Brent Hopkins, a Michigan marketing manager, was so annoyed that a carry-on suitcase cost him $90 in baggage fees on Sprit Airlines that he launched a business to help other passengers sidestep the charges.
Florida-based Spirit Airlines introduced in 2010 a fee of up to $45 for carry-on luggage that cannot fit in the space under the seats. The fee met with outrage, including threats from several lawmakers to impose a special tax on revenue collected from such fees.
Instead of fuming, Hopkins created CarryOn Free, an online company that manufactures suitcases that fit the exact dimensions of the space under the Spirit seats.
The suitcases sell on the website Carryonfree.com for about $55 plus shipping. Hopkins said they are priced to pay for themselves after only one round-trip flight on Spirit.
“I saw an opportunity,” he said, “and a chance to meet a need.”
[Updated: An earlier version of the story included the wrong web address for CarryOn Free.]
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