Ouch. AMR corp just announced that they’re going to start charging for the first checked bag on all of their American Airlines and American Eagle flights, effective for tickets purchased on or after June 15.

And so ends the era of free checked baggage on airlines. I wonder how long it will be before the other major airlines follow suit?

I can already see the ruckus of carry-on baggage now. Right after the liquids ban, I remember getting on aircraft and seeing nearly empty overhead compartments — everyone wanted to check their luggage so that they could bring their 10 oz toothpaste with them. Things gradually returned to normal loads as people have adapted to the 100ml rule.

Now, since nobody wants to pay an extra 15$, everyone is going to want to bring their luggage aboard, overhead compartments are going to jam up, people with giant luggage are going to clog up space and passengers are going to get testy.

Of course the new rule doesn’t apply to elites, but as several people on the underground pointed out, it really affects everyone on the aircraft. If the overhead compartments are full and the flight spends an extra 15 minutes on the ground sorting out luggage issues and appeasing passengers, the entire plane is late, right?