Spirit waives baggage fees for no one

CHICAGO, July 12 (UPI) -- An Illinois church group raising money to send a group of inner-city teens for a choir tour in Los Angeles got no love on baggage fees from Spirit Airlines.

Spirit, the only airline that applies charges for carry-on bags and will soon start charging travelers $5 to print boarding passes, refused to waive any baggage fees for the teens from the Lighthouse Church of All Nations in Alsip, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Rev. Dan Willis, the church's senior pastor, thought church fundraisers held in the last few months would cover the group's $25,000 in airline tickets, but when he realized there would be $6,000 more in baggage fees, he pleaded with Spirit for help. The Florida airline typically charges $38 for one bag and $45 for a second bag.

"We begged and pleaded. They would not budge on it at all," Willis told the newspaper.

"Given our low fares, we did not waive the bag fees," Spirit spokeswoman Misty Pinson said.