Packing up: Baggage fees for major airlines are set to rise

2/22/24 7:00PM

Bags secured

‍Bad news just landed if traveling light isn’t exactly your forte: American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways have all announced that they’re raising baggage fees this year, with others predicted to follow.

The price hikes are landing in the $5-10 zone across a range of both domestic and international flights, with American Airlines explaining that the raises are a result of “inflation, fuel costs, and increased operating costs” in a statement to Newsweek on Wednesday.

‍Let’s unpack…

‍In the last 15 years, airlines have increasingly leaned on baggage charges as an opportunity to cash in. Data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reveals that US airlines raked in a total ~$6.8 billion in baggage fees in 2022, with 2023 figures tracking even higher over the first 9 months of the year —15 years ago, BTS attributed just $1.1 billion to baggage fees.

Of course, not all airlines lump costly luggage fees onto customers. Southwest and its famously generous 2-bags-free policy, for example, made just $66m in bag revenue for 2022 from more than 157 million passengers. Meanwhile, "lower cost" carriers like Frontier and Spirit made $745m and $933m, respectively, from less than 65 million passengers between them.

David Crowther, Claire Yubin Oh

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