American Airlines on Tuesday (May 21) announced in a statement that it is going to cut costs for passengers traveling with musical instruments or sporting gears along with them.
Effective immediately, the airline company will cease to charge its passengers an extra $150 to check in sporting equipment such as bicycles or surfboards, or big musical instruments, for instance, a cello. These items which were earlier considered as oversized baggage will now be covered by the regular $30 fee for checked baggage, regarded the item weighs less than 50 pounds.
Moreover, in the coming winter, people who have plans to head to the southern hemisphere, skiers will be allowed to include their skis as well as their equipment bag under single baggage regarded the weight is below the limit.
Corporate Communications associate at American Airlines, Ross Feinstein, stated that American Airlines has taken the decision of reducing the cost of flying for athletes and musicians based on the customer as well as employee feedback.
Though the airline has clarified that it will continue to levy extra charges for some sporting gears as well as specialty items like the scuba tanks and antlers due to its different handling requirements.
The carrier’s announcement isn’t going to impact too many of its travelers, as it doesn’t seem likely that the decision will bring on a bigger shift till date. Most airlines still depend heavily on charges levied on different apparatus as a way to bring up their revenue while keeping ticket prices lower.
There is no universal standard followed by airline companies that make this process easier on passengers. For instance, American Airlines currently allows surfboards to be carried on a flight for free, as does United Airlines regarding the passenger’s itinerary includes California as the start destination or as an end destination. Delta Air, on the other hand, charges as much as $150 to check in one above-mentioned item regardless of the destination.
