Blog: Dermot Cole
Some good news in the Alaska Airlines $15 baggage fee to Lower 48
Published Thursday, April 23, 2009
•Alaska Airlines announced it will start charging $15 July 7 for checking one bag to the Lower 48, but it will give passengers $25 off a future flight if the bag isn't delivered in 25 minutes. Who has the stopwatch?
Here's is what the airline said today:
First checked bag service charge and guarantee
Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air also announced they will join nearly all major domestic carriers in charging for a first checked bag.
The $15 service charge — effective July 7 for tickets purchased beginning May 1 — includes a guarantee to compensate passengers if their luggage is not at baggage claim 25 minutes after their flight parks at the gate.
"We're adapting to a marketplace in which customers increasingly want the lowest fare possible, with the option to pay extra to use other services," (CEO William) Ayer said. "We want to continue matching the lowest fare in the market without being at a revenue disadvantage to our competitors. But we're also going to provide customers more value for what we're charging through the bag service guarantee, which no other airline offers."
Customers whose luggage is not at baggage claim within 25 minutes after their flight parks at the gate will receive 2,500 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles or $25 off a future flight.
First class, MVP and MVP Gold Mileage Plan members, unaccompanied minors, military personnel on active duty and passengers traveling to or from Mexico City and Guadalajara, Mexico, will not be charged for a first checked bag.
Customers traveling solely within the state of Alaska also will continue to be allowed three free checked bags.
In conjunction with the change, the service charge for a third bag will drop from $100 to $50, so passengers who check three bags will pay a total of $90 instead of $125. The second checked bag charge will remain at $25. Passengers checking two bags will pay a total of $40. The fees for overweight and oversized bags, currently $50 or $75 depending on weight and size, also will not change.
•Losses continue for Permanent Fund: The Alaska Permanent Fund lost nearly 5 percent in the third quarter of its fiscal year, but it could have been worse. The total value at the end of March was $27.4 billion, down $1.4 billion from the start of the quarter. In the last three weeks, however, it has climbed to $29.1 billion.
“It’s too early to say we’re out of the woods, but it feels good to have seen a few weeks of positive returns,” said CEO Michael J. Burns in a press release. “We’re not calling the bottom of the market yet, but we are hopeful that the worst is behind us.”
The Fund’s U.S., non-U.S. and global stock portfolios returned 9.1%, 7.7% and 7.0% respectively, contributing to a 4.3% Fund return for March, the announcement said.
However, the same stock portfolios returned -9.5%, -9.6% and -11.6% respectively for the quarter.
The Fund lost $1.3 billion in statutory net income, the value used to calculate the Permanent Fund Dividend distribution. The cumulative year-to-date value for statutory net income is -$2.3 billion, the press release said.
•The Denali Park road will be open to Mile 30 Friday morning, weather permitting. It will cost you $20 to drive into the park.
The road is to stay open to private vehicles until May 19. The shuttle bus system will be in operation May 20.
Look for lynx, wolves, caribou, moose, Dal sheep, ptarmigan, eagles and snowshoe hare. But chances are you will see more snow, ice and mud than any of the aforementioned.
•The feds are picking up the legal bills for the six prosecutors in the Ted Stevens case who are now under investigation.
The Web site TPMmuckraker says, "The Justice Department confirmed to TPMmuckraker that the prosecutors -- who are being investigated for criminal contempt in connection to misconduct in the Ted Stevens case -- requested representation under a DOJ provision that applies to employees who run into legal trouble while doing their jobs, and that the request was authorized."
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