[Amaru]

Originally Posted by v_tec

The check-in agent usually just upgrade me to the next cabin class even without asking

Sweet. Does this upgrade require you to perform sexual favors, or are you just a frequent flyer / member of some airline loyalty club?

Originally Posted by lowside67

That's a nice post but kind of looks like you don't really do much flying within North America on mainline carriers - many of those habits are only applicable to low cost carriers. For example, there are NO North American carriers that I know of that charge for your first bag and a carry-on sized one at that.

Huh? Sorry dude, but that's just not correct at all.

In the past 3 years or so I've flown all four US legacy carriers (United, Delta, American, and US Airways) and all four charge $25 for the first checked bag (on all flights within North America, regardless of flight duration). If you have more than one bag to check, you better get your wallet out, because additional checked bags are usually $75-$100 (and up).

I've also flown Alaska, AirTran, Allegiant, Virgin America, and Aeromexico... they all have the same policy for flights within North America (fees for checked bags). As far as I'm aware, only WestJet, Southwest, and jetBlue do not charge for checked luggage on domestic flights.

Air Canada charges $25 for the first checked bag on flights within North America (I believe the first bag is free is free for flights outside of Canada/US/Mexico though). I believe they made some changes to this policy recently, but they still charge $25/bag for flights within Canada/US.

Most airlines offer 1 free checked bag on trans-continental flights (ie. to Europe or Asia). If I remember correctly, a few shitty carriers charge for checked bags even on their long-haul international routes.

Oh, and the size of the bag doesn't matter (assuming it's under the weight limit of ~50lbs or whatever), it's a flat rate per checked bag for almost all airlines.

Originally Posted by lowside67

Also, as an Air Canada Elite member who travels a ton for work, I can tell you with absolute certainty that there are NO Air Canada flights that lift off with empty bulkhead or emergency row seats. You pay to book them in advance but those with frequent flier status get them for free and they are also released at T-24 hours to the flight.

Interesting. Good to know.

I guess you won't be getting an emergency exit row if you're last to board an Air Canada flight, but if the flight isn't full, you should still have options for a better seat than the one you were assigned.

This strategy should definitely work on United, American, Alaska, and US Airways, though. They're all broke as hell, so they charge extra for these "premium" seats.

(Presumably all these US carriers will ugprade their loyalty club members and frequent flyers to these 'premium' seats for free if asked, but in my experience there's still often empty seats in emergency exit rows, especially on flights to 'vacation' destinations where most passengers are cost-conscious.)

Originally Posted by lowside67

Also... why you would rather board late and have to check your bag below rather than boarding early and guarantee yourself overhead bin space is beyond me...

Well, several reasons.

For starters, if you board the plane at the last minute like I suggested, there may be no overhead bin space left, so checking your bag is going to be required either way. (But boarding last is awesome anyway, since you usually end up with a better seat and you spend less time cramped in a stuffy airplane.)

Secondly, I find it a pain in the ass to have a large and heavy carry-on bag, especially if you've got connecting flights... If checked luggage is free, then I'd say you should just check it at the gate. But, if you don't want to pay the $25 fee and don't want to deal with lugging a big carry-on bag on and off the plane (and across big airports to your connecting flights), then boarding last and offering to check your bag at the gate is a good solution that works quite often.

Originally Posted by 6793026

you know what, if you pull this gig, it might work in US flights, but DANG if you're in Canada, you will get pwned right away.

Ever since the 25 dollar fee for additional luggage, people are taking more on the plane such as a purse, laptop bag and a backpack. What will most likely happen is you going to your seat and end up opening EVERY SINGLE bin above your head and find them ALL full and you'll be super embarrassed cause everyone is watching you play tetris as if you're a retard.

Yes, it's horrible. The $25 checked baggage fee is (imo) one of the main reasons that US airlines are constantly running late... everyone has big carry-on items, including Grandma who can't lift the bag over her head and Retarded Dude who can't figure out how to fit his massive suitcase into the already-full overhead bins.

But, as I said, you ask the gate agent and the flight attendant if they want to check your bag to save space in the overhead bins. If they agree, then you get a free checked bag. If they say no, then there's probably still a decent amount of overhead bin space left, so it's a moot point.