Flying With Two Bags, Roundtrip: $80

May 21, 2008— -- Sadly, it has come to this: The nation's largest airline today revealed just how hard it has been hit by high oil prices.

American Airlines announced that starting June 15, it will charge passengers $15 one way to check their first bag. It's a service passengers are accustomed to getting for free, although they've recently been introduced to the idea of paying extra for a second bag to help the airlines break even. American also said it plans to slash flights to save money and potentially lay off staff.

American's move marks what industry consultant Robert Mann today called "the beginning of the end."

"We've gone from a full-service industry to a self-service industry," said Mann, president of R.W. Mann Inc. "They've been charging on a nickel and dime basis for every single service."

But American said it has little choice because rising fuel prices will cost the carrier an extra $3 billion to fly this year. The airline plans to park at least 75 planes to survive the financial crisis. Nationwide, domestic carriers will provide 17,251 fewer flights this June compared to last, which is a 2 percent drop, according to data provided by OAG-Official Airline Guide.

American Airlines CEO Gerard Arpey today said there's "no sugar coating the fact that we are facing an extraordinarily difficult economic environment."

Jet fuel prices have surged 64 percent through May 20 of this year, compared to the same period in 2007, according to the Air Transport Association. Since the beginning of the year, airlines have attempted to hike airfares 15 times in an effort to survive, according to Rick Seaney at FareCompare.com. Eleven of those efforts have succeeded.

For travelers today, American's announcement came as an unwelcome surprise.

"That's really shocking to me and, I mean, I'm not really happy about it," said traveler Amanda Koenig. "But if it's what you have to do, I guess everyone's gonna have to do it."

But while it still sounds foreign to passengers, charging travelers to check even their first bag is something other airlines are considering, too. United Airlines today said that it's seriously studying the idea.

After all, the heavier a plane, the more fuel it burns.

"I think eventually we'll come down to a situation where passengers will in effect pay by the pound," consultant Mann said.

American recently announced it was following other carriers leads in starting to charge extra for services that used to be part of the ticket price -- including an added fee for a second checked bag ($25 one way).

Today, only one major carrier still allows travelers to check two bags free of charge: Southwest Airlines. If Southwest travelers check a third bag, they need to pay a $25 fee. The price gets steeper for additional pieces of luggage.

Unlike other carriers, Southwest previously bought fuel futures at a substantially lower rate of $51 dollars a barrel.

"In fairness, it required some credit worthiness, required some cash, required some foresight -- also requires a willingness to place a bet," Mann explained of the reserve fund. "With all that being said, there are a lot of folks who probably now wish they'd bet differently."

Regardless, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration said it is ready for what lies ahead, although a department spokesman added that American's move "caught us by surprise."

"TSA is fully staffed and ready to screen every bag that comes through, whether checked or carried on," TSA said in a statement. "TSA encourages summer travelers to prepare for security in order to expedite everyone's checkpoint experience."

American's elite fliers and international passengers are exempt from the baggage charge.

ABC News' Brian Hartman and Randy Gyllenhaal contributed to this report.