If you’re old enough, you remember the halcyon days when checking a bag didn’t cost you anything (neither did choosing your seat, but I digress). But in 2008, American Airlines started charging $15 each way for passengers’ first checked bag.
At the time, they said it was to offset the high cost of jet fuel and other expenses of being in the midst of the Great Recession (Dec. 2007 – June 2009). Of course, the recession eventually ended, but the $15 fee to check your bag didn’t go away. Instead, other airlines followed suit, the fees kept going up, and today, it can cost upwards of $40 to check your first bag in the U.S.
Not just a U.S. thing
Just as other U.S.-based airlines followed American’s lead, a good amount of airlines from other countries eventually did the same thing. Nowadays, in just about every country in the world, it’s much more the norm to have to pay to check a bag.
Brazil is trying to change that
Brazil is already known for having very strong passenger rights protections. According to a flight attendant who owns A Fly Guy’s Cabin Crew,
Travelers in the country are entitled to assistance during delays, including meals and accommodation when required, compensation for denied boarding, refunds when flights are cancelled and the traveler chooses not to fly, and reimbursement for lost or delayed baggage. Brazil also attracted global attention during the pandemic by requiring airlines to honor unused travel credits for extended periods, a move seen as highly consumer-friendly.
And now, a Brazilian bill that would abolish charging fees for checked bags is currently climbing the political ladder. It would allow passengers to travel with a free carry-on on domestic flights and would bar carriers from charging for checked bags of up to 23 kg (50.71 pounds).
However, it’s freaking out the airline industry, which has had more than its share of airline bankruptcies in recent years (Azul, Gol, LATAM, etc.). So airlines are saying removing fees for checked bags would discourage the kind of low-cost operators that could lower fares overall.
“This bill moves Brazil backward at a time when aviation should be helping drive economic growth,” said Peter Cerda, the head of airline lobby group ALTA. “It’s like going to the cinema and being forced to pay for popcorn as part of your ticket.”
Of course, if fee-free checked bags became the law of the land in Brazil, passengers would have one less unexpected fee. But for airlines and their respective crews, it could mean more checked-bag volumes and therefore undoubtedly having to change their handling and boarding ops.
Not the first time
This isn’t the first time a bill has come up to abolish checked bag fees. Back in 2022, Brazilian airlines were thrilled when then-president Jair Bolsonaro (yeah, THAT Jair Bolsonaro – the one who fled his country hid out in an Orlando vacation home for months on end, before starting his 27-year jail sentence after being found guilty of plotting a coup) vetoed free checked bags.
The current bill cleared the Lower House last week but still requires Senate approval.
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