Should congress ban airlines from charging for carry-on luggage?

This is going to sound bad but I have not even heard of Spirit Airline. If Spirit wants to charge their customers for their carry on bag, then customer should stop using Spirit for another airline. Alright another problem solved.

I have to add a great big "NO WAY" to all of the other objections, and for the very same reasons, too. Let the consumers use their power to let Spirit know how foolish this is. When my daughter flew up north this past summer I was comparing flights as I always do and Southwest beat the competition because, unlike some others, they didn't charge for the second checked bag. My daughter always needs two large suitcases and one carry on. We've used Spirit in the past....but we don't HAVE to use them.

Yes. It is already expensive enough as it is to travel, and I do not want to pay $45 more for carry on. Also, I usually have two bags when I travel. I don't want to have to pay $45 on top of everything else that I already have to pay when I go somewhere.

Sure, why not, they have taken over damn near every other industry in this country..why not airlines too. Sarcasm aside....NO, they shouldn't, they can't and they had better no try.

Absolutely not. Taking on problems like this just takes up time they should be using for more important things. Plus I don't think it's their responsibility to be deciding how businesses operate.

No, congress should not ban airlines from doing this. The government has too much control over our lives already, they don't need any more. If people don't want to pay extra for bringing carry-ons than they should either stop bringing carry-ons or else stop using that particular airline.

No. Why do you think the government is the answer to everything we don't like? Do we not have any power whatsoever? Can we not choose how to travel if we don't like what one way is doing? Are we so inept that we can't even do that??

I vote a BIG hell NO! If they want to charge for baggage, then as consumers, we can stop purchasing tickets from them. It is driving me absolutely nuts at the audacity of these people wanting to tell businesses how to run. Now, if Chuck is the owner or even a stock holder, then he may have a say but not as a Senator.

No. Given the opportunity, the Market will take care of problems like this. When people have a choice, they will always choose the better and cheaper one. This is just another example of the government trying to intervene where they have no business doing so.

Well I read in a UK newspaper about an airline that has put locks on toilet doors that you have to put a £ - one pound coin in to use the toilet. I will get to see soon what American Airlines is doing - we fly on one of their planes from UK to Chicago May 20th.

Either they charge people who bring a suitcase extra, or they raise the price for everyone. Charging for luggage is a way to lower the base price of a ticket.

In a word...NO. It is not their responsibility to do this. It should be determined by the corporations....if the public does not like their decision...then don't get tickets on that airline. If they loose enough business they will change the policy. The government is really sticking their nose where it does not belong.

I guess I'll add my 2 cents and say that while I'm against the airlines charging for carry on bags or any of the other myriad things they charge extra for now, the government has no business intruding on the free market system and telling a business what it can or can't charge money for. The free market system will take care of itself. People will book with other airlines if they don't like it. If enough people do that, they will have to stop the practice to get customers back. We don't need the idiots in federal government trying to control every little thing. That's what they do in socialist and communist countries.

These are high fee especially when your ticket is kind of expensive too. They need to make the money to keep the planes going to. it cost a lot to fly these planes, people forget that. some people need everything and then some for a couple days is it fair to not have the room for your luggage if some people go over board?.

I feel the airlines make way too much money already and they belly ache about loss, cut they are going to just make people find other modes of travel and people are not going to be able to afford it after awhile. I heard they want to charge you to use the bathroom too. Hey when I gotta go I gotta go and no time to pay a quarter or 50 cents to pee. Plus that is just abusive as well to small children and people with health problems. I also think it is wrong to charge a large person for two seats. People are not always large because of over eating that is a false concept. While there are many who are over weight because of eating too much there are others with genetics, and metabolism problems, diabetes, and hypothyrodism which is a medical condition and causes weight gain and until it is diagonesed and treated properly it is not that persons fault. That is blatant hate crime and discrimination. No they should not charge for carry on luggage, going to the bath room or for a large person for extra seat. It is all wrong and greed.

No. It's not their job. Anyway, the free-market capitalism system works just fine, left alone. I trust that the airlines which do this will find their clientele shrinking for all but necessary flights, plus I think some wise person will design some sort of luggage one can wear, in order to simply carry it on the body at all times, eliminating the need for storage. I always travel light, & I could probably design such a thing myself. It might be in the form of some kind of multi-pocketed jacket, for example. No, let's not let the government do this, too. Maggiepie GO TO Open Mike CATEGORY & TALK ABOUT ANYTHING--EVEN 2 or MORE TOPICS AT ONCE!

The US is a free market with some regulation. The idea of congress trying to regulate carry on baggage is absurd. If you do not like it fly southwestern airlines or another airline .This is what the free market is all about. Socialism is where everything is regulated and the free market is not allowed to function. However something like the the coal mine disaster in West VA is an example where regulators were asleep at the switch. However, in China they lose 9 miners a day and do not get alarmed.Clearly priorities in regulation need to be set. The cost of carry on baggage is not one of them since it is controlled by the free market.

im with you on the fence on this one. i mean they wont be able to control international airlines that arent american i wouldnt think and it isnt a business they own so it would be like them telling mcdonalds they cant charge X for a burger.. yet some one needs to slap some sense into these airlines! prices just keep going up and up and pretty soon it will be cheaper to just fly in the clothes on your back.. buy outfits when you land and ship them post back and fly back in the same outfit!

Not at all! That isn't part of a free country. Airlines could get around it anyway by increasing other costs, harming people that do not take much luggage.

I'm neutral on this topic, since I rarely if ever fly, and I assume it will be costly from the start. So, if you wish to ban it fine. If not, fine. There is one thing you should know about that before making your choice. There is a reason airlines have fees for additional services. The reason is so that people who use more services, get charged more money. The alternative is that everyone get's charged more. A company must make a profit. They wouldn't offer you the service, if they couldn't make a profit. They will get that profit, one way or another. If you ban the ability for airlines to charge more for using overhead racks, they will simply charge everyone more. So if you bring on nothing, or one hand bag, you will be charged more, but the same as a guy who brings on 3 massive cases and bags. Is that what you want? Then ban charging fees for carry-on luggage. Don't think that's how it works? Look at credit cards. Congress prevented companies from charging fees and interest hikes on individual. Now interest rates have been hiked on everyone. Look at health insurance. Congress passed elimination of pre-existing conditions, and controls on charging high-risk people higher premiums, and now insurance premiums are being hiked on everyone. This is how the world works. So if you want to go that way, the ban fees on extra services, like carry-ons.