So why is American doing a checked-bag fee at all?

American says it will only affect one out of four customers.

But, those one out of four are, basically, the Travelocity/Orbitz/Expedia ticket buyers. Maybe American wants to push them to either buy first-class, or else buy through American’s website.

American says that if too many people take too much carry-on for airplane bins (and older plans, like a Super 80, can fill up quickly), it will check those bags for free.

That’s going to waste time, waste manpower and delay plane takeoffs.

Is it any wonder that with business acumen like that, American continues to lose money by the bushel basket?

No, that’s no wonder.

The wonder, or the disgust, is that American CEO Gerard Arpey continues to get fat bonuses for such brilliant ideas as the Arpey fee.