United States Airlines Collect $1.1 BILLION in Extra Baggage Fees in 2008

Bag checking is a dirty industry. There's no two ways about it -- if you're charging your consumer extra cash to bring their stuff with them then you shouldn't sleep at night. But it's not just a dirty industry ... it's also a billion dollar industry.

That's right -- US air carriers pocketed an absolutely obscene $1.1 BILLION in extra baggage fees in the 2008 year.

American Airlines led the way, earning $278 million in extra profit for checked baggage, with US Airways and Delta (not that) close behind at $187.1 and $177.1 million, respectively.

Of course, many economy-minded folks argue that it's wholly necessary for the airlines to charge these baggage fees; after all, they're facing a tough financial situation and need to recoup the losses incurred over the past 12 months.

I'm cool with that -- and to an extent, I don't think luggage charges are bad. My problem is that too often, airlines are charging for "standard" luggage. Southwest, for instance, allows two checked bags. That's "standard." If you're going on a trip for any reasonable length, you need to bags most of the time. Forcing people to pay simply to check reasonable amounts of luggage is just too aggressive for my tastes, even if it's worth a billion dollars.

San Francisco, Washington Are Targets for New GM Hybrid Development

GM is scrambling their pretty little corporate jet owning faces off to look good in the public eye these days. 

One of the main aspects they're focusing on (finally!) is electricity powered cars. You know, those kooky little "hybrid" things. The Chevy Volt is the next in line, and it's being aimed at certain geographical areas.

GM said that it working with the municipalities of San Francisco and the Washington, D.C., metro area as "early adopter markets" that will create incentives to buy electric cars and build an infrastructure to support them.

"Collaborating with communities such as San Francisco and metropolitan areas such as Washington, D.C.--where there's already an interest in plug-in vehicles--is another important step toward raising customer awareness of the environmental and economic benefits of vehicles such as the Volt," said Ed Peper, GM North America vice president, Chevrolet, in a statement.

So, um, yay? Or something. I guess it's awesome that GM's making this huge huff about bringing electric cars into the limelight but, uh, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, GM? I've had to sing about Earth day since I was in like fourth grade ... and that wasn't exactly yesterday.

But, ridiculousness of automakers aside, how does this affect you, the traveler? Well, batteries for these puppies are really expensive. But, interestingly, once a lot of people stop using a ton of gasoline, guess what will happen to the price? Yup. You got it. And then suddenly it becomes a lot harder for airlines to justify their per ticket costs against what they need to operate planes.