The new fees airlines have begun charging passengers who check a second bag aren’t just aggravating travelers — they are causing headaches for Walt Disney World and its Magical Express airport shuttle-and-luggage service.
The problem
The fees are complicating Magical Express’ early baggage-check service, which encourages departing guests to check in for their flights and drop off their luggage in their hotel before leaving the giant resort.
Disney then has those customers — along with other hotel guests who are unable or choose not to use the resort check-in option — bused to Orlando International Airport.
Disney offers Magical Express for free to its hotel guests, using the service as way to keep those guests on company property longer by eliminating the need for visitors to rent a car and sparing them from long airport check-in lines at the end of their vacation. But because it doesn’t charge for the shuttle or the baggage service, Disney World does not have an obvious way to collect the new baggage-check fees — as much as $25 a person — from guests who want to check two bags through Magical Express on the way home.
The changes have already caused some confusion at Disney hotels. Disney says it has continued to allow departing guests to check two pieces of luggage at their hotels, but some employees when questioned this week said their understanding was that people flying home on an airline with a second-bag fee have to check that second bag by themselves at the airport.
The complications could grow further if more U.S. carriers follow American Airlines’ lead and charge passengers to check their first piece of luggage, too. On June 15, American will begin charging $15 for the first checked bag.
The solution
Temporary: Disney says it and the company it contracts with to run the luggage service, Orlando-based Bags Inc., have worked out agreements with the airlines to temporarily waive the luggage fees for guests who use the remote check-in service. But those agreements end this week. Starting Sunday, Disney says, guests who want to check their luggage before leaving their hotels will first have to contact a Bags Inc. call center and pay the appropriate luggage charges over the phone.
Permanent: Disney spokeswoman Kim Prunty says the company is still trying to devise a permanent solution. Disney and Bags are considering installing payment registers at the airline check-in counters in each Disney hotel, so guests could pay their baggage fees directly. That would spare guests from having to pay the fees over the phone by credit card or from having to check a second bag themselves at OIA. But Prunty said Disney is weighing several possibilities.
What are the hurdles?
*Effect on speed. Having to process baggage payments for departing guests could gum up the airline check-in process at Disney’s hotels, where lines can already be long on busy mornings. About one in five Disney guests who use the Magical Express baggage check-in option surrenders more than one piece of luggage, and roughly 1 million bags a year are now checked early at Disney hotels, bypassing the usual check-in process at Orlando International. “When it’s free, obviously the transaction time is much quicker,” said Craig Mateer, president of Bags Inc.
*Lack of standards. The fee schedules for checked luggage vary from airline to airline. Amounts range from $10 to $25 a bag each way. Also, some airlines exempt certain passengers, such as high-level frequent fliers or passengers traveling on more expensive fares. It can even make a difference if the passenger checked in for the flight online or in person.
*Communication. Disney wants to ensure that its employees and guests are aware of the changes as the system continues to evolve. Disney is in the midst of updating its Magical Express materials — such as letters to preregistered guests, in-room booklets and Web-site information — to reflect the new policies. “The important piece is communication,” Prunty said.
What others are doing
Some other local locations that offer similar airline check-in services — such as the Orange County Convention Center and several hotels owned by International Drive hotelier Harris Rosen — have already begun charging departing guests the new luggage fees. But it has been easier for them because they already charge guests to use Bags Inc. service for their flights home. Guests at the Rosen Plaza Hotel, for instance, pay $10 a person to check their bags at the hotel before heading to OIA. Mateer says Bags Inc. is also working with the cruise lines that offer onboard airline check-in programs at Port Canaveral; some of them are already testing new payment systems.