The Veterans of Foreign Wars is asking the trade group representing the nation's major airlines to encourage its members to waive fees for a third piece of luggage checked by servicemen and women.

The request to the Air Transport Association was sparked by a recent article in the El Paso Times about a Texas Army National Guard member who was asked to pay $100 for his third checked bag when he was traveling on American Airlines Inc. to Camp Bowie to prepare for deployment.

Fees for extra bags may be an industry norm, said VFW spokesman Joe Davis, "but we're asking the airlines to cut military service members a break. You can't deploy to war with only two bags."

Mr. Davis said that the $100 fee could be onerous for young military members, who he said shouldn't have to worry about filing for a reimbursement while deployed.

In a letter, James C. May, the ATA's president and chief executive, told the VFW that the group could not negotiate fee pricing because of legal reasons, but that he would bring the issue to members' attention.

Tim Smith, a spokesman for Fort Worth-based American, said the excess bag charges have been in place for decades and are reimbursed by the military. The well-publicized fees for a passenger's first and second checked bags are already waived for active military personnel.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. does not charge military personnel for excess bags.