Checking a Bag at the Airport? Five More Dollars Please
Friday, June 19, 2009 at 3:32PM 
Flying United or US Airways in the near future? Better throw an extra $5 bill in your pocket. The AP reported today that these two major airlines will begin charging an extra $5 if you pay your baggage fees at the check-in desk as opposed to taking care of it online before you get to the airport.
When paying baggage fees online this is considered your “online discount”. Those who don’t take advantage of this option will now be paying $20 instead of $15 for that first checked bag. A bit of a fee on top of a fee. No problem for web-savvy travelers, but still an extra fee nonetheless.
All these extra charges won’t be disappearing anytime soon. According to airlines these fees keep them from having to raise fares. The good news is that often when other airlines fail follow suit, or the change is a bit too extreme for passengers, the fees go away. Take for example US Airways trying for seven months to charge for soda and water, and Delta’s plans to charge a whopping $50 for a second bag on international flights.
So what’s a traveler to do? Well, it may be more of a reason to stick with one carrier and gain frequent flyer status, the members of which are often exempt from extra fees. Or you can fly Southwest Airlines who still allows two, yes two, checked bags for free. Let’s just hope the major airlines don’t start charging for my window seat, because that’s when things are going to get ugly!
This article outlines the current baggage charges for most U.S .airlines so if you don’t have all the ever changing fees memorized yet it will help.
Photo by Wayan Vota
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Lori Rice is a Galavanting Travel News & Reviews correspondent and features contributor, she keeps two blogs at Blondie in Brazil and Fake Food Free. You can also follow Lori on twitter.
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