Michael SWS,
Whilst I agree with much of what you've written above, I do think that airport check-in and hold baggage fees are different. Providing airport check-in facilities adds to an airline's costs, as does loading/unloading baggage (not to mention the fuel used in carrying luggage). By "unpackaging" these, passengers pay only for what they use. The same applies to food and drink onboard. In a pevious post I argued that low cost airlines' hold luggage charges are not dissimilar to the excess baggage charges of all airlines. Should they be abolished and all passengers' fares increased to cover the additional costs of those who travel with excess baggage? I don't think many would answer in the affirmative (only, I suspect, travellers with huge amounts of baggage who wouldn't mind others subsidising them)!