BOSTON – A federal jury has awarded $325,000 to nine American Airlines skycaps who claimed they lost tips when the airline instituted a $2-per-bag fee for curbside check-in service at Logan International Airport in Boston.
The jury returned its decision Monday in federal court.
American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp., said its decision to impose the baggage fee in 2005 was an attempt to cut costs after it lost $821 million the year before. The fee is split between the airline and the contractor it hires to operate its curbside check-in service.
Skycaps complained in the lawsuit that many passengers saw the fee as a forced tip and therefore didn't tip them for handling their bags.
The attorney who represented the skycaps says she will now ask a judge to approve a class-action lawsuit that would cover hundreds of other American Airlines skycaps.
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