'We have to be realistic,' says Canadian North about new baggage fees

Canadian North says its new baggage fees are about the airline being "realistic about our capabilities" to carry an ever-growing volume of cargo and passengers on its commercial flights. Last month, the airline rolled out sweeping changes to its baggage policy, and also increased costs. While passengers can still check their first bag for free, the cost of a second bag on the lowest ticket fare jumped by 50%, and the cost of an overweight bag (anything over 51 pounds) tripled on all fare types. Excess bags also now fly standby. Canadian North initially refused to answer questions about the changes in an interview, but later agreed after CBC News reported on the changes and conducted an analysis of how its fees compare to some of Canada's other airlines. "Our aircraft can only operate with a certain amount of weight and volume. Recently the requested volume of baggage often exceeds our limits, and leads to bumped baggage and fewer passenger seats," said Trevor Wilde, the airline's interim vice president of sales, marketing and distribution.<br/>