High Charge For Those Who Do Not Declare Their Bag Early

Spirit Airline's passengers take note. As of November 6, if you don't let the airline know you're planning to carry a bag into the main cabin of one of their airliners before board, you're going to be slapped with a $100 bagged fee.

Spirit insisted that the fact that the onset of the higher fees coincided with the election was "purely coincidence." Spokesperson Misty Pinson said they did not want the news buried by the election, nor does the airline really want its passengers to have to pay the sky-high fee.

Spirit announced its intentions to introduce a sliding fee schedule based on when a passenger declares they will bring a carry-on bag onto the airplane. Done well in advance or online, the fee can be as low as $25. But wait until you're standing at the jetway, and the charge is $100. Pinson told Good Morning America that the fee is intentionally high to encourage passengers to tell the airline in advance that they will be carrying on a bag. The program is called "Bring Less, Pay Less."

The airline says knowing in advance how much baggage will be on all parts of the plane has helped them save nearly six million gallons of fuel over the past 12 months.

While Spirit was the first U.S.-flagged carrier to charge for carry-on luggage, they have been joined by Allegiant airlines in assessing a carry-on fee. London low-fare airline Wizz also charges for luggage passengers bring on board.

FMI: http://customersupport.spirit.com/entries/21381838-how-much-does-spirit-charge-for-bags