AA really needs to get a new PR agency, and a new spokesman.
"The airline defended the fee, saying it was a bargain compared with the
cost of shipping a 45-pound bag overnight on a package-delivery company.
A spokesman for the airline said the cost of sending a bag from Dallas
to New York would range from $150 to $230 or more."
"
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2004459633_webamericanbaggage05.htm..."
AA was apparently taken by surprise when no other airlines followed
their lead in charging for the first checked bag.
It'd be one thing if AA was at least $30 cheaper than competing airlines
for the same route, but in fact, on two routes I checked for the heck of
it they are more expensive (though on one of them I'd pay more for AA
because they are non-stop).
