Do you notice that when one travel company makes changes, others seem to follow shortly thereafter? One such example is the introduction of baggage fees by airlines such as American Airlines, Delta, and United. After these airlines started charging fees for checked bags, other airlines such as JetBlue, Southwest, and Spirit quickly followed suit. Similarly, Delta and American Airlines started the trend of offering basic economy tickets, and other airlines soon followed by introducing their versions of basic economy fares.
There are numerous examples of airlines finding ways to make extra profits, such as charging passengers for preferred seats or attempting to fit more seats onto planes. But there is no better example of airlines waiting for one of their competitors to make a move and then watching all of them follow than the amount passengers have to pay to check a bag.
Increasing Bag Fees
It’s common for airlines to modify their policies regarding checked bags, especially if it’s a fee that most passengers won’t even notice. If the cost of a third checked bag or a bag that exceeds 70 pounds increases, it won’t have an impact on the majority of customers flying with the airline. However, if you’re looking at changing the fee for a second checked bag or a bag that’s just over 50 pounds, more people are going to notice.
The one fee that airlines are reluctant to change is the fee for the first checked bag. That’s because it’s the fee that most passengers need to pay, and it’s become part of the cost of flying. Therefore any change to this fee is big news, usually covered by the major outlets as a negative story about the airline that is the first to make the change.
American Airlines raised the fee for the first checked bag to $40 despite being aware of the impact this may have on customers. The local Charlotte news covered this story, which is important because most Charlotte flyers are hub captives to American Airlines.
American Airlines offers a $5 discount if you pay in advance instead of waiting until getting to the airport. Still, the airline took some negative press coverage for being the first of the non-low-cost carriers to raise prices to $40.
Follow the Leader
It is worth noting that when American Airlines faced criticism for increasing their checked bag fees, JetBlue followed suit the very next day, raising their own fees. To make matters worse, JetBlue’s checked bag fee is even higher than American’s, charging $45 for a checked bag when paying at the airport. However, if you pay for your checked bag at least 24 hours before your flight, you can save $10, making the price comparable to American’s $35 fee for paying in advance.
However, JetBlue didn’t receive all of the scrutiny for the increase as the news had already covered AA’s increase the day before. If there was any coverage of the story, it was that JetBlue and American both raised prices.
United follows the pack
Three days after JetBlue, United Airlines announced they were also increasing checked bag fees for the first bag to $40 with a $5 discount for prepaying at least 24 hours in advance. Honestly, United has a history of following the competition when they raise prices. So most airline followers knew this price hike was coming.
Will Delta Be Next?
Delta is now the outlier, still charging $30 for a checked bag regardless of whether you pay in advance or at the airport. They could raise the prices to match the other airlines but do they want to? They could just as easily increase the price to $35 or $40 but keep the price at $30 if you prepay.
By being the last one to raise prices for the first checked bag, Delta has the opportunity to wait and see what happens. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them make some changes but not to exactly copy the other airlines.
Ultra Low-Cost Carriers Still Charge More
While American, JetBlue and United now charge $40 or $45 when paying for the first checked bag at the airport and $35 if paying in advance, that’s nothing compared to Allegiant, Frontier and Spirit’s fees. For these airlines, you need to pay for your checked bags at the time of booking to get the lowest price.
The ULCCs also charge a different price for checked bags depending on the route, so there’s no set price. Here are some price examples I found online but each airline has a baggage fee calculator on its website.
- Allegiant – as low as $20 for select routes at booking to $75 at the airport.
- Frontier – starting at $50 at booking, $79 at the airport and up to $99 if you need to gate check a bag.
- Spirit – prices vary but are cheapest when paying at booking & up to online check-in. Waiting until the airport to pay is the most expensive option, besides having to pay at the gate which can cost up to $99.
Final Thought
It is not uncommon for airlines to adjust their prices in response to price increases made by their competitors. However, I cannot recall a time when this process happened so swiftly. It appears that each airline had a strategy in place and was only waiting for another airline to make the first move. In this instance, American Airlines initiated the price increase and within a week, two other airlines had matched it.
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