Many of the major airlines have raised (or plan to raise) their checked baggage fees, but you can "save" a little money and avoid these new fees with most of the airlines by paying these fees ahead of time on-line
*This article was updated on January 15, 2010* Most travelers by now are quite familiar with the fees that most major airlines charge for checked bags. While generally these fees are waived for travelers who have achieved certain levels of "status" in an airline's frequent flier program, for those that have purchased first or business class tickets, and for those who are traveling internationally (although second bag fees on international flights are now common on most of the airlines), many domestic economy class travelers are still faced with these fees daily. A byproduct of these fees is that now it tends to take longer to board planes since passengers take more carry-on luggage, and the in-cabin storage space is often filled, causing travelers to have to check their bags once they are already on the plane. The paying of these fees has also increased the wait time for airport check-in. Many of the major airlines have continued to raise their fees even higher, with the most recent round of fare increases happening in January 2010. Most of the airlines allow passengers who prepay these fees on-line to "save" part of the new surcharge by paying a slightly lower fee.
The following are new/changed checked baggage fees as of January 2010 for some of the major US airlines:
Continental Airlines New Fees (January 9, 2010): Fees apply for certain economy fares for tickets purchased on or after Jan. 9, 2010 for travel on or after Jan. 16, 2010. For travel within the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and Hawaii, the fee for the first checked bag has increased from $20 to $25 and the fee for the second checked bag has increased from $30 to $35. Passengers receive a discount of $3 per bag for each of their first and/or second bags when checking-in online.
United Airlines New Fees (January 14, 2010): For tickets purchased on or after January 14, 2010 for travel on or after January 21, 2010, the fee for the first check bag rises from $20 to $25 and the fee for the second checked bag rises from $30 to $35. There is still a discount for prepaying your baggage fee online at check-in, however United no longer posts the discounted price prior to actually using on-line check-in.
Delta and Northwest Airlines New Fees (January 5, 2010): For tickets purchased on/after January 5, 2010 for travel on/after January 12, 2010 for travel in the 50 United States, U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, and Puerto Rico in Economy Class: The fees are now - $23 fee, first bag; $32 fee, second bag. There will be a $2 surcharge on the first checked bag, $3 surcharge on the second checked bag, when checking in via ticket counter, kiosk, or curbside.
US Airways New Fees (January 18, 2010): US Airways has not increased its checked baggage fees overall, but it has decreased the discount given for prepaying them online. For tickets purchased on or after January 18, 2010 for travel on or after February 1, 2010, the discount for prepaying checked baggage fees on line with decrease from $5 for each of the first or second checked bags down to $2 for the first checked bag and $3 for the second checked bag.
United and US Airways were the original
airlines to raise fees and give a "discount" if the fees were prepaid
on-line. Delta, Northwest and Continental have also implemented a
similar policy. Southwest and JetBlue still do not charge for 1st
checked bag, and Southwest does not charge for the second as well.
AirTran Airways and Frontier allow paying checked bag fees online, but
do not give a "discount" for doing so, but also have not raised their
checked baggage fees this time around. Remember, there are also significant
fees for excess, oversize and overweight baggage, so it is important to
plan accordingly to avoid these fees. Most airlines allow a certain number of free bags for active duty military personnel.
The following is a list of the major US Airlines, links to their checked baggage policies and information on paying checked bag fees in advance online (as of January 15, 2010):
note: most airlines do not allow online check-in more than 24
hours or less than 90 minutes prior to departure. Certain passengers
are exempt from fees - generally these include members that have
reached a certain status in an airline's frequent flier program, active
duty military personnel, and passengers purchasing business class or
first class tickets. Remember, there are also fees for oversize and
overweight baggage, and excess baggage, and most people are not exempt
from these. Please note that to most of the airlines, a "Domestic"
flight is one that is within the U.S., U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico
and possibly Canada, some destinations that people might consider
"International", so be sure to check with your airline for specific
policies. These fees and policies change frequently, so please check
with your airline for the most up to date information.
AirTran Airways: Checked baggage fees may be paid online during online check-in within 24 hours of your flight. No discount is given for paying fees online. Fees for coach passengers are currently $15 for the first bag and $25 for the second checked bag. (AirTran Airways checked baggage policies)
American Airlines: No online checked bag fee payment options are available. Checked baggage fees have increased for passengers with tickets purchased on or after August 14, 2009 by $5 on the first and second checked bag. The fees are $20 for the first checked bag and $30 for the second checked bag. There is no current charge for a first checked bag on international flights (with the exception of flights within the U.S., Puerto Rico & U.S. Virgin Islands) however a second checked bag costs $50. (American Airlines Checked Bag Allowances and Fees )
Continental Airlines: New fees as of January 9, 2010** Fees apply for certain economy fares for tickets purchased on or after
Jan. 9, 2010 for travel on or after Jan. 16, 2010. For travel within
the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico,
U.S. Virgin Islands and Hawaii, the fee for the first checked bag has
increased from $20 to $25 and the fee for the second checked bag has
increased from $30 to $35. Passengers receive a discount of $3 per bag
for each of their first and/or second bags when checking-in online.
Credit card
information
can be entered for checked bag fees during online check-in, but fees
are not charged until bags are checked-in at the airport. Checked baggage fees have increased
for passengers with tickets purchased on or after July 21, 2009 for travel on or after August 19, 2009 and for tickets purchased on or after January 9, 2010 for travel on or after January 16, 2010. There is also a 2nd bag fee on most international flights within the western hemisphere.
(Continental Airlines Checked Baggage Policies)
Delta Airlines: New fees as of January 13, 2010
** For tickets purchased on/after January 5, 2010 for travel on/after
January 12, 2010 for travel in the 50 United States, U.S. Virgin
Islands, Canada, and Puerto Rico in Economy Class: The fees are now -
$23 fee, first bag;
$32 fee, second bag.
There will be a $2 USD/CAD* surcharge on the first checked bag, $3 on
the second checked bag, when checking in via ticket counter,
kiosk, or curbside. **
Checked
baggage fees may be paid
within 24 hours of your flight during online check-in. Effective on
tickets purchased on or after July 16, 2009 but before January 5, 2010, for travel on or after
August 4, a $5 surcharge will be charged in addition to the checked bag
fees on the first and second checked bag if fees are paid at the
airport. On international flights between the US and Europe the first
checked bag is free, but for tickets purchased on or after May 23, 2009
for travel beginning July 1, 2009 there will be a $50 charge for the
second checked bag for economy class passengers. (Delta Airlines
Baggage Policies & Delta Airlines Excess Baggage (Oversize, overweight, excess number of bags) Allowances and Fees)
Frontier Airlines: Baggage fees can be paid online, but are non-refundable, so don't pay for more bags than you might bring or for bags that are exempt from fees. If you know you are checking items that are exempt from baggage fees, you can only check them in at the airport to get the baggage fees waived. The online system doesn't have any way to waive fees for exempt items. No fee is charged for first or second checked bags on international flights. Checked baggage fees increased on September 8, 2009 and went from $15 to $20 for the frist checked bag and $25 to $30 for the second checked bag. Frontier Airlines has also introduced new AirFairs, some of which include a baggage allowance, as well as other amenities. (Frontier Airlines Checked Baggage Policies - Domestic & Frontier Airlines Checked Baggage Policies - International)
JetBlue:
When checking in online, passengers can indicate how many bags they are
checking, however the checked bag fee must be paid at the airport when
checking the bags. (JetBlue Checked Baggage Requirements) note: the first checked bag is free on JetBlue, the second checked bag fee is $50, and the third or more checked bag fee is $75 (**Customers booked prior to June 2, 2009 will be assesed the second bag fee of $20)
Northwest Airlines: New fees as of January 13, 2010
** For tickets purchased on/after January 5, 2010 for travel on/after
January 12, 2010 for travel in the 50 United States, U.S. Virgin
Islands, Canada, and Puerto Rico in Economy Class: The fees are now -
$23 fee, first bag;
$32 fee, second bag.
There will be a $2 USD/CAD* surcharge on the first checked bag, $3 on the second checked bag, when checking in via ticket counter,
kiosk, or curbside. **
Baggage fees
may be paid online during online check-in. Your credit card is not
charged until your baggage tags are printed at the airport, so you can
change your number of checked bags prior to that time. Effective
for tickets purchased on or
after July 16, 2009, for travel on or after August 4, 2009, customers
traveling domestically (within the U.S./Puerto
Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands ) who pay their baggage fees at the airport
(instead of online) will be charged a $5 surcharge both for the first
and second bag. On International flights between the U.S./Puerto
Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands and Europe, only the first checked bag is
free, and on all other International flights two checked bags are free.
(Northwest Airlines Checked Baggage Information)
Southwest Airlines: Southwest Airlines has no first or second checked baggage fee; fees are charged for 3 or more bags and are not payable online. Southwest Airlines Checked Baggage Policies )
United Airlines: New fees as of January 2010** For tickets purchased
on or after
January 14, 2010 for travel on or after
January 21, 2010, the fee for the first check bag rises from $20 to
$25 and the fee for the second checked bag rises from $30 to $35. There
is still a discount for prepaying your baggage fee online at check-in,
however United no longer posts the discounted price prior to actually
using on-line check-in.
Checked baggage
fees for up to
5 bags can be paid within 24 hours of your flight via United Airlines
Web Check-in Online. Effective for tickets purchased on or after May
14, 2009 for travel on or after June 10, 2009 within
the 50 United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada
there is a discount if baggage fees are paid online. United no longer posts the discounted price on its website as of January 15, 2010, however you will be offered a discounted price when using Web Check-in. On International flights, the first and second checked
bags are still free. (United Airlines Checked Baggage Policies for the US &
Canada –
United Airlines Checked Baggage Policy for International Travel)
US Airways: New fees as of January 18, 2010** You can pay for checked bags when you check-in online for a small discount, which will be decreased for tickets purchased on or after January 18, 2010 for travel on or after February 1, 2010. The fees will be $25 for your first checked bag and $35 for your second for flights within the U.S. and to and from Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. For customers who choose to pay for checked bags at the online, there will be a $2 discount on the first checked bag fee and a $3 discount on the second checked bag fee. Passengers traveling to and from Europe and Asia can check one bag free. The second checked bag fee for international travel is $55 if paid at the airport and $50 if prepaid online. (US Airways Checked Baggage Policies)
Remember, if you eXpect delaYs, you can beat them, and paying your luggage fees online and being aware of luggage quantity, size and weight restrictions and additional fees will save you a significant amount of time, trouble and money.
