Airlines

Carry-on fee a success for Spirit

Florida-based Spirit Airlines took a heap of criticism in August 2010 when it announced that it was going to be the first — and so far only — airline to charge passengers up to $45 in extra fees to pack carry-on luggage in its planes’ overhead compartments.

Two federal lawmakers even threatened to impose a tax on all airline revenue generated by such fees, a penalty that has yet to be adopted.

But an industry consultant on airline revenue ideas has declared Spirit’s carry-on baggage fee a major success. In the 12 months after Spirit launched the fee, the airline flew 24.5 percent more passengers compared with the same period in 2009, according to a study by Jay Sorensen, president of IdeaWorks, a Wisconsin airline consultant.

“More than a year later, passenger traffic and revenue results have proven the skeptics wrong,” Sorensen said.

The carry-on fee also has created an incentive for passengers to carry fewer bags into the cabin, thus speeding up the boarding process, Sorensen said.

Travel books

More places you’ve just got to see

It’s back — a new color edition of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz (Workman, $19.95).

If you have been working toward seeing all 1,000 spots in the original 2003 blockbuster, you’ll be set back by this one. Schultz combined some of the entries, making way for 200 all-new spots. Suddenly, you must see the Kiev Caves Monastery in Ukraine and the Socotra Islands in Yemen. Who knew?

Airlines

New service

JetBlue Airways has begun service to the U.S. Virgin Islands with twice-daily flights between San Juan, Puerto Rico, and St. Thomas and once-daily flights between San Juan and St. Croix. JetBlue flies nonstop between Fort Lauderdale and San Juan.

REDjet, the startup low-cost airline operating in the Caribbean, has launched its seventh route: twice-weekly (Friday and Sunday) service between Barbados and St Lucia’s Hewanorra (UVF) using MD80s. While there is no direct competition on the route, LIAT indirectly competes with its five daily flights between Barbados and St Lucia Vigie Airport. The airline said it expects to launch seven to eight more routes in 2012.

Jamaica

Don’t be bashful

Hedonism II, the adults-only resort in Negril, Jamaica, is putting out a siren call for engaged couples who would like to get married in the buff on national TV on Valentine’s Day. The resort, which describes itself as “a sandbox for your inner child where pleasure comes in many forms,” already has hosted the “World’s Largest Nude Wedding” not once but three times. Up to 10 couples will be chosen to star in the program, billed as a documentary to be aired on some cable TV station, with blurred nudity. Each couple will receive a four-night Hedonism stay.

Couples who want to exchange vows in the au naturel ceremony can apply at www.hedonism.com/nudewedding/. The deadline is Jan. 6.

Miami Herald wire services