I don’t have a problem paying for extra bags, but I didn’t care for having to pay American Airlines an overweight bag fee for my one check-in bag for my SO and I. Our bag was 7lbs over weight-- the weight of a few pairs of jeans. They suggested I buy another suitcase (!) and offload some weight into it. How does it make sense that one slightly fat bag merits a fee, but the exact same bag under the weight limit PLUS one more bag is free?
I imagine they might have some union trouble if the baggage handlers could consistently show that the airline was knowingly violating the single-bag weight limit agreed to in their contracts.
No limit to how many bags they throw, but definitely a limit on how heavy a bag.
I do know they allow heavier bags. They stick an orange HEAVY BAG tag on it. I have seen numerous bags in baggage claim areas in several airports with similar tags. So unless baggage handlers are paid extra for HEAVY BAG bags or something, it shouldn’t be an issue for them.
I know airlines have to set a limit on the weight of bags (otherwise, what’s to stop me from taking my dark matter collection everywhere? 
) but it seems pretty customer-unfriendly to be inflexible about this, especially when it winds up costing the customer $50.
I’ll just resume my habit of not checking in luggage. It’s not worth the hassle and damage my bags have seen.
Insurance is partly an issue.
I think it is the “Wal-Mart Mentality”. Most business models have shown that a large contingent of the population would rather give up extra perks (more checked bags, in-flight booze, meals, etc.) in exchange for a lower fare.
If the public demanded it differently, the fares would be triple, but you could sit in your own lazy boy with an airline maiden feeding you grapes while fanning you.
Cost savings is what the average American looks at…
On the last trip I went on, I left home with one bag (checked) and a “purse”. On the return flight, I had a second bag, so I called it a carry-on, then gate-checked it.
Don’t worry, now American is charging you to check your first bag as well.
And it is interesting to see that their stock price dropped after the announcement. Their CEO says the increase will raise hundreds of millions of dollars - for the competitors, maybe.
The article I read (here ) also said that they were going to charge for reservations help. Oh, wonderful - charge prospective customers. That will drive them elsewhere.
The article in dalej42 linked to has a wonderful quote
The nerve of customers to want better service at lower prices. We’ll show them by charging higher prices for worse service. I suspect people would understand fuel surcharges, but will object to getting nickel and dimed.
Among the problems I see with this is a much worse situation in the cabin for people bringing stuff on, and slower check-in lines as people have to pay for their bags. The kiosk system has sped up check-in almost more than security has slowed it down - goodbye to that.
S&P changed the target price from $10 to $2, btw.
I’ve been a member of American’s frequent flier program since the mid-80s, and during 2005-2006 I was flying on an almost monthly basis, which enabled me to get several free flights out of them. If the flights I currently have booked for the rest of this year show the problems that Voyager predicted - and I expect they will - I’m probably going to use up my frequent flier miles and then switch to Southwest for as much of my future flying as possible.
Incidentally, it was American I flew with. Guess I didn’t know how good I had it.
edit: oops, that quote was from this article
Here’s the bit I really like from that article:
Um. That’s not cost-containment at all. They’re not containing their costs, keeping them in check, or cutting them even. They’re just passing them along to their customers.
Too stupid to even manage their business doublespeak correctly.