Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., introduced a bill that would stop airlines from charging passengers for their first checked bag. Coinciding with the holiday travel season, the legislation is described as a way to spare passengers from "unfair fees" while encouraging them to ease up a bit on the carry-on bags.
Is this the type of legislation that our Congress thinks is important? No wonder their approval rate is single digits. Ignorance is bliss? Or just rampant in Washington, DC?
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Unemployment is reported to be 9 percent. Most agree that the real number including underemployment is well into the teens, the "Super Committee" failed__no real surprise there, the economy is faltering, there is no leadership coming from the White House, everything they do is politically based (biased?)__and now this?
What's the end game if this legislation passed? Higher fares? Would these higher fares then be "regulated" due to "unfair" pricing? Next step is the airlines will once again file for bankruptcy, leading to more government loans. We could then all drive GM vehicles to the airport to fly airline(s) owned by the tax payers.
No doubt that without these fees, a number of the carriers would have operated in the red this year. If they want to help our industry why don't they do something about the price of oil? Or if there is a concern about how many people take their bags on board, why not fix the TSA process?
Let's face facts; the airline industry is of paramount importance to our overall economy. They have changed their pricing model to add "ancillary fees" while keeping overall fares very reasonable. And these fees are optional, at least to an extent.
And the stupidity of our government continues to amaze!