More carry-on luggage costing TSA millions (200+) a year

[The Straight Story]

More carry-on luggage costing TSA millions a year

WASHINGTON – Choosing to carry your luggage onto a plane instead of checking it with an airline might save you a few bucks at the ticket counter but it's costing taxpayers about a quarter-billion dollars a year.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told Congress this week that luggage fees have prompted more passengers to hold onto their bags, which means more items for Transportation Security Administration officers to inspect at security checkpoints at a cost of about $260 million annually.

"When you have to pay to check a bag it increases carry-on luggage and that means there is more to inspect at the gate and so forth for passengers to get on planes," Napolitano said during testimony before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on homeland security.

Napolitano was addressing a question from Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat and chairwoman of the subcommittee, who asked whether airlines should help make up for some of the extra costs.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_tsa_baggage_fees

[phantom power]

1. Maybe we could downsize our splendid TSA airport police state?

Just spitballing

[GKirk]

2. Let the TSA

subsidize the cost of our checked luggage. It's a win win.

[SharonAnn]

3. The law of untinded consequences. Or perhaps intended.

If it costs the taxpayer, then it doesn't cost the airline directly. Except, of course, for space and fuel.

I've often wondered about what seems to be the false economy of carrying on luggage to avoid being charged extra.

[Angry Dragon]

4. Where is she getting this information??

They have to check all the baggage any way. If it goes through carry on or if you check it, same amount of baggage.

[The Straight Story]

7. Here is how it works:

You pay someone $X, say a soldier. Their job is to guard a base in the US.

Now soldier is at war. You are still paying him, but now his cost is shifted from guarding to fighting, so now we can say the war (or TSA job/etc) is costing us x * #soldiers (plus gas/etc).

Even though the cost is already there, it is 'shifted' to gain funding - and here is the KEY -> TSA folks are seen as 'producing' something, and if they are distracted from one area to another, it 'costs' time, and time = money, so we need more agents and fees.

:)

[mythology]

11. I imagine the difference is in the depth of the scanning

The list of things you can't take on a plane in a checked bag is smaller than in a carry on bag. More carry on bags will have to be checked with the computer and then visually by a person.

Of course this would indicate that we should probably not have to unpack a bag because somebody brought a full can of shaving cream, but that's not likely to happen any time soon.

[liberal N proud]

5. What? - the air lines have not allowed more luggage to be carried on

Nothing has changed except people are cramming more into their carry on and the sizes are the maximum allowed and sometimes more.

But each person is allowed to carry on X number of bags.

[Hutzpa]

6. Well tell the airlines to stop charging people for luggages.

it's as simple as that, create a law that will prevent airlines charging for one luggage and
that it should be used as an incentive not a determent.

[Blue_Tires]

9. never gonna happen

the airliners are absolutely giddy over the mountains of cash baggage fees are bringing in...

[soleft]

8. It's also causing delays as bags are getting checked at the last minute

I flew last weekend and on all four legs the overhead compartments became too full and the last people to board had their bags tagged and taken.

[lame54]

10. This does not add up...

do they not inspect checked bags?

since there are less checked bags they can move that personnel to inspect unchecked bags

[2Design]

12. the tsa is costing the airlines customers and the government is costing

the airlines so they are implementing fees to make up for the high cost of security theater