Ah, Christmas. A time of sharing and caring. A time of giving and fellowship. A time for setting avarice aside in favor of charity. That, at least, is the common perception. Spirit sees it differently.

Taking the place of those treacly visions of sugar plums, Spirit envisions hordes of harried flyers lugging bags overstuffed with Christmas booty. Bags that Spirit can charge for, whether they're checked or carried on. And hi-ho, why not make a killing by upping the checked-bag fees during the peak Christmas travel crush?

Or, in Spirit's own words: "Winter is coming... and that means holidays. Which means more people than ever will be flying Spirit to visit their loved ones. To make sure we have room for everyone's bags, we're encouraging customers to pack a bit lighter. So, for travel booked after 8/19/14, for flights between 12/18/14 and 1/5/15, standard checked bags will be $2 more than listed below. Spend less time packing and more time laughing with family and friends this holiday season."

Passengers can avoid the $2 surcharge by carrying on their bags, but even that will cost you: a minimum of $26, and as much as $100. Ironically, Spirit has been on a quest to soften its image as the industry's most rapacious nickel-and-dimer. Apparently, that PR initiative has been put on hold for the holidays.

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This article originally appeared on FrequentFlier.com.

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