Cheap flights within USA..but what about baggage?

fifib

trying to find cheap flights from Orlando to Vegas...results include the usual suspects...Delta, AA, UA etc. on sites like cheapflights.co.uk, flightcomparision.co.uk, kayak.com, expedia.com
but when i checked these airlines directly I looks like you have to pay extra for even 1 bag..so does this mean the cheap flights arent so cheap in the end and we have to pay for luggage checkin at airport?
Anyone know much about this?

Mike_Hunt

You could try JetBlue - they are one of the most comfortable airlines I've flown with in the US (personal TV screens, free tea, coffee, snacks and soft drinks and plenty of leg room). The first checked bag is free.

http://www.jetblue.com/deals/first-bag-free/?intcmp=find_flights_firstbagfreepg

Only downside is they will route you through NYC to go Orlando to Vegas.

rossie1977

yes most of the larger us airlines now charge for baggage on internal flights, you pay when you get to the airport, i flew with us airways from phoenix to san francisco in march (booked via ebookers) and the charge was $25 per bag at the airport upon checkin

southwest don't charge for bags so you should check them out for prices

fifib

flew with JetBlue last year - Chicago to NY. really nice flight but unfortunately their not so cheap this time and a whole day is gone going via JFK

Southwestern work out the same as the other flights with Delta and American Airlines...only plus is there are more choice of flight times!

Anyone heard of Airtran..these guys seem to be cheaper again..tho not much selection of flight times for the cheaper prices

Mike_Hunt

Yeah, I've flown with AirTran before and they are certainly no frills but fine all the same.

fifib

ok maybe not so much cheaper now ive spotted this...
Fares shown do not include Airport Passenger Facility Charges of up to $18. The September 11th security fee of up to $10 is not included. Fares do not include segment taxes up to $3.70 per segment. A segment is defined as a takeoff and a landing.

..thought Ryanair were bad for hidden charges!!

edit - my mistake all these charges are added into the taxes at the end..not so bad now still the cheapest then!

rossie1977

airtran are fine, flown with them a few times

GeturGun

rossie1977 wrote: »

southwest don't charge for bags so you should check them out for prices

+1 to this

http://www.southwest.com/

I flew with them twice last year and the fares were good value and you could bring 2 checked bags free.
They also provided free tea coffee soft drinks etc, and there was also (paid) wi-fi on one of our flights!

jack presley

Isn't there an airline in the states that's charging for hand baggage now?

I flew with Jetblue last year and they seem to have a reversed idea on how to generate money. They gave out drinks (non-alcoholic) for free but charged for a blanket or for use of the TV.

ultron

I was about to pay the $25 bag charge when flying from LA to Vegas and then a baggage handler guy at the airport told me that i didn't have to pay because i wasn't a US citizen. The automatic ticket machine doesn't tell you this of course, however, if you approach the desk or someone who is standing by to help with the automatic tickets just inform them of where you're from and they waive the fee. I'm just surprised no one else on here has found this out.

snubbleste

ultron wrote: »

I was about to pay the $25 bag charge when flying from LA to Vegas and then a baggage handler guy at the airport told me that i didn't have to pay because i wasn't a US citizen. The automatic ticket machine doesn't tell you this of course, however, if you approach the desk or someone who is standing by to help with the automatic tickets just inform them of where you're from and they waive the fee. I'm just surprised no one else on here has found this out.

Which airline was this?

ultron

The first time i found out i was flying with United and the second time was with Delta

rossie1977

there is nothing on uniteds website about non-us citizens being exempt

http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,52649,00.html

fifib

GeturGun wrote: »

+1 to this

http://www.southwest.com/

I flew with them twice last year and the fares were good value and you could bring 2 checked bags free.
They also provided free tea coffee soft drinks etc, and there was also (paid) wi-fi on one of our flights!

We booked with Southwest in the end. Flights times were better than Airtran. Though we did have some problems with the booking. it came back as being an error with booking and to try again, so I did and I ended up getting two emails with 2 confirmation number...flights did go through and we'd booked twice!! Doh! but quick phonecall to them and they just cancelled one of them no problems...you wouldnt get that with Ryanair!!

ultron

well if the policy of airlines has been changed i could be wrong. The last time i took united on an internal flight was September 09, and the last time i flew delta was Feb 10, neither time having to pay baggage fees. I've also flown AA and never paid fees. However, if the policy has changed then i apologise becasue i might very well be wrong. I would still choose to not pay until i get to the airport and speak to someone to see if i can get my bag on free.

silja

Utron: I think the fee gets waived not for non-US citizens, but for people who have international connections in and out of the country. Ie my mom flew Switzerland-Atlanta- Fayetteville and return last month, and even though the internal flight was a different airline, she did nothave to pay. But another friend flew here from Ireland; she had to pay for her internal flight because she stayed several days in Boston before flying on to Fayetteville, thus it was not considered the same journey.

ultron

silja wrote: »

Utron: I think the fee gets waived not for non-US citizens, but for people who have international connections in and out of the country. Ie my mom flew Switzerland-Atlanta- Fayetteville and return last month, and even though the internal flight was a different airline, she did nothave to pay. But another friend flew here from Ireland; she had to pay for her internal flight because she stayed several days in Boston before flying on to Fayetteville, thus it was not considered the same journey.

Well i flew LA to vegas and stayed for a week, then flew back to Los angeles so these were not connecting flights. I also flew to Hawaii, chicago, new york and atlanta and did not have to pay.
Note: these flights were in 2009