Dear Airline Industry:

What the hell, guys?

First, American Airlines announces they're going to start charging us to check bags, unless we're flying first class, paying full fare, or frequent flyers. Yesterday, United Airlines followed suit. Their prices per piece are lower, sure, but you'll make up for it in your lack of legroom. (I now feel comfortable disclosing that this 2006 Return to Sender column was about United.) And today comes the news that not only will US Airways begin assessing a baggage fee, they'll also be cutting service and jobs, and start charging two bucks for sodas and water onboard—the same sodas and water that people have been getting for free since the advent of the commercial airline industry. (What I'm wondering is what my two dollars will buy me. Frequent flyers know that the onboard soda is usually a small glass filled to the top with ice, and a third of a can of soda splashed over it. Can we at least get the full can now?)

Look: I know fuel is expensive now. If it's over four bucks a gallon for cars, I can only imagine what jet fuel must be costing now. And we understand that you have to cover your asses expenses. But as somebody who works in PR and marketing, I must say that I think you're making a mistake, and it's harming your image. People don't like to pay for things that they're used to getting for free. (See above link about United's decision to charge extra for seats in the emergency exit rows.) Very few people fly these days without checking luggage (it's that whole "no more liquids than can fit in tiny bottles in this tiny bag" rule you implemented a few years back), and I guarantee you that none of them will happily turn over the extra cash to have their baggage mishandled (see video)—but what can they do, other than send their belongings ahead via FedEx? (Actually... that may be a cheaper alternative.) And you're probably going to see a big increase in people buying bottles of water and soda at the airport bookstore and carrying them onboard (at least that's allowed again!) because it's probably twice what they'll get from the beverage cart, for an equal or lower price.

Here's what you should be doing: raise your prices. It doesn't have to be by much: an average increase of forty bucks per flight (the cost of checking two suitcases and buying a beverage or two) would hardly be noticed by the general public. We're used to volatility in the cost of travel—I'll never forget the night I went in search of airfare and identified a great discount fare, but waited until the next morning (after my paycheck was deposited) to purchase the ticket: the ticket, on the same flight and with all the same strings attached, had increased in price by almost two hundred bucks. Needless to say, I didn't see my family that Thanksgiving. A few people might complain about the rising ticket prices, but most people, if they noticed, would shrug, chalk it up to the cost of jet fuel, and move on with their lives, making for a generally more pleasant experience for all of us.

Only one of you seems to have any sense these days: Southwest Airlines who, aside from scoffing at new airline fees, has managed to lock in fuel rates and is actually expanding its service. Sure, there was that little SNAFU about the planes that shouldn't have been in service and they have that weird first-come, first-served seating policy (which may someday change)—but all in all, I'd rather fly with an airline whose marketing department isn't afraid of saying no to the CFO. Next time I have to fly (and I really hope, with the recent news, that it won't be for a while), I'm hoping it's somewhere Southwest services.

United may claim to fly the friendly skies, but it seems to me that only one airline is all that friendly toward consumers. You might want to follow their lead.