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American Airlines introduces free checked bag lottery for international flights

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American Airlines introduces free checked bag lottery for international flights
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American Airlines is implementing a new strategy to encourage passengers to check their bags, aiming to streamline the boarding process for international flights. The airline's latest initiative involves offering a free checked bag lottery at airport kiosks during check-in.

The primary objective is to reduce the number of carry-on bags, which can slow down boarding as passengers take time to stow their belongings and may find limited bin space. According to an internal memo from American Airlines, "If you’ve got a smaller bag, want to check it, you might as well see whether American Airlines will give you an offer to check it for free at the airport kiosk."

Southwest Airlines' model of offering free checked bags has shown that fewer gate-checked bags can lead to quicker turnaround times for planes. This efficiency allows Southwest to operate its schedule with fewer aircraft. However, American Airlines does not plan to eliminate baggage fees entirely due to the associated revenue and tax benefits.

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Instead, American Airlines uses this lottery system on domestic flights where passengers checking in at kiosks might be offered a chance to check their carry-on bags for free. The random nature of this offer ensures that customers still have an incentive to pay for checked bags while occasionally benefiting from the fee waiver.

This approach was extended internationally on September 4th but is not available at certain airports including Amsterdam, Copenhagen, London Heathrow, Tokyo Narita, Santiago, St. Martin, or Toronto.

The airline's strategy aims at improving operational efficiency without sacrificing the revenue generated from baggage fees or altering their credit card incentives tied to these fees.

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