Spirit Airlines, one of the leading value airlines in the United States, has a new incentive program aimed at reducing the airline’s overhead costs and passing the savings on to their customers.

While Spirit allows all customers one free carry-on that will fit under the seat in front of them, all other carry-on bags and checked bags must be paid for. This enables the airline to offer low base fares to passengers.

In the booking and checking-in process, Spirit offers many opportunities for travelers to pay a nominal fee for their luggage, but some people still wait until the last minute to pay for their carry-ons at the boarding gate. This can cause slow boarding and delayed flights.

Starting November 6, customers who wait until the last minute to purchase their carry-on at the boarding gate will be charged $100. The $100 carry-on bag fee is intentionally set high to deter costly delay-causing gate activity.

Much lower priced options are available for those who plan ahead and reserve their bags in advance with prices from as little as $20.

“Our goal is for no customer ever to pay the $100 fee,” says Spirit’s Chief Operating Officer Tony Lefebvre. “Spirit offers our customers multiple opportunities to avoid this unnecessary fee and save money. By planning ahead and paying for bags before getting to the boarding gate, our customers are saving time at the airport and speeding up the boarding process. When our customers choose these time-saving, self-service options, our costs go down, and we can pass those savings along to our customers.”

Spirit says advance planning can bring significant savings to customers if they purchase their bags in advance online when making their reservation, when checking in online, at an airport kiosk, or at an airport ticket counter. Checked bags are available for as low as $20 and carry-ons for as little as $25 (including priority boarding).

1 Comment On "Spirit Airlines Charges $100 to Check a Bag at the Gate"
  1. Marie|

    Now only if all airlines would do this. I’ve seen so many lazy passengers tie up an entire flight (and not just that one, all the flights for the rest of the day) that its about time they get charged. Cruise ships will leave those who don’t make it back to the ship in time – they have a schedule to follow. Even if you are lucky enough that they wait for you, you get hit with a pretty hefty fee. People got to realize time is money at some point.

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