Elanso

With oil prices surpassing $132 per barrel for the first time ever, American Airlines (AMR) has reacted by raising prices. Most notably, the airline will charge travelers $15 to check a bag. The company calls this a "revenue growth initiative" in their press release, but it is really just silly. When high fuel prices are pressuring an already bloated cost structure and a weak economy is reducing air travel, price increases are not going to help AMR. It simply does not address the problem.

In such a competitive industry, weak players increasing fees will only result in more people going to discount airlines, which are run far better than their larger counterparts. There is a reason Southwest Airlines (LUV) has been taking market share and has never lost money in any year since its founding more than three decades ago, and it is not because they started to charge their customers for things like checking baggage. In fact, they have used those boneheaded ideas in their brilliant marketing campaigns.