Since airline passengers who pack overhead bins to the brim can delay departures, carriers have long tried to coax them into checking their luggage.
But long waits at baggage-claim carousels, coupled with increasing reports of mishandled bags, have counteracted that attempt.
Now comes a new problem: airlines are starting to charge a fee for that extra suitcase.
The leader of the pack is Spirit, a Florida-based discounter once known for liberal baggage policies.
The fast-growing carrier has become the first to charge passengers $10 to check a second bag and a whopping $100 for a third.
Many passengers are now checking more than one piece and weight restrictions limit each bag to 50 pounds. Anything over that amount is subject to a surcharge.
Because Spirit is a discount carrier, it is almost conceivable that a passenger could pay more for his luggage than his airline ticket.
Virtually all other carriers allow passengers to check two bags free, as long as both do not exceed the 50-pound limit.
Can the day be coming when passengers themselves are required to step on a scale before receiving boarding passes?
Spirit has no plans to do that but suggests its suitcase tax was an alternative to raising fares.
The carrier flies an all-Airbus fleet that it calls "the youngest in the Americas" and claims to be the leading low-cost carrier to the Caribbean, the Bahamas, and Central America.
Founded in Eastpointe, Mich. in 1980, Spirit serves three dozen destinations, including hubs in Detroit and Ft. Lauderdale, with more than 125 daily flights. It flew nearly five million passengers last year and expects to top that mark in 2007.
