American Airlines attempts to show that it's not going bankrupt by gouging passengers who wear excessive amounts of clothing, such as shirts

In the world of the ridiculous, American Airlines has decided that charging an extra $25 for a second checked bag is not enough to save them from inevitable bankruptcy and government takeover. In a rather pathetic attempt to "save money," the company has decided that if you check ANY bag, you're going to tip them $25 for the pleasure of doing so. What's next, charging for every piece of baggage you carry-on? See American Joins List of Airlines Charging for a Second Bag.

It's bad enough that all you get (if you're lucky) is a crummy mini-bag of stale pretzels/airline chex mix and, sometimes, a can of soda. I was on a four hour American Airlines flight a couple of weeks ago, and they actually ran out of the snack bags after handing out the first fifty. Their response? "You should complain to the website." Obviously the quality control of this company is up their with the clowns that ran Chernobyl. It makes me wonder if any merger with this company is possible. See How Bad Does it Have to Get Before American Airlines Does a Deal?

Is there anything passengers can do to stop this insanity? That's the most unfortunate part. Unless you are planning on flying Southwest, you're pretty much going to be screwed no matter which carrier you choose. In my experience, I've had bad flights with all major carriers, except Southwest. Maybe the rest of these companies should track their business model by temporarily alleviating long term fuel costs by locking in oil prices at the current $130/barrel for the next four or five years in order to save a bit on the end when prices jump even more astronomically. It's not a perfect solution, but it's something.

Or maybe we need to develop a more fuel efficient jet? Get on the ball Boeing, you're killing us.

Tags: american airlines charges for first checked bag, southwest fuel hedging, airlines are such a ripoff