Spirit Airlines sparked ire last week by announcing it would start charging $45 for carry-on luggage. And it's not just average, in-debt Americans who are angry: The wrath was felt all the way in Washington, where New York senator Chuck Schumer says he wants such airline fees outlawed. Should airlines be able to "nickle and dime" their customers' most basic on-board rights? (Watch the Spirit CEO defend the carry-on charge)
This fee is downright criminal: Charging an extra fee for a carry-on is an "abusive practice," said Schumer in an April 12 press release. For business people who rely on the convenience of carry-on, as well as families who need carry-on luggage to stow medicines and other "emergency supplies," Spirit Air's fee is an inexcusable "slap in the face."
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