A month ago I wrote about the $2/bag skycap fee at American Airlines. At the time I thought American was out ahead of the industry, charging more than everybody else just like with the $15 fee for checking a first bag.
But it turns out Delta is one up on American. I flew Sunday morning out of Salt Lake City and paid $3/bag to skycap. The gentleman at the skycap helpfully pointed out that the $3 goes to Delta and not to him, just in case I didn’t see the sign that said the $3 fee didn’t include a tip.
So I paid him another $1/bag, for a total of $16 to check 4 bags.
Was it a lot? Yea.
Was it worth it? Probably not.
But it saved my pregnant wife and me a short walk carrying a lot of bags, an extra wait in line at the check-in counter, and the risk of missing our flight (we had arrived late at the airport, as always).
Maybe it was worth it.
But the story doesn’t end there. My $16 bought me a precious piece of knowledge worth oh so much more than $16. The skycap guy pointed out that had I checked in online I could skycap my bags for no fee. I wasn’t sure I heard right so I asked him to clarify. Apparently it’s true. If you check in online before you leave for the airport, you can check your bags at the Delta skycap for no fee. Be a nice guy though and still pay a tip of at least $1/bag.
I usually check in online. I didn’t this time because I was at my brother’s house and his printer was broken so I couldn’t print the boarding passes. Maybe I’ll see if I can bill through the $16 to him. Just kidding Rob.
I mentioned the broken printer to the skycap guy, and he said you don’t even need to print out your boarding pass. Just check in online and skycap your bags for no fee.
I am operating under the assumption that it only works with Delta, until I hear of other airlines doing the same. If you are aware of other airlines’ policies, please leave a comment.