Paris: An electric-car sharing program

In the latest in the seemingly never-ending series of announcements by airlines on the new fees they are levying on customers, Delta said yesterday that it will now charge people $50 each way to check a second bag on domestic flights, double the current $25. The news itself is not incredibly surprising, given that most airlines have now started charging something to check luggage, be it for the first bag or the second. (Starting Aug. 1, US Airways will even start charging passengers $2 for a Coke or a bottle of water.) What does strike me in relation to the constant stream of new fees by the airlines is the increasingly negative reaction of people who fly regularly. Rather than becoming inured to all the extra fees, passengers are becoming more and more incensed. Just take a look at a sample of comments posted by readers of the Consumerist blog in reaction to the latest Delta announcement: "Does this strike anyone else as INSANE? They are getting greedier by the second. Soon breathing in their planes will carry a charge." "This is getting out of hand. I'd rather see them raise ticket prices a little bit then continue to go crazy with fees." "The airlines will always be bloated (and) mismanaged. ...If passengers would revolt and quit flying, maybe something would change." And my personal favorite: "I swear, the next time I have to fly I am bringing a fifty pound bag of gravel and a bunch of Styrofoam blocks with me. When I put my bag on the scale to be weighed, I am going to add gravel until it's .001 pounds under. Then I'm going to duct-tape Styrofoam blocks to the outside until it measures exactly the number of linear inches listed. If they're gonna nickle & dime me to death, I'm gonna get every gram of my size & weight allowance." In all seriousness, what can airline passengers do in reaction to all the fees? Are there any avenues left, short of not flying?

We told you on Monday about OpenSkies, a new spinoff airline of British Airways, and how it was adding a route to Amsterdam. We also told you that it had economy class seats "with fares starting at about $1,000 round-trip between New York City and Paris." Well--that's not true anymore! OpenSkies announced today that it's removing its economy class sections from its planes. The change will go into effect by October 1, says Travel Weekly and the Cheapflights blog. Another blow to budget travelers everywhere! (Sigh.)

Our esteemed colleague JD Rinne calls from New York City's J.F.K. airport to report the following. A computer glitch has shut down the baggage conveyor belt today at American Airlines' terminal. When JD checked in at the gate, an agent told her she should assume her luggage would not meet her at her destination. "I've never been told that before," says JD. "It's kind of disturbing." The airline is sorting bags by hand, but the backup has left the terminal brimming with hundreds of bags. The airline told the Associated Press that it is sorting bags by hand. Passengers who decide to wait for a later flight and fly with their luggage will be rebooked at no charge, says a report by Reuters. As of 3:20 p.m., American still hadn't posted any warning about the disruption on its website.