Fliers pay a high price for checked-bag fees

Last week, while boarding a Southwest Airlines flight, a perky attendant serenaded us to the tune of "On the Sunny Side of the Street." She sang, "Stow your bag and grab a seat. Leave your worries on the jetway. Life can be so sweet with luggage under your feet."

She managed to bring smiles to many of the travelers' faces. But not as many smiles as the woman seated across the aisle from me caused.

This woman had boarded with a lot of baggage. I don't mean the emotional kind that turns ugly when an assigned window seat turns out to be a middle seat. I mean pack-mule-style baggage. But none of us knew it until she began stripping.

She was the human equivalent of a Russian stacking toy.

Her camera fit into her purse, into her computer bag, into her tote bag. She herself fit into a shirt, into a sweater, into a jacket, into another jacket, into a coat (which had two pairs of shoes hanging from its belt). And that's only what we saw.

She stacked all the layers under the seat in front of her. Then, after some creative maneuvering, she managed to force her wheelies into the overhead rack.

"I thought I was the packing expert with my 24-pocket vest," said my seat partner, whose wheelies had to be gate-checked because they were too big to fit into the overhead bin.

I wondered how many people she could fit in a phone booth. Packing was her calling. And if the airlines continue to escalate charges for checked luggage, she could save herself a bundle.

Even before the price of checked baggage started taking off, many travelers preferred carrying on. Most frequent fliers don't trust the baggage handlers or the airlines to deliver their luggage in good condition -- if at all. And with good reason. Complaints about lost and damaged luggage escalate every year.

Because of security restrictions, carrying on luggage is more difficult, but not impossible. Hotels carry sample-sized bottles of most disposable toiletries, such as toothpaste and shampoo. By packing neutral colors and washable garments, travelers can limit their wardrobes to a few items. But today there's more of an incentive to carry on.

It started with weight restrictions. Check a bag weighing more than 50 pounds and, depending on the airline, it might cost you an extra $25. So savvy travelers began dividing the weight between two checked bags.

Then the carriers upped the ante by charging $20 or $25 to check a second bag. American Airlines has again raised the bar. For domestic tickets purchased after June 15, travelers on an American flight will pay $15 to check their first bag. Check a second bag and it costs an additional $25. And it won't be long before the other carriers will also get a charge out of it.

But where we will really pay the price is before we take off. In-flight luggage space, already an endangered species, will become extinct. With no room for baggage on board, more carry-on luggage will need to be gate-checked. And that means more departure delays.

Passengers, trying to defer costs, will find creative ways to bring more luggage through security checkpoints. Which will mean longer security lines and increased hand-checking.

Everyone agrees the airlines are in a bind. But raising the price for checking luggage to fill their coffers could turn out to be a bag full of trouble. That flight attendant might have to scratch her song. We'll all be singing a different tune.