Why airlines are raising baggage fees

These days, airlines are like young musicians on the hunt for a record deal – trying to get that bag. On Friday, United Airlines said it’s raising its checked baggage prices on flights in North America, joining Alaska Airlines, American, and JetBlue on the list of airlines that have raised bag prices so far this year.

History is repeating itself

Per the carriers, these higher fees are meant to help offset higher costs for labor and fuel. Which, coincidentally, is similar to how baggage fees on major airlines originated in the first place.

• For decades, it was free on major airlines to check at least one bag. But in 2008, amid rising fuel prices and economic turmoil, airlines such as American and United began tacking on a $15 charge for checked bags, Vox reports.

These fees add up. In the first nine months of 2023, US airlines brought in over $5.4 billion from baggage fees, up more than 25% from the same period of 2019, according to the Transportation Department’s latest data.

👀 Looking ahead… The spate of recent announcements leaves Delta Air Lines as the only major US carrier without a recent baggage fee increase (outside of Southwest, which prioritizes other things like efficiency ahead of revenue from checked bags). But, since airlines often mimic each other’s fee increases, this may not be the case for much longer.