American Airlines is Saving Most of us Lots of Money

I had at least 5 people complain to me today about the SFGate piece on American Airlines deciding to charge $15 for each passenger's first checked bag. And every single one of them thought I was an asshole for deciding that I like this policy. Because in the face of insanely high oil prices airlines have two choices: 1) They raise the price of all their flights to compensate for the loss, or 2) they charge the individuals who create more strain on the airplane in the form of checked bags extra money so they are forced to pay for the extra fuel needed to haul their suitcase full of whatever. Maybe it bothers me less because I only own like 4 shirts and one pair of jeans and never have to check a bag.