I saw that JetBlew is going to surge pricing for checked bags, charging more for “peak” travel times and dates. Up to $70 a bag…EACH WAY! WTF?!

Look, these greedy bastards are not going to stop and it’s time everyone who flies screams “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore!” and stop thinking it’s okay to just bend over and pay up. Just like tip jars everywhere, these fees can also be ignored. The nickel-and-diming will continue and people stupidly just put up with it. It’s everywhere we do business it seems and it’s time to fight back.

A travel article I saw about this practice of bag and extraneous fees for air travel on U.S. airlines explains it perfectly. I had no idea about this fee scam airlines are pulling on customers but the truth has arrived.

In a nutshell, if bags are not included in the ticket then the airlines do not pay a 7.5% tax; that means ALL of these fees are all pure profit and it’s why they stopped including checked bags. My guess is that at some point the few airlines who include bags in the ticket will stop doing that as these fees climb. These “budget” airlines claim lower fares but with all the fees you end up paying MORE to fly on them. So why would you do that to yourself?

Look at the link and the dollar figures. It’s crazy. And, you know what? It’s completely avoidable if people just quit packing every damn thing they own in their luggage. It would also speed up the boarding process for everyone.

I flew a couple of budget carriers in Europe and they were okay because they actually have cheap base fares and still have good customer service. But, there are tradeoffs. EasyJet was easily the worst and ranked right down there with Frontier and Spirit. Despite what you may hear about Ryanair it was a very good experience and I would fly them again if I needed a flight within Europe to somewhere not accessible by train.

I have flown Southwest before, but won’t fly them again because I think their fares are no cheaper for less service. I want an assigned seat; I am not interested in general admission (the way people are these days I’m surprised they don’t take people’s seats when they go to the toilet). I don’t check bags so their free baggage is of no benefit to me. Even the CEO of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, has talked about the budget carrier. Unsurprisingly, he pulled no punches but heaped praise on them for their inspiration. Take notice of what he says about checked baggage.

I have not checked a bag in many years – maybe only once in 25-30 years. I have NEVER liked waiting for my bags because I have places to go. Besides, it’s NOT necessary. Before I started using a travel backpack I always used one carry-on sized bag. Now, I travel even lighter so there’s less weight on my back, fewer items to deal with, my bag never gets lost…and I pay no fees. Even my “personal item” (and things in my pockets) goes in my backpack before security and I get out what I need on the plane.

Even going to Europe it’s all carried on my back both on and off the plane. You CAN find wheeled backpacks, but for the extra weight and loss of space it’s not worth it in my opinion. I have been to Europe with an eBags Motherlode TL first time, 2nd trip my 40L Osprey. I also have a 38L and a 28L to downsize further but I’ve not flown with those yet.

Back on topic…

The point is that there is no point in paying bag fees. It’s really fun to backpack travel and can challenge you. You have much more freedom and can save some real money.

Caveats? Sure, there are a few. First, check the bag limits on ALL of your flights during your trip. The lightest weight and smallest size is your limit for the whole trip. I’ve been on domestic European flights with 12kg limits so I bought a portable scale to make sure. European budget carriers are by-the-rules when it comes to everything; they don’t tolerate the nonsense that U.S. carriers stupidly tolerate.

For the next two things I recommend ignoring TikTok, IG, FB and all the other “experts”. Take a trip with your travel pack to your local outfitter or knowledgeable camping/hiking store for real advice on packing and wearing backpacks. Backpackers routinely haul 40-60 lbs. or more on their backs for weeks or months on backcountry trips.

Pack your pack correctly. Packing for a backpacking vacation is similar to packing for a backpacking camping trip in as far as where to put things. The weight has to be in a good spot for balance.

Wear your pack correctly. That means using a hipbelt. Snug on your hips to bear the weight. Carrying weight on your shoulder straps I guarantee you will be hating life the next day. If you don’t wear a backpack correctly you might as well use a duffel bag.

Don’t overstuff your pack. Doesn’t matter if everything you own is in the pack…it has to be packed correctly; it has to fit within the dimensions guides at the gate.

To avoid overstuffed packs don’t take more than what you need…then take out more. Again, they have stores, with candy bars and TP, and other things that will probably shock you.

In closing, many of you probably think “oh, it’s only a few dollars more to check my giant bag.”. If that’s the case, why did you shop for the cheapest fare? If you bought a $200 fare from Seattle to NYC and paid $70 for a bag EACH WAY then your actual ticket price has nearly doubled and you have paid $340 for a $200 ticket. That’s crazy talk.

You SHOULD add ALL fees to your ticket price while trip planning to see what you’re actually paying. Hotels, rental cars, food, splurges are all part of the trip, right? So are those airline fees.

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading my blog!

Shawn