For Air Travel, Pack Your Luggage Light and Save Money

Packing light for an airline flight used to be all about convenience. After all, slinging a backpack over your shoulder or having just one carry on bag with rollers meant you could get out of the airport faster and get on with your vacation. But now with all the airlines starving for cash and charging customers for each bag they check in, it's not only about convenience...it's also about saving hard cold cash! So how can you make sure you don't get a surprise charge at the gate because of your luggage? Make sure you are informed!

It's no secret that the airlines are struggling. Even before oil prices went above $140 a barrel, the airline industry was a razor thin profit margin business. But now with fuel prices getting as high as they are, the airlines are tying to figure out ways to pass along their higher costs to the consumer. If you've been flying at all recently, you know that the airlines are charging their customers for all the little extras that used to be free (well, frankly they were never "free"...but they were included in the price you paid for your ticket). For instance, now you have to buy your meals. I've heard that some airlines won't even serve peanuts and soft drinks anymore. I'm surprised they don't have those coin operated toilets yet...but let's not give them anymore ideas! Ok, back to the topic of luggage...

The airlines have decided that another way to make more money off the consumer is to charge extra for having checked luggage. For example, here's a list of some airlines and their charges for checked bags:

American - first bag $15 / second bag $25

Northwest - first bag $15 / second bag $25

US Airways - first bag $15 / second bag $25

United - first bag $15 / second bag $25

Continental - first bag $0 / second bag $25

Delta - first bag $0 / second bag $25

JetBlue - first bag $0 / second bag $20

Southwest - first bag $0 / second bag $0

Sure, if you fly first class or have a ba-zillion miles/points, they won't charge you for your bags. But for the rest of us "regular" folks, this is the current reality. By the way, if you happen to have a bag that is over your carrier's weight limit or size restrictions you'll pay an additional surcharge...in the neighborhood of $50. And for most of the airlines, a third checked bag is going to cost you an extra $100!

So what can you do? Well, if you absolutely MUST have your checked bags of stuff, you're going to have to pay. But if you can pack a little lighter than usual you can save a pretty good chunk of change. I mean, do you really need to take your rain coat to Hawaii "just in case?"

Most of the airlines still allow one carry on bag as well as a "personal" item, such as a purse or small backpack. So if you can pack all the essentials for your trip into your carry on bags, you'll save on the luggage charges. Keep in mind that they have size limits on the carry on baggage too. Most of the airlines limit the carry on bag to a maximum of 45 linear inches. This means that the height plus the width plus the depth of your bag should be no more than 45 inches. Most carriers also have weight restrictions too...usually 40 pounds for a carry on. But not all airlines adhere to the same limits, so the key is to call ahead to find out exactly what the restrictions are for the particular airline you will be flying.

Yes, times are changing. But be flexible and stay INFORMED! It'll pay off in the end.