This story just keeps getting bigger. A few days ago Home Post brought you the tale of two soldiers on their way home from deployment in Afghanistan who were charged for checking bags filled with Army equipment. In their outrage, Staff Sgts. Fred Hilliker and Robert O'Hair shot a video in-flight and posted it on YouTube, and that video went viral. Delta, the airline that charged the soldiers to check their fourth bag, quickly did an about-face and changed their policy to allow active-duty military on official business to check up to four bags without charge.
The following day Continental and United airlines followed suit, changing their policies to reflect Delta's new one. American Airlines went a step further, allowing servicemembers to check up to five bags without charge.
Now, AirTran, Southwest, and US Air have thrown their hats into the fee-reduction ring, according to the Dallas Morning News. US Air will allow up to four bags without charging troops, while both AirTran and Southwest will allow servicemembers to check an unlimited amount of baggage without charge.
WXIA-TV in Atlanta has a timeline of how one homemade video triggered sweeping change in airline policy:
