From USA Today:
"Airlines have made $1.3 billion off bag fees so far this
year, data shows”
Airline financial data is out for the first quarter of 2019,
and airline baggage fees are paying off in a big way. U.S. airlines raked in
$1.3 billion in baggage fees in the first quarter of 2019, compared to $1.1
billion during the same period last year, according to Department of
Transportation data. It's about a $170 million uptick from 2018. Airline
baggage fees have been on the rise, with four major U.S. airlines increasing
fees last year. Yes, it's only a $5 increase, with the first checked bag now
$30 and the second $40, on domestic flights. But the fees are per person, each
way. A family of four checking one bag per person a piece will pay $240 round
trip for bags when flying on American, United, Delta and JetBlue.
Aside from buying
pricey tickets in first class or business class, which include free checked
bags, here are five ways to avoid bag fees:
- Sign up for an airline credit card or other credit cards that
include free bags among the perks.
- Fly or spend (with the type of credit card mentioned in No.
1) your way to elite status in an airline's frequent flier program.
-Fly Southwest Airlines.
-Pack light.
-Check a bag at the gate for free.
-Keep this in mind: American just made it cheaper to travel
with bikes, surfboards, skis and tubas
^ Airlines may be making a lot of money on our bags, but they continue to
treat their passengers like cattle from start to finish. They over-book their
planes and then drag their passengers out of their paid-for seat and down the
aisle. They are consistently delayed or cancelled (and not always because of
the weather.) They even lose the bags that passengers paid for and then do not
refund the baggage fee (on top of compensating for the items and the bag
itself.) More and more passengers are starting to stand-up for themselves and
their rights and question the airlines, the airports and the Federal Government
on how they have been treated while flying these past 18 years. I hope that
continues until all those involved (ie. the Federal Government, the airlines,
the airports, etc.) start treating their passengers as humans rather than
cattle. ^
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