Unaccommodated carry-ons won't have to pay it

American Airlines’ new $15 fee for checking just one piece of luggage (and $25 for a second) takes effect for tickets bought on or after June 15, and according to USA Today, the airline isn’t expecting any problems from the new policy. The newspaper interviewed an American executive who said that three-fourths of all its passengers traveling this summer had already bought their tickets and thus wouldn’t have to pay the fee; AAdvantage elites are also exempt form the charge. Still, the story said American is training its airport staff in procedures for assessing the charge, which cannot be paid in advance – only at the airport. One concern raised by our readers has been an expectation that more leisure travelers will try to carry on everything to avoid the fee, filling up overhead bins before everyone is on board. If that happens, our readers wondered, what will happen to late-boarders with carry-ons that must be checked? The AA exec told USA Today that in those situations, carry-ons that can’t be accommodated in the overhead bins will be checked but the fee will not be assessed. No other airlines have yet matched American’s first-checked-bag fee.