Things in the Sky

Yesterday a press release from Continental came into my inbox. When I read the first part, “Continental Waives First Bag Fee,” I got quite excited, but then I read the next part: “For Continental Airlines Chase Credit and Debit Cardmembers.”

The perk is pretty much how the headline reads. People traveling with the primary cardholder will receive the waived fee “if they are listed in the same reservation and check in at the same time.” Those who have the Presidential Plus card get both bags for free (one of the nice perks of a card with a $375 annual fee, I guess).

Now, this can be a good perk for flyers who don’t fly often enough to get elite status. According to this page the annual fee for the basic Continental card is $85. So after three roundtrips with a first checked bag, one will make back the annual fee in baggage savings. Heck, a family of three will make it back with just one trip. This perk does make the card a bit more attractive.

But, there is a negative side to this change, of course. Don’t get me wrong, this is a nice benefit for credit card holders, but until a few months ago the first two bags were free, which is still annoying. I think that this move shows that Continental (and probably the other airlines) is planning to hold on to the fees for awhile. If they were planning to drop them due to the drop in oil, why make no bag fee a credit card perk? Record oil prices gave the airlines a convenient time to add on the other fees, but it appears that even an enviornment with lower fuel they will stay. They still provide extra revenue along with other benefits, like the potential of less mishandled bags.

In other words, I think we’re going to have to get used to them.

Note…Ben blogged about this when it was leaked on FlyerTalk if you would like to read his comments.