Paying for what you pack: To avoid extra fees, know the rules

Planning on packing for a golfing, fishing, camping or biking outing this summer? How about some shopping in New York or San Francisco?

New airline fees for checked bags could add $30 to $300 or more per person to the price of a round-trip ticket, depending on how many bags and what gear you decide to check.

Consider a mid-July fare of $466 round-trip on American Airlines between Seattle and Chicago.

Add in the airline's new fee of $30 per person round-trip for checking even one bag in economy class, and it jumps to $496. Add an oversized piece of sports equipment, and it's another $150 each way, for a total of $796, just $139 less than the $935 American was quoting last week round-trip between Seattle and London in September.

Know before you go. It's never been more important (or more confusing) when it comes to flying.

Struggling with soaring fuel costs, American Airlines in May became the first major U.S. airline to begin charging some domestic coach passengers $15 each way to check even one bag. (The fees apply for travel within the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.)

This news followed announcements by other carriers (the exception so far is Southwest) that they would begin adding a $25 fee each way for a second checked bag for domestic coach passengers who are not premium members of their frequent-flier programs.

"They're going to do everything possible to change the way people travel in every possible way," says Portland packing expert Susan Foster, author of "Smart Packing for Today's Traveler."

She recalled a conversation with her hairdresser, who recently returned from New York with her sister.

"They got to the airport, and they each had just one checked bag, but of course, they went shopping, and her sister's bag weighed 55 pounds, 5 pounds over the limit.

"They said, 'Oh, come on. It's just 5 pounds over.' That just didn't go anywhere."

Rather than pay the airline's new $100 fee for an overweight bag, she stuffed things in her pockets and her carry-on.

"She got it down to 50 pounds," Foster recalled. "But it was an absolute hassle."

With prices on domestic fares up an average of 20 percent compared to last year, airlines will no doubt keep looking for more ways to raise revenues as fuel costs continue to rise.

Other airlines may follow American's lead and start charging for every bag. In the meantime, travelers may want to avoid those with the highest fees. Southwest Airlines so far charges nothing extra for up to two checked bags, and has the lowest fees for overweight and oversized bags.

Minimizing charges

• Call your airline or check its Web site to find out its fees and how they might apply to what you plan to take.

Wading through information posted on airline Web sites is not most people's idea of how to start a vacation, but that's where you'll find the latest and most reliable information.

Some airlines make this information easier to find than others. On Alaska Airlines' site, for instance, you'll find it by first clicking on "Day of Flight," then "Know Before You Go" and finally "Baggage." Northwest posts its policies under "Travel Tools." United lists its fees under "Services and Information."

Print out a copy of your airline's policy and bring it with you in case there's a dispute.

• Consider alternate shipping methods such as UPS (www.ups.com) or luggage-delivery services such as Sports Express (www.sportsexpress.com), if you're checking an oversized or overweight item.

Kathy Admire, a Seattle photographer, took her tripod out of her bag when a Delta Air Lines agent in Tampa declared it 4 pounds over the limit, even though it was accepted as under 50 pounds at the curbside check-in in Seattle and it weighed in at 49 pounds on a home scale before she left for the airport in Florida.

Rather than pay Delta an extra $80, she had it shipped to her via UPS for $27. The downside was that it took her tripod several days to arrive.

• Keep in mind that checking a second bag weighing up to 50 pounds ($25 each way on most airlines) is cheaper than checking one overweight bag ($50-$150).

"If I had taken a second bag, I could have paid $25, considerably under the $80 fee for the bag weighing in at 54 pounds," Admire said.

• Pay for baggage fees with a credit card. I don't know if this has been tested yet, but the Fair Credit Billing Act allows consumers to dispute Visa and MasterCard charges for unsatisfactory services. If the airline charges you a fee for shipping your bag, then loses or damages it, challenge the charge. Call your credit-card issuer for information, or see its Web site for details. So far, the airlines have said they won't refund fees for luggage that is lost or delayed.

Lighten up

The No. 1 solution to all of this is to pack lighter, either with a carry-on only or a carry-on and one checked bag.

I travel with only a carry-on, no matter how long the trip, because I don't want to risk the hassle of lost luggage. It's true that if more people carry on, it could cause delays at security checkpoints and, as Foster calls it, "bin rage," as passengers fight for coveted space in the overheads. The answer, in my opinion, is to know and obey the rules.

Stick to a maximum 22-inch carry-on, weighing no more than 40 pounds, and one personal item, such as a laptop or purse — not to be interpreted as an extra bag almost as big as a suitcase.

I take a soft-sided bag with wheels that I bought several years ago at Costco for $100. Sturdier and more expensive bags tend to be heavier, so I opted for the lightest bag I could find for the price, 10 pounds after I threw out a liner and an extra garment bag that came with it.

Along with enough clothes to last two weeks with some hand-washing, I take a quart-sized plastic bag with small amounts of any liquids I might need; a camera, chargers and adapter plugs; a mini-hair dryer; notebooks; and an extra pair of glasses. For longer trips, I think about when I can get to a laundry and "budget" my wardrobe accordingly.

My laptop, a 2-pound model, goes into a shoulder bag that doubles as a purse. I also take a flattened-out duffle bag. Weight limits are stricter overseas, so I have the duffel for valuables if I have to check my suitcase. No airline covers damaged or lost cameras, laptops, jewelry, etc., packed in checked luggage.

Not everyone can manage to pack this way or lift her suitcase into the overheads. The point is that it's possible to make do with less than we might think.

"It's a suitcase, not a closet," says Foster. "The more you know, the less you pack."

She offers these tips, some of which are on her Web site at www.smartpacking.com:

• Plan ahead. Know what weather to expect and what your activities might be, then pack the right clothes for the climate and your events. Ignore the urge to add "what if... " items.

• Do a dry run. Pack a day in advance and weigh your bags on the bathroom scale. Use a hotel scale or a scale in the hotel's fitness center for the trip back.

• Downsize the sizes when it comes to toiletries and cosmetics. Use your own small containers, or check www.minimus.biz to order travel-size products online.

• Invest in a lightweight suitcase. The new hard-sided polycarbonate models are durable but expensive. Rimowa makes a 6.5-pound, 22-inch model that sells for about $425. Most travelers could get by with something less durable, such as my Costco bag, or a soft-sided bag that doubles as a backpack and a suitcase with wheels.

Carol Pucci's Travel Wise column runs Sundays in travel. Contact her at 206-464-3701, or cpucci@seattletimes.com