US carriers waive baggage fees for military personnel

Some of the largest US carriers have decided to repeal special fees that would have seen American soldiers paying for extra items of checked luggage. American Airlines, Northwest Airlines and United have all decided to waive these fees for soldiers who are currently on duty and are travelling on orders. Continental also took a similar step and announced that it would suspend its checked luggage surcharges. Northwest Airlines, for example, will permit on-duty military personnel to transport up to three items of checked luggage for no additional fee. Previously, the third checked bag would have cost the serviceman or servicewoman extra. It is, however, well worth remembering that this waiver only applies to active military personnel and even they will be required to pay a surcharge if their luggage weighs more than 70lbs.

The idea to cancel baggage fees for military personnel comes after US carriers faced a great deal of criticism from newspapers, websites and blogs about their decision to charge soldiers. The line of argument used by most critics was that military personnel heading off to a war zone must often travel with an extra heavy duffle-bag, containing their uniform and military gear and it would seem unfair to charge them extra for transporting this. Jim Compton, an executive vice president at Continental Airlines, explained to journalists how his company understands the “special needs” of military personnel. Compton also pointed out that the surcharge waiver would apply to the immediate family of active soldiers.

www.continental.com