After Alaska Airlines bumped up its checked-bag fee by $5 to $10 in December, it was only the first step for other airlines to follow, and now they have.
First American and then JetBlue announced hikes last week, and then on Saturday United joined the crowd. It’s unlikely that Delta will abstain.
JetBlue, which has been clear recently about its need to boost revenue, cited that in raising its domestic first-bag fee to $35 and second-bag rate to $50. Those rates are only if you pay at least 24 hours before flying; otherwise the rates are $45 and $60.
American’s new rates are $35 for a first bag paid in advance and $40 at the airport, with $45 for a second bag, no matter how purchased.
American added another unpleasant dose to the baggage news: it’s notifying its AAdvantage loyalty plan members that starting in May they will no longer earn miles on flights unless the tickets are purchased directly from AA or from a so-far-unannounced list of ‘preferred’ agencies. The list is due out in April. Loyalty plan members presently can earn points in other programs for their purchases through online portals and then AA points as well on the flight.
UPDATE
It took almost two weeks, but the final shoe, or bag, has dropped with Delta following other major U.S. carriers in raising its checked bag fees, with a $5 per bag increase. The increase won’t apply to flights to Mexico and South America.
The previous increases by American, United, JetBlue and Alaska mean that the increase has spread in its usual ‘monkey see, monkey do’ fashion across all major U.S. airlines except Southwest, which still allows two checked bags free on all flights.