New ATPCo Tool Unravels Complex Baggage Fees

Agents now have a new tool designed to decipher the many puzzling variables surrounding airline fees for checked baggage.

Air Tariff Publishing Co. (ATPCo)’s new Baggage Calculator, available in two forms, provides answers to a long list of questions, such as whose checked-bag policies apply when multiple airlines are involved in a journey.

Is it the first carrier? Not always. Is it the marketing carrier of a code-share flight? Ditto. Is it the carrier flying the most miles of the journey? Sometimes.

What happens when an itinerary combines an airline that sets allowances by the piece with one that sets allowances by weight? What about the traveler’s elite status?

These questions just scratch the surface. What if the traveler is going hunting and plans to return with a hefty load of game meat and a nice set of antlers?

Centralized database to the rescue
Factoring in all these variables,  ATPCo developed a centralized database where airlines can file their baggage allowance policies, including the cost of checking anything from oversized bags to surfboards to the aforementioned antlers.

Now ATPCo, the company that handles the filing of air fares with GDSs and other distributors, is making that information available to airlines, travel agencies and other third parties in two new forms, said Betsie White, manager of product marketing.

Two choices for agencies
Online agencies and large travel management companies with significant technology resources might consider subscribing to Baggage Calculator Integrated and combining it with their booking tools.

Other agencies can use Baggage Calculator Online, a password-protected website.

The site is fairly straightforward. The agent enters the flight information: numbers, origin, destination, booking code, cabin, date of issue, passenger type, frequent flyer status, etc., and requests the baggage allowance.

A response is returned showing the “most significant carrier” – the one whose policy will govern the trip – and the free allowance, including the types of articles that can be included in the allowance.

If the agent knows that the customer’s bag is, say, 3 kilograms over the weight limit, that information can be entered. A response will provide the penalty that the customer will pay unless some rearranging or removal of items occurs.

Given the current levels of overweight bag charges, an agency has the potential of saving its customers hundreds of dollars on a single trip.