Airline baggage fee collections on the rise

Passengers wait for their luggage in the Delta baggage claim at O'Hare International Airport on October 24, 2012, in Chicago, Illinois. / Getty Images

Airlines are raking in more baggage fees.

The federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics says U.S. airlines collected $924 million in baggage fees in the third quarter. That's up almost 3 percent from the same period last year.

Some of the biggest gains were at United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) United collected $187.3 million in bag fees in the third quarter, up 10.8 percent from a year earlier.

Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) is the second-biggest airline by traffic, but it has the top spot for baggage fees. It has collected $662.8 million so far this year. That's up slightly from the same time last year.

Baggage fee collections are down sharply at American Airlines. It took in $138.3 million in the most recent quarter, down 9.5 percent from a year earlier.

U.S. airlines collected more than $1.7 billion in baggage fees during the first half of the year, the largest amount ever collected in that six-month period.

Without the fees, many airlines would struggle to remain profitable. The industry turned a $2.3 billion operating profit with a 6-percent profit margin in the second quarter, according to BTS, up from $228 million, or a 0.7-percent margin, during the first quarter, a traditionally slow time of year.

[RobertVBrand]

With the baggage fees, more people stuff oversize bags into overhead bins, and there is less room for other passengers.

[askagain]

Last month I took a taxi yet the taxi driver did not extort an additional fee for putting my suitcase in the trunk of his car. Airlines sell tickets knowing most people need luggage to travel with. Does it make sense to allow airlines to charge extra for your luggage?

[gbgentleman]

Fly southwest or start your own airline.

[Brendan_DW]

They don't charge extra, it called being unbundled. You get what you pay for. More bags equals more weight which equals more fuel.

[alexbehl52]

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