Airline "packing" in the fees

Latest round of charges- United, Delta and others will charge $25 to check in the first bag. A flier going from Chicago to San Francisco to stay a few days will be paying 5% to 10% more through these charges. Since these are "charges" the government most likely will not collect taxes. Many of my friends and family members fly Southwest exclusively these days- it does not charge fees for the first two bags, has a better on-time record than many of the majors, and is generally friendly to fly. How long Southwest will maintain this policy remains to be seen.

If an airline's model is to keep its management overhead cost structure the same, in terms of % of a revenue dollar going to management, then the consequence will be fewer flights and more charges. Upper management will take most of the financial pie, and the hardworking flight attendants will bear the brunt of the cut-backs. Purely from an economics point of view, airfares have been too low for a while. Traveling long distances should be expensive- it is resource-hogging. Whether people will switch to rail, bus, or rental cars for more travel, on the margin, remains to be seen.