The Tonight Show is on way past my bedtime, so I’m really glad that Terry Maxon at the Airline Biz blog makes a point of posting the jokes and jabs Jay Leno makes about airports and air travel.

All those extra charges and service cutbacks the airlines are announcing are making it way too easy on the Tonight Show writers. From Leno’s monologue last night (June 17, 2008):

“If you’ve been to the airport at all the last couple of weeks, you know the airlines are now charging people to check your bag. One bag, you have to check it now, and they charge you $15 to check a bag, 15 bucks, and 30 bucks if you ever want to see that bag again.”

There’s more….

It’s a fair bet that, for the foreseeable future, there are going to be longer-than-usual lines at curbside check-in kiosks and lobby ticket counters as travelers, airline personnel, and skycaps get accustomed to the new fees most airlines are now – or will soon be – charging for checking more than one bag.

One way to avoid the lines – but not the fees – is to check-in your bags someplace other than the airport. In my USATODAY.com column this week I describe services that allow travelers to check bags at hotel lobbies, convention centers, cruise ships, short and long-term parking lots, and car rental facilities.

Yesterday, May 5^th, United, Continental, Delta, Northwest and US Airways began charging non-exempt passengers $25 for checking a second bag. Soon it will also cost extra to check a second bag on American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, Air Tran, and JetBlue.

Want that money back?

The Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants Group has announced a “We Got Your Bag” promotion. Stay at one of the company’s 43 hotels in the U.S. and Canada between May 22 and Sept 9; show proof of having paid an extra baggage charge; and get a room credit of up to $25.

For rules and details see: www.kimptonhotels.com