airlines have announced exceptions for service members. AirTran Airways, Delta Air Lines, and Northwest Airlines said Friday they were waiving all or most of their baggage fees for active members of the U.S. military on official travel.
Earlier this week, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air began waiving their fee to check a third bag for active service members.
Many airlines struggling with the high cost of jet fuel implemented or increased baggage fees this year. Some service members, including those deploying to and from combat zones, have said they’ve been asked to pay as much as $300 for extra for overweight duffel bags that may include body armor and other vital combat equipment.
Veterans of Foreign Wars Commander In Chief George Lisicki sent a letter earlier this month to the Air Transport Association, which represents the airline industry, asking for a break for service members. On Friday, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., sent a letter to six major airlines and Defense Secretary Robert Gates asking that airlines who continue to impose baggage fees bill the Pentagon directly rather than have service members pay the fees themselves.
“Members of our armed forces traveling on official orders should not have to bear any cost whatsoever associated with that official travel,” Clinton said. “Our men and women in uniform deserve our utmost respect and gratitude, not additional, unnecessary paperwork.”
David Castelveter, a spokesman for the transport association, said he expects most airlines to drop or modify their fees for military personnel on official travel.
“While we have not seen an official letter from Senator Clinton, we have responded to the VFW commander advising him that the majority of ATA members have reevaluated their baggage policies for military personnel on active duty orders,” Castelveter said.
The Pentagon reimburses service members for bag fees incurred during official travel, but not for personal travel, Defense Department spokeswoman Eileen Lainez said.
Bag fee policies for military personnel vary by airline. Southwest Airlines formally adopted a policy earlier this year waiving bag fees for extra and overweight bags for active duty military personnel on official travel. The policy announced Friday by Northwest allows active duty military personnel on official travel to check up to three bags at no fee as long as the bags don’t weigh more than 70 pounds each.
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This is awesome!!
My husband went down to one of the fires in Calif. as a paramedic and Ak airlines charged him for his extra 2 bags of medical gear. But on the way back they were really nice and didn't charge him extra.
I want to say thank you to the airlines that are doing this for the families that sacrifice so much for our country!!!
I'm glad cooler heads prevailed here and the GIs aren't being charged. I'm not sure why they were being charged to begin with. I travelled extensively on civilian airlines with loads of equipment during my military career and the excess baggage charges were always absorbed when the military travel office made my arrangements.
I remember the good ol days when military flew for 1/2 fair, and if you were in uniform and there was an empty seat in first class you were upgraded. I had that happen a few times in the 80's on TWA airlines. It is good to see that at least some perks are being given to our service members. They are definitely earning it.
Why doesn't the military pay for them to travel if they are traveling officially? That seems off to me.
Cor13 - Your husband can file that as a travel expense and get reimbursed by AFS, and if it's too late for that it's a tax deductible expense because it was for work.
MarieBarr: When it is official travel the military DOES pay for the flight. But, the kicker is, the flight is paid for and scheduled with the cheapest carrier in the area by a central travel system operated by DFAS. So, when it comes to checking bags, or anything else that is not the flight, is coming from the service member.
And you are right about the baggage fees being added to their voucher. It is reimbursable.
Sadly, the peanuts and soft drinks aren't.
They should be adding it to their travel vouchers and getting reimbursed for it. Should be a non issue....
Mit that is what is confusing me. The military is expecting both the person and all their equipment so it seems like a no brainier that it would all be covered by their voucher. True example of military intelligence.
this is weird. In 2000, when I deployed overseas, I had an extra bag, over the 3 limit I think it was at the time (I had extra equipment). They charged me extra and I was reimbursed by the USAF. Whats the big deal?
Well, yes they are reimbursable fees. But for young troops, especially those with families, it can be very painful to pay those fees upfront and wait to be reimbursed. My husband and I could easily absorb these costs, but when an E-1 with two children is confronted with an extra $50 expense on a lean payday, that can really hurt a family's budget. They shouldn't have to dip into cash reserves or savings to do their duty and wait for government to give the money back.
I agree that if the airlines need to charge that money, it needs to be included in the ticket price presented to the military and billed directly to DFAS, not to the service member at the ticket counter. It's not like the military doesn't know by now that body armor weighs a lot!
There never should be any fees for active military on official travel orders. THAT'S the issue. Why have the government pay more outlandish fees from OUR tax dollars. The soldiers are serving for ALL OF US, INCLUDING THE AIRLINES. The non-issue would be no charge, period. It's a no-brainer...which is why it's so hard to comprehend.
Thank you inska. There's your "military intelligence" Marie.
oldakcuss - We are going to pay for it one way or another. The more people that are exempt from traveling fees the higher the costs are going to be for the people that do pay them. So either we pay them through higher fees for flights or through taxes.
Marie...I will gladly pay more for our military not to have to. We so quickly forget, or lack the understanding of why we can even have these types of discussions. It's because of the freedom these brave men and women have shown in giving us the right to live like we do. God Bless all of them and shame on the airlines for trying to make a buck for our freedom. America has sadly declined.
Great, so I'm stuck covering the bill for some yahoo soldier who's being shipped off with tons of gear. I don't think so. It pisses me off.
Two threads in a row for SlyArcticFox, did a soldier get your wife pregnant? You are a dick.
no prob man, I've been called worse :-)
Sly - Um, did you ever think that you are paying for it anyway? You are a taxpayer, correct? The military pays to fly us (yes, I am miitary) to our deployed/TDY locations, baggage and all... Where do you think the money comes from? Oh, light bulb??? So, thank you for paying for my roundtrip ticket to Iraq, to include my food, travel, lodging and extra baggage:)
Sly and Marie- quit complaining about paying taxes for the military. The military pays taxes as well, so we don't need you to pay OUR taxes when we pay our own taxes. I am so sick of people thinking that military gets everything handed to them for free. Let me clue you into something. The military fights for your freedom which is free to you but the militaries freedom is not free.
i am tired of this... me and my husband are not military but we work very hard and the military gets discounts complains about stores in fairbanks if they dont offer discounts and now this....they dont worry about medical bills high grocery bills and some luck out in rent also so a little bit of extra at the airport should not be excused for them.... thy are military not royalty .. but what do i know i work and pay for everything and i dont expect hand outs and people kissing my backside just because i work and pay my bills...HOW MUCH DO THEY PAY FOR GAS ON BASE.... THIS IS MY OWN OPINION WHICH I KNOW WILL CAUSE INSUL5TS BEING TYPED TO ME BUT HEY I CALL IT LIKE I SEE IT... I DID NOT GO INTO THE MILITARY DOES THIS MAKE ME A LESSER OF A PERSON.....who ever reads this go to your ahard working neighbor and tell them your doing ga great job by working and taking cre of your family or telling them there jb is important...ARMY WIFE. you chose to marry into the army and you chose your life..if freedom is not free to you then your health care is and you do not have to worry about food or medicine for your children or being homeless...there is the freedom some of us hard working civilians do not have
Daisies, First off I was married to my husband 6 years before he decided to go military. Second off when i go to a store I do not ask or take military discount because I do not feel that it is fair to non military and if they don't get it then i should not receive it as well. Gas on post is $4.45 per gallon and honey the food on post is not cheaper either. I do all my shopping off post because unlike nonmilitary stores the food store on post does charge a surcharge to pay for the maintance on the building. Yes I may recieve free healthcare but I don't have the option to pick my doctor and the so called doctors on post, some of them are not real doctors. I would love to pay to see a doctor that does not pass out motrin like it is candy that heals everything. And get your facts straight, my husband is military, he signed up for it, I am civilian and I do work and go to college paid for by the compliments of my job.
I expected to pay for carseat and fishing poles when I traveled. Boy was I surprised when they told me they went at no charge! Car seats and strollers and anything of sports are not charged on AK Airlines, sure hope they keep it that way.
"Someone" is ALWAYS subsidizing "Someone Else".
Case in point: Lil' Granny, all 94 pounds of her, flies out to South Dakota with 65 pounds of baggage. Whoops! Way over the limit there, Granny. Big surcharge for you and those suitcases.
Sitting next to here is Big Bubba, all 293 pounds of him, plus his 23 pound suitcase. No extra fare for lugging his lardbutt around....although he tops off at twice Granny.
Now, that DC-10's engines don't give a rat's pattootie WHERE that mass comes from. The extra fuel burnt comes from Big Bubba's doubleweight. It is absolutely unjust Granny is subsidizing Monsieur Porky.
Helicpoter flights routinely charge on a per-mass basis. Some small-craft airlines do. European carriers are freeing themselves of this "oh, it's so sensitive to discuss that you're a pig" concept. The sooner American lines do the same, we can begin to free ourselves of one more ridiculous cultural taboo.
The airlines would do well to just place each passenger and their luggage together on a scale and charge for any "overage". Lardbutts and grannies alike.
But, yes, I do agree that the military should not be charged for having to pack their combat gear. The airlines didn't put a lot of thought into implementing this new fee... not with all the $$$$$$$ spinning in their heads!
Thanks BigOldMooseHunter.
Glad someone finally said it like it is.
I, for one, am very glad that the airlines are not charging military personnel for their excess baggage.
Yes, they did volunteer and I thank God they did. I think they earn every thing they get and a lot more. The sacrifices they and their families make are incredible. I want all military persons and their families to know that I am greatful and fully appreciate their sacrifices.
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