Airline Baggage Fee Rants

Tuesday, 04 August 2009

Unfortunately, I do not get to travel as often as I would like. Upon accompanying my best friend's mother at JFK International Airport, I watched the familiar check in process. I'm familiar with the new baggage rules where if your bag weighs too much, expect to pay some out of pocket cash. Her check-in bag was 18 pounds over and would cost a whopping $150 extra to make its way to Russia.

As a traveler, Don't I have enough to worry about? I'm about to go (Well, not me, but for the sake of the article, I'll put myself in her shoes) on a 10 hour direct flight to Moscow to visit family, now do I have time to worry about a sudden ridiculous fee for over packing? Her daughter brought up a great argument. It makes no sense that the plane can accommodate extra weight, for a price. Is the plane going to tip over if everyone pays for extra baggage on the plane? It does not seem safe to me, but for a cost, It's okay! To her, its just a way for the airline to make money!

In the end, the mother distributed her belongings to her pretty empty carry on bag and was able to rebound the extra fee.

Take a look at the various airline charges for extra weight and size for a checked in bag.
Chart Source

Airline	First checked bag	Second checked bag	Additional bags	Overweight bags	Oversized bags
Airtran	$0 $15	~~$10 paid online, $20 at airport~~ $25	$50	51-70 lbs (23-32kgs): ~~$29~~ $39 71 to 99 lbs: ~~$69~~ $79	62-70 total linear inches: ~~$29~~ $39; 71-80 inches ~~$69~~ $79
Alaska	$0 ($15 eff. 7/1/2009)	$0 $25	3rd-6th bags: $100; 7th or more: $150	51-100 lbs: $50	63-80 inches: $50; 81-115 inches: $75
American	$20	$30	Bags 3-5: $100; 6th or more: $200	51-70 lbs (23-32kgs): $50; 71-100 lbs: $100. These fees may be higher on international routes	63 inches and over: $150
Continental	$15 ($5 more if not paid online)	$25 ($5 more if not paid online)	$75 nonstop/$100 connecting	51-70 lbs (23-32kgs): $50 Over 70 lbs not accepted.	63 inches and over: $100
Delta	$15 ($5 more if not paid online)	$25 ($5 more if not paid online) $50 for European travel	Third bag: $125; Bags 4 to 10 $200 each (For travel outside US, no fee for 2nd bag, $200 for 3rd bag, $350 for 4th and 5th, $600 for bags 6-10).	51-70 lbs (23-32kgs): $90 ($150 for travel outside US) 71 to 100 lbs: $175 ($300 each outside US)	63-80 total linear inches: ~~$150~~ $175
Frontier	$0 $15	$25	$50	51-100 lbs: $75	63-80 inches: $75
JetBlue	$0	$20	$75	51-70 lbs: $50; 71-99 lbs: $100	63-80 inches: $75
Northwest	See Delta	See Delta	See Delta	See Delta	See Delta
Spirit	$19	$25 (online or at airport)	Bags 3-5: $100 (online or at airport)	51-70 lbs: $50 71 to 99 lbs: $100	62-79 inches: $100; 80 inches and over: $150
Southwest	$0	$0	First additional bag: $25; bags 4-9: $50; 10 and more: $110	51-70 lbs: $25; 71-100 lbs: $50	62-80 inches: $50
United	$20 ($5 discount if paid online)	$30 ($5 discount if paid online)	Bags 1-4: $125; 5th or more: $250	$100	63-115 inches: $125
US Airways	$20 at airport, $15 online	$30 at airport, $25 online	Bags 3-9: $100	51-70 lbs (23-32kgs): $70 71 to 99 lbs: $120	62-80 total linear inches: $100