Charges for check-in luggage?

Is Air Asia expecting me to travel light or totally with no luggage? For me, maintain the air flight fees but instead charging the check-in baggage still serve the same purpose. In the end, it comes back to us as we still need to pay for the increase in the fuel price.

AirAsia to have check-in baggage fee (updated) By ROYCE CHEAH SEPANG:

AirAsia will be charging all its passengers a fee for check-in baggage from April 21 in a bid to defray rising fuel costs, its group chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes said.The fee would be RM3 per piece of baggage through online check-in and RM5 per piece of baggage when checking in at the airport.Checked-in baggage will be charged on a per piece basis up to a maximum combined weight of 15kg. Anything over 15kg will be charged as excess in addition to the checked-in baggage fee.According to Fernandes, charging the fee for check-in baggage made more sense than charging everyone an additional fuel surcharge, which was what other airlines were doing.“With the rising fuel costs, we have to find new and innovative ways to keep our fares low. “When it comes to bags, we notice that many passengers bring a lot of bags making our planes heavier which in the end makes the plane consume more fuel,” he said.Fernandes said he did not think that there would be a negative reaction to the move as the fee was not high. “It will help to defray up to 10% of the fuel cost. It is not much, but it adds up with all the other things we are doing such as priority boarding, selling merchandise and food on the flights.”According to AirAsia’s statement, the airline believed that passengers should be given the option to choose the services they require and pay for those services.“This approach has enabled AirAsia to provide continuous low fares, which is a priority for us,” it said. The statement added that AirAsia was looking to change travellers’ behaviour by encouraging people to travel lighter. “Lighter baggage weight on board the aircraft means burning less fuel, hence, less pollution and a better environment. Fewer checked-in baggage improves airport efficiency and will eventually lead to shorter check-in queues.”
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