You run an airline.
Your business is facing the most dramatic economic crisis in your lifetime.
Just to stay alive, you've had to suspend international capacity by a devastating 60% this summer. In desperation, you parked dozens of your disused airplanes in Alabama, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, and your staff has been furloughed. You have no idea how long you can hold on.
What do you do next?
If you're running American Airlines, you raise checked baggage fees.
That's right. In the middle of an industry meltdown, when many travelers don't even know when they'll be flying again, American has decided to hike the fee for the first checked bag for Basic Economy passengers flying across the Atlantic. Not that there are many of those flights going these days.
You tell passengers they must now pay $75 each way for each checked bag instead of $60.
Oh, and also this month, your airline negotiated to accept $5.8 billion in taxpayer funds in the form of grants and special low-interest loans.
This is your airline industry, America.
Do you want things to go back to the way they were before, or are you ready for something different?
