If your wallet feels a bit lighter after flying, baggage fees could be the answer. U.S. airlines collected 7% more in the hated charges last year, bringing the total up to a bit over $4.9 billion. Yes, BILLION.
As it turns out, those fees account for over 40% of U.S. airline profits last year, which stood at $11.8 billion.
Part of the rise in fees came from higher fees recently imposed by Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue and United during the year. The fourth quarter of 2018 marked eleven straight quarters in which the airlines collected over $1 billion in bags fees. Here’s the list:
| Rank | Airline | 2017 | 2018 | % Increase |
| 1 | American | 1,172,728 | 1,221,461 | 4.2% |
| 2 | United | 794,489 | 888,740 | 11.9% |
| 3 | Delta | 907,626 | 788,464 | -13.1% |
| 4 | Spirit | 492,645 | 638,242 | 29.6% |
| 5 | Frontier | 364,142 | 366,439 | 0.6% |
| 6 | JetBlue | 289,839 | 321,189 | 10.8% |
| 7 | Alaska* | 209,923 | 279,667 | 33.2% |
| 8 | Allegiant | 192,583 | 219,560 | 14.0% |
| 9 | Hawaiian | 81,156 | 84,723 | 4.4% |
| 10 | Southwest | 46,111 | 49,949 | 8.3% |
| Others | 25,049 | 36,160 | 44.4% | |
| All | 4,576,291 | 4,894,594 | 7.0% |
