Flyers Sour on Alaska's Checked-Bag Fee

(MoneyWatch)  Alaska Airlines announced last week it will start charging each passenger $15 for their first checked bag, a move that's not sitting well with frequent passengers of the Seattle-based airline.

Alaska was slow to adopt checked-bag fees, and it announced the move after reporting a quarterly loss of $19.2 million to start the year -- a loss that would have been even worse but for a one-time gain related to savings from hedging on fuel. The new charge will take effect July 7.

In exchange for the new charge, Alaska and Horizon will guarantee passengers that luggage will be at baggage claim 25 minutes after their flight parks at the gate. If it isn't, passengers will get 2,500 frequent-flier miles or $25 off a future flight.

The plan is being widely panned by regular fliers of Alaska, who say it's altogether likely that it will result in more passengers trying to cram more oversize carry-on bags into overhead bins, which will only make the airline's sub-par on-time record even worse.

And some Seattle fliers -- particularly those logging in to comment at SeattleTimes.com -- are threatening to switch to Southwest Airlines, which competes with Alaska on about half of its West Coast routes, and doesn't charge for bags.