kitfox446
22nd Feb 2024, 20:20
Today I made an unfortunate discovery, perhaps the weirdest baggage policy I’ve ever encountered, buried in the fine print of American Airlines’ terms of carriage. This rule states that if you have a layover exceeding 16.5 hours, you “may be” charged for luggage again. I was indeed charged double.
I’m in the middle of an international relocation, and to keep things short and sweet, I checked four bags. I paid the fee, but had an overnight layover en route. After collecting my luggage and arriving to recheck it, I was hit with a bill of almost $500, even more than I had paid at the original point of departure.
The desk staff didn’t even know the policy themselves, and had to look it up and check with a supervisor to understand what the computer was saying. But after various calls, they confirmed that yes, I had to pay twice, and I even had to pay the higher international fees even though today’s itinerary is domestic only.
Suffice it say, I’m not happy to be caught out by such a rule, and a quick search of the web reveals quite a few complaints about American but no obvious mention of other airlines.
So, for pilots, cabin crew, and anyone else who might know: is there a reasonable justification for this policy? And do you know of any similar policies at other airlines? I’m struggling to think of a sensible reason for this, given that I had to collect the bags overnight and the airline does not appear to have any special handling requirements
I’m in the middle of an international relocation, and to keep things short and sweet, I checked four bags. I paid the fee, but had an overnight layover en route. After collecting my luggage and arriving to recheck it, I was hit with a bill of almost $500, even more than I had paid at the original point of departure.
The desk staff didn’t even know the policy themselves, and had to look it up and check with a supervisor to understand what the computer was saying. But after various calls, they confirmed that yes, I had to pay twice, and I even had to pay the higher international fees even though today’s itinerary is domestic only.
Suffice it say, I’m not happy to be caught out by such a rule, and a quick search of the web reveals quite a few complaints about American but no obvious mention of other airlines.
So, for pilots, cabin crew, and anyone else who might know: is there a reasonable justification for this policy? And do you know of any similar policies at other airlines? I’m struggling to think of a sensible reason for this, given that I had to collect the bags overnight and the airline does not appear to have any special handling requirements